Why our ply? 5 reasons our scandi-style birch plywood is the perfect kitchen cabinet material

Written by Jason Published Apr 27, 2023 Category The Naked Truth

What’s the best material for making kitchen cabinets? We’ve done the research – and Scandi birch ply wins hands down…

Birch plywood has long been prized in the construction, furniture and even automotive industries for its strength and durability. But not all birch plywoods are equal. At Naked Kitchens we spent a huge amount of time researching industries, talking to suppliers and learning about different tree species before we discovered THE ideal ply for manufacturing our kitchen cabinets.

The wood we use comes from a native European birch, grown in the heart of the sustainable Latvian forests. It produces a timber with precisely the properties we need: light coloured, fine-textured and dense. But we’ve come to realise that this particular ply is not just the perfect material for Naked Kitchens’ manufacturing processes; it’s the perfect material for kitchen cabinets full stop. Here are five reasons why…

1) It's sustainable

This is non-negotiable. All the timber we use has to be sustainably sourced, environmentally-friendly and FSC certified. We don’t compromise on that, we don’t buy anything from Russia (where ply often hails from), and many of our customers choose us specifically for this reason. (You can read more about our demanding approach to sustainability here.)

2) It’s built for life – whatever you throw at it

This particular birch plywood is special because it has unusually thick, void-free layers. That makes it a balanced material, which naturally resists the organic movement of timber – so our joiners can craft exceptionally strong, beautiful joints, and cabinets that will last you a lifetime.

The ply also has excellent resistance to humidity and moisture (which we enhance with our innovative lacquer technology). So you don’t need to worry if your cabinets get a bit wet occasionally – pretty useful in a kitchen.

3) It's incredibly versatile – so we can be as creative as you want us to be with your bespoke kitchen

The scandi-style birch ply has an exceptionally strong core. That means our designers and joiners can do almost anything with it. Or to put it another way: we’re not at all limited by our material when it comes to designing and creating the cabinetry for your ideal bespoke kitchen. If you can imagine it, we can build it with this plywood.

We can also make it as beautiful as you can imagine. We can veneer the plywood carcasses in rich, warm real oak or walnut, or in one of our stunning naked colours (or even a custom colour you choose). Or alternatively…

4) …It looks good naked

If you like, you can just show off your Scandi timber in all its naked glory. This birch naturally has a beautiful, light-coloured swirling grain pattern, so all our cabinets look as striking on the inside as they do on the outside. But we’re finding that more and more customers are choosing to go for a simple exposed look, sealed with our tough lacquer coating, for their cabinet door fronts and even worktops.

When you see an exposed birch Naked Kitchen, you can understand why. Even the edges are beautiful: whereas other engineered material edges can look a little clumsy, the straight, uniform lines we can cut into this ply give it a uniquely contemporary look.

5) It’s the savvy timber

Our scandi-style birch ply is the perfect material for our way of making kitchens: a combination of creative craftsmanship and precision machine-engineering.

The timber’s strength, durability and versatility means we can use our cutting-edge tech to make beautiful, truly bespoke kitchens that last for life, while eliminating waste and making efficiencies that we can pass directly on to you.

It allows us to give our customers the best of both worlds: a stunning, tailor-made kitchen at a very savvy price.

Have a browse through our kitchen galleries to see just how versatile and beautiful Scandi ply really is. And if you want to talk about how we can build the perfect bespoke kitchen for you, why not book a free design consultation?

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