As somebody who has painted partitions in nearly each house I’ve lived in as an grownup, let me say that portray sucks. I’ve discovered methods through the years to complete the job faster (I even personal a set of paint instruments!), but it surely’s nonetheless a protracted, annoying course of that may suck up extra time than you’d anticipate.
Final 12 months I used to be privileged to turn out to be a house owner, and naturally the Nice Algorithm observed and commenced shoving all types of residence makeover tasks, merchandise, and companies onto my Instagram. (Do you know you may get a roof substitute free of charge? Sure, it sounds too good to be true.) One did catch my eye, although—Wooden Veneer Hub. I noticed advert after advert clawing by way of my feed showcasing residence setups with a beautiful wooden slat accent wall. It was precisely my sort of aesthetic.
The corporate guarantees simple set up—a room makeover that will not take up a laborious day of portray, and it largely delivers. As WIRED’s resident residence workplace product tester, I made a decision to attempt these panels for my workplace. I’ve executed standing desks, workplace chairs, webcams, desk lamps, and even submitting cupboards, however by no means have I examined one thing that’d drastically change the look of my area.
Pretty Simple Set up
Wooden Veneer Hub’s Slatpanels, as they’re referred to as, comprise medium-density fiberboard strips hooked up to recycled felt materials with sound-dampening properties. Every field has two Slatpanels with about 9 slats per panel—you will have to measure your partitions (or ceiling!) to seek out the required dimension. You may select between a No End or an Oiled End possibility, and I recommend the latter—it prices somewhat extra however saves you the trouble of making use of a end and protects the wooden.
I made a decision to attempt them out on one wall of my residence workplace, like an accent wall. It took about 13 Slatpanels (I used to be despatched seven packing containers, that means I used to be left with one spare Slatpanel), and I screwed them into the studs. You may set up them on prime of your baseboard, however I made a decision it appeared higher with out my baseboard, so I stripped it away. There is a tiny hole between the panels and my flooring but it surely’s hardly noticeable. This additionally meant I did not want to chop the panels (aside from retailers and light-weight switches).
That is the tough half—chopping out holes. I wanted to chop out a couple of holes for retailers, a light-weight change, and my mild fixture. When you have an electrical noticed, you are already in a a lot better place than I used to be. I had a easy handsaw and no workbench, so it was troublesome to get straight traces whereas sawing off items. I used my Milwaukee Fastback knife to chop from the felt aspect first, and it did a surprisingly good job. Be smarter than me and use a protracted stage or ruler and tape it to the panels to maintain these traces straight. Fortunately, you must look intently to see how jagged my holes are, or a minimum of that is what I hold telling myself.
