As somebody who has painted partitions in nearly each condo I’ve lived in as an grownup, let me say that portray sucks. I’ve discovered methods over time to complete the job faster (I even personal a set of paint instruments!), however it’s nonetheless a protracted, annoying course of that may suck up extra time than you’d anticipate.
Final yr I used to be privileged to develop into a house owner, and naturally the Nice Algorithm observed and commenced shoving all kinds of dwelling makeover tasks, merchandise, and providers onto my Instagram. (Do you know you may get a roof substitute without spending a dime? Sure, it sounds too good to be true.) One did catch my eye, although—Wood Veneer Hub. I noticed advert after advert clawing by means of my feed showcasing dwelling setups with a beautiful wooden slat accent wall. It was precisely my type 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 dwelling workplace product tester, I made a decision to attempt these panels for my office. I’ve finished standing desks, office 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 house.
Pretty Simple Set up
Wooden Veneer Hub’s Slatpanels, as they’re referred to as, comprise medium-density fiberboard strips connected 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 search out the required measurement. You may select between a No End or an Oiled End choice, and I recommend the latter—it prices a little bit 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 dwelling workplace, like an accent wall. It took about 13 Slatpanels (I used to be despatched seven containers, which means I used to be left with one spare Slatpanel), and I screwed them into the studs. You may set up them on high 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 ground however it’s hardly noticeable. This additionally meant I did not want to chop the panels (aside from shops and lightweight switches).
That is the difficult half—chopping out holes. I wanted to chop out a couple of holes for shops, a light-weight swap, and my gentle fixture. If in case you have an electrical noticed, you are already in a significantly 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, it’s a must to look intently to see how jagged my holes are, or a minimum of that is what I hold telling myself.
