Plywood lined garden offices
Plywood is an alternative to white finishes inside a garden office. Detailed with shadow gaps, it can create a contemporary, high-spec interior.
The majority of garden offices we explore as part of our work have white interiors mixed with a wooden floor. This is a popular combination as it creates the feel of a room in a new build house, and light bounces off the white walls.
Some companies offer a plastered and decorated finish on the walls and ceiling to achieve this look. In contrast, some modular garden office companies utilise melamine faced boards with a thin strip covering the joints.
But, there are other options for the interior of a garden office, like plywood. Often designers utilise the plywood on all the surfaces, including the floor. Using one material in a room can be quite dramatic.
Birch plywood with shadow gaps
Birch plywood can be used to line the interior of a garden office, creating a very different look from a plastered and decorated room. The plywood creates a room with a contemporary, high spec feel.
We can't think of companies who offer Birch plywood interiors as standard, but many bespoke garden office companies provide it as an option.
Birch plywood interiors take skill to get right. Consideration is required to work out where joints will be along the run of the wall. Carpenters also need to match the grain of the boards for the best effect.
Typically, narrow gaps are left between the boards, known as shadow gaps. Often prior to fitting the plywood panel, the carpenter will paint the battens it will be fixed into black; this enhances the effect of the shadow gap.
Your choice of plywood will play a big part in the final look
When choosing plywood for the interior of a garden office, you will want to ask your designer for samples of the plywood they will use, as the quality, colour and grain pattern can vary dramatically between the different types.
Birch plywood is typically used for lining walls and ceilings. It is also commonly used for bespoke fitted furniture. Birch plywood has a subtle grain pattern and a pale honey colouring.
Over the years, we have seen more industrial office interiors where the customer has chosen to use a construction grade plywood, often called shuttering plywood. This typically has a distinctive grain and lots of knots visible. The surface of shuttering plywood can be pretty rough and does not offer the high-quality finish that Birch ply does.
Using this slider, you can see how the two plywoods create very different looks. With the Birch plywood, in our opinion, being more refined.
Sealed for durability
The surface of Birch plywood is carefully sanded to create a smooth surface, and then either an oil or polyurethane varnish is applied to the surface.
Applying oil or varnish will make the surface more durable and gives the board a slight lustre; it also accentuates the grain pattern of the panels.
Fire retardant plywood
You have to consider fire when lining a garden office with plywood. You can buy a fire retardant plywood sheet, whereby the layers of wood are soaked in the retardant before the layers are glued together. Alternatively, a fire retardant liquid can be applied to the boards by hand, but this isn't as effective as the retardant being applied during the manufacturing process.