Hardwood Plywood

A light golden-yellow, rich toned sheet of hardwood plywood veneer, popularly used on furniture, doors, cupboards, desks, worktops and wall or ceiling panelling. The porous nature of this timber, displayed by the large, black dots and streaks known as vessel elements, adds a characterful dimension to this plywood. The surface is quite rough due to these vessel elements, but the grain is tight and consistent, resulting from a more limited variation between growth wood and sapwood and is suggestive of shorter growing seasons, desirable in the cost effective production of timber supplied for plywood manufacture. Each timber species has a different appearance due to the arrangement, location and size of the wood cells, which affects the density of the grain: wood species with larger cells such as this have a rougher overall texture. The high density of pores and their limitation to the earlywood is common in timbers such as oak, elm and hickory. The swirly, curved grain suggests that this sheet was cut from a burl element of timber – a large, fungal infection which affects the tree’s growth and causes parts of the tree to die, resulting in a stained, dryer portion of timber that is less mechanically stable, but can still be used for aesthetic purposes such as bartops and mantlepieces, or cut and laminated together to form plywood. The swirls and stained appearance caused by the density of dark pores in areas makes for an interesting, rich appearance, aided by the variation between golden-beige and dark brown grains. Plywood is comprised of chips or strands of timber compressed together, making for excellent strength, ideal for making cabinets and furniture from while remaining cheaper than solid, ‘real’ wood pieces. Higher-end, more expensive plywoods have a veneer sheet finish which hides the ‘naked’ chip layers. This finishing layer is comprised of thin-sawn, cut or peeled strips from a tree’s trunk which, when layered together can form highly unique patterns. This particular plywood veneer surface texture is characterised by warm, hearty, mellow colour and dynamic, intense grain and rough, dry finish. The natural, gentle colour palette works well as a standout hue against neutral, cool, reserved tones such as plaster and concrete, while the more dynamic, intriguing grain can be combined with other intricate, unique, natural textures to provide a biophilic effect by mimicking patterns found in nature; compliment busy, vibrant patterns such as terrazzos and wallpapers; or offset cool, smooth, restrained metal and stone textures. The roughness of the timber veneer possesses a rugged, industrial character and its lower quality stability and dry texture would be suitable for low budget projects, or surfaces which are expected to receive high levels of traffic or liquids and staining, such as worktops, countertops, and workshop wall panels. Plywood’s low cost and versatility lends itself to specification on projects which anticipate lots of change and are required to be adaptable for multiple or adaptive uses, such as temporary structures, dividing walls in flexible/shared office spaces, seating and stands in exhibitions and low-cost, industrial looking fit-outs and conversions for hospitality and workplace settings.