Veneer
Wood veneer is a thin slice of real hardwood, often around 1 mm thick, bonded to a stable core such as plywood or MDF. It is real wood, not a photo or laminate printed to look like wood.
Why use veneer? First, stability. Wide solid-wood panels move with the seasons, but a veneered panel on a stable core stays flat. Second, appearance. Veneer is cut in sequence from the same log, so the pieces can be matched side by side to build a continuous pattern across doors, drawers and panels. Third, it makes the most of rare and expensive species like walnut, so more of the beautiful grain goes into the finished piece.
Veneer can be arranged in different ways. Book-matched pieces mirror each other, slip-matched pieces are laid side by side to repeat the same grain, and sequence matching keeps a run of doors looking like one continuous slab. How the log is cut, such as rift-sawn or quarter-sawn, also changes the grain pattern.
Good veneer work is a sign of careful craftsmanship, and veneered pieces can be sanded and refinished like any quality wood surface. Edges are usually finished with matching edge banding or solid wood.
See veneer at work in our built-ins and closets.
How we use it: Our Built-in Walnut Closet has exteriors in rift-sawn, slip-matched black walnut veneer. See the Built-in Walnut Closet.