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A NEW DIRECTION
We call our Semihandmade line of real-wood veneer doors Classic because wood is as timeless as the concept of home. Despite gradually expanding our offerings to include Supermatte thermofoils and Impression textured melamines, each year we’ve seen the number of Classic projects rise as the contemporary world continues to embrace natural materials in modern settings. We’ve enjoyed being part of this movement and, as we continue to grow, we want to do that in the most responsible and logical way.
As a company, we are always looking for ways to innovate and improve. We’ve learned a lot from Ikea over the years; like them, we strive to give our customers a better experience and better products while also being mindful of our environmental impact.
Starting in September 2018, all Semihandmade Sektion, Akurum Classic doors - including our ever-popular Walnut, Mahogany and Bamboo - run with vertical grain direction only and are comprised of plantation-grown, responsibly-sourced reconstituted veneers. These veneers are a natural wood product, designed to capture the beauty of their inspiration but limit the impact of the species-specific logging industry. Other advantages to reconstituted veneers include a consistency of tone and texture, ensuring you can maintenance your kitchen for years to come and even add on seamlessly to your existing design.
Image: Mike Conners
Greener
By switching to reconstituted veneers and vertical grain direction only we’ll be able to minimize our impact on the planet and maximize the yield on our material. We are proud to make this leap into a more planet-friendly way of using wood and think you’ll agree, the end results are truly breathtaking.
More Versatile
Put simply, single-batch veneers and horizontal sequencing have their limitations. While undeniably gorgeous, runs of horizontally-sequenced material can stretch no longer than eight feet and seamlessly joining sections longer than that is challenging. Additionally, as time passes, adding to, or replacing, a single-batch material can be problematic since each piece has a unique blend of tone and texture and must fit together like a puzzle. With reconstituted veneers and vertical grain direction, only the individual cabinet runs in sequence and the tone and texture will always be an exact match, so adding and replacing parts is a cinch.*
Faster
The world moves faster every day. At Semihandmade, we want to do more than keep up; we want to innovate. This change allows us to shorten our lead times considerably; the switch eliminates time-consuming glue-ups, reduces complex door and drawer puzzling, and minimizes the chance of countless other little mistakes that slow the process down (they do happen!). The uniformity in grain also eliminates the back and forth of emails and phone calls, allowing you to (eventually) order your entire project on our online Kitchen Shop.
So there you have it. We’re excited, and we hope you are too!
For more information about our Semihandmade Classics, click here. You can visit our Kitchen Shop here.
Image: Amy Bartlam
Image: Bethany Nauert
Image: Mike Conners
* Plinth, light rail, upper trim, and any panels wider than 48” (with the exception of the 49 1/4” island panel) will have horizontal grain direction.
Top Photo: Amy Bartlam
@Pamela Morris. That is something we will definitely consider in the future; for now, we’ve switched to a new material supplier and the cost is actually a bit higher but we think the more consistent grain and coloring (in addition to less waste) is more than worth it.
Will you be reducing the costs of the doors and drawers since your costs will be reduced?