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As someone who has painted walls in almost every apartment I’ve lived in as an adult, let me say that painting sucks. I’ve learned tricks over the years to finish the job quicker (I even own a set of paint tools!), but it’s still a long, annoying process that can suck up more time than you’d expect.
Last year I was privileged to become a homeowner, and naturally the Great Algorithm noticed and began shoving all sorts of home makeover projects, products, and services onto my Instagram. (Did you know you can get a roof replacement for free? Yes, it sounds too good to be true.) One did catch my eye, though—Wood Veneer Hub. I saw ad after ad clawing through my feed showcasing home setups with a lovely wood slat accent wall. It was exactly my kind of aesthetic.
The company promises easy installation—a room makeover that won’t take up a laborious day of painting, and it largely delivers. As WIRED’s resident home office product tester, I decided to try these panels for my office. I’ve done standing desks, office chairs, webcams, desk lamps, and even filing cabinets, but never have I tested something that’d drastically change the look of my space.
Fairly Easy Install
Wood Veneer Hub Luxury American Walnut Acoustic Slat Wood Panels
Wood Veneer Hub’s Slatpanels, as they’re called, comprise medium-density fiberboard strips attached to recycled felt material with sound-dampening properties. Each box has two Slatpanels with about nine slats per panel—you’ll need to measure your walls (or ceiling!) to find the required size. You can choose between a No Finish or an Oiled Finish option, and I suggest the latter—it costs a little more but saves you the hassle of applying a finish and protects the wood.
I decided to try them out on one wall of my home office, like an accent wall. It took about 13 Slatpanels (I was sent seven boxes, meaning I was left with one spare Slatpanel), and I screwed them into the studs. You can install them on top of your baseboard, but I decided it looked better without my baseboard, so I stripped it away. There’s a tiny gap between the panels and my floor but it’s hardly noticeable. This also meant I didn’t need to cut the panels (except for outlets and light switches).
That’s the tricky part—cutting out holes. I needed to cut out a few holes for outlets, a light switch, and my light fixture. If you have an electric saw, you’re already in a much better place than I was. I had a simple handsaw and no workbench, so it was difficult to get straight lines while sawing off pieces. I used my Milwaukee Fastback knife to cut from the felt side first, and it did a surprisingly good job. Be smarter than me and use a long level or ruler and tape it to the panels to keep those lines straight. Thankfully, you have to look closely to see how jagged my holes are, or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.
Warning: Cutting the felt emits an enormous amount of black dust that’d give a chimney sweeper a run for their money. If you can, do it outside or in a garage. Also, be as gentle as you can when sawing, because some ends of the veneer can chip off, which might ruin the look of the slat, and the only solution might be to cut an even bigger hole.
I used roughly 10 screws per Slatpanel (five in one felt line, spaced out from top to bottom), and they stay in place pretty well. One piece of advice: Make sure you get dark black screws. I got a box of screws at Home Depot and they were more of a dark gray than black, and while I can’t see 90 percent of them, the ones directly under my light fixture are visible. I wish I knew before I started that Wood Veneer Hub has its own set of Slatpanel Black screws, though I feel like these should be included (or at least they could ship some felt covers to stick over the screws!).
Alternatively, the company also says you can use adhesive to stick the panels to the wall, but removing that in the future sounds like a nightmare.
All in all, this took about two or three hours of work (with some generous breaks in between). It was far easier than painting, and I dare say it gives my home office a little more character. I can still hang paintings over the slats, so it’s not like I’ve lost a whole wall—I can just use slightly longer nails in the felt.
Room Makeover
It’s worth noting that you don’t need to get the same walnut panels that I did. (I kind of have a walnut theme going in my home.) Wood Veneer Hub offers these panels in other materials like oak and different colors, not to mention in wider slat sizes (even for the exterior of your home). You can order a sample box of panels to see what you prefer. The company also sells various accessories that go in between the panels to spruce them up, like wine racks, shelves, and hooks.
It’s difficult for me to vouch for the company’s sound-dampening claims, as I haven’t noticed a change before and after the installation. Then again, to maximize sound absorption, you should install the panels on timber battens to create a gap between the wall and the panels—maybe I’d notice it if I did that. But my desires are purely aesthetic—I’m not turning my home office into a podcast studio.
If I had any serious carpentry skills, crafting this style of panel doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult. Wood Veneer Hub’s panels look nice, but they don’t look like they should cost this much. The total for slatting up one of my walls (around 13 feet) was $1,610. Ouch. Painting is a whole lot cheaper than that. However, in the grand scheme of home makeover projects, this feels relatively inexpensive.
Alas, I’m not well-versed in woodworking. I like how generally quick it is to install these Slatpanels. There’s also a lot of versatility in how you want to install them (horizontally or vertically! Screws or glue!), and while they might be a common sight at a WeWork, they’re a unique addition to the home.
My next project? Wallpaper. Hopefully, that’s even easier to install. Anything’s better than scrubbing paint off the fingers after an hour of pushing a roller up and down.