Material Monday: Restless Design reviews a different material weekly & discusses its virtues.
It’s strong.
The visible outer layers of plywood are solid wood. Whereas the interior of plywood is made up of engineered layers of wood laid in alternating directions. This ‘cross-graining’ prevents the sheets of plywood from bending and warping. Because of this, the applications of plywood are endless: furniture, walls, joinery, floors.
It looks great.
Plywood looks amazing whether it’s used as the dominant material or just in the smaller details. Don’t forget, its real wood. Plywood comes in all types of wood from mahogany to bamboo. You’ll have the option to have solid wood edges on each sheet or to leave the edges raw and exposed. Use birch plywood for its light colour and extra durability to achieve a bright, warm interior. As long as you’ve got the right tools, such as a drill press from https://drillpresspro.com/ the possibilities are endless.
It’s big.
Or at least it can be, plywood sheets come in a huge range of sizes and thicknesses which allow for an array of uses. The largest sheets of over 3 meters long can be used as room dividers, wall cladding and even building rooms within rooms. You may want to alternatively look at sliding room dividers if you want a less permanent design fix that you can move around. Thicker sheets are perfect for long lasting kitchen countertops, chunky shelving, and even banisters.
Mix and match.
Plywood looks great by itself but it also works brilliantly alongside lots of other materials. Want to try an industrial look but afraid that concrete will be too harsh and cold? Add plywood into the mix to soften the look and warm the space. Worried that using raw plywood look to boring? Add some coloured laminates to the plywood sheet for variety and to show your own personality. Alternatively, use it with marble, glass, stone, and even other wood species. You may even want to think about using something like IRO Timber for the internal cladding of your home as they have a wide colour palette that can give you the look that you truly desire.
It’s in the details.
Not completely sold on having an entire kitchen or home office made from plywood? Use it only in the details. Exposing only the raw edges of plywood in shelving, kitchen counters and door edges is an excellent way to bring the warmth of wood into any space. It also shows that the design is well thought out down to the last details and gives a nice element of surprise.
