Wooden slats are all the rage: 15 ideas for furnishing your home using this trending material

by Mark Bennett

April 20, 2024

Trendy wooden slats: 15 ideas for furnishing your home using increasingly popular material
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The popularity and appeal of decorative wooden slats is trending big time! And using this slatting to decorate walls, partitions, furniture and even the ceiling is definitely a modern design trend that is gaining traction everywhere!

1. Slatted walls

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Wooden slats or slatting refers to narrow, thick wood strips, placed side by side (with a small gap between each strip) to cover entire surfaces (like walls). When used on walls, their sound-absorbing/dampening properties are significant.

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The coloring of the slats can be contrasted with the background of the suface on which they are mounted. But many go for a monochrome look (as shown here). Notwithstanding this, you will maintain the three-dimensional feel that this type of cladding gives to any surface.

2. Partial wall cladding

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Wood slats can also be used to highlight certain architectural elements, providing an accented focus in a room. For example, here, the slats (on the wall and ceiling) accent the window frame.

3. Door slats and dividers

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Since the slats are placed side by side but with a gap between them, this allows light to pass. As such, this makes slats perfect to act as partitions which can separate rooms without losing the intervening light.

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Given this feature, movable, slatted walls can be constructed, made of panels composed of slats and which can open or rotate on a vertical axis.

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Alternatively, slats can be put up as sliding walls - perfect for keeping the light which is "shared" by adjoining rooms.

4. Slats for decorating

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Slats can also be bought individually or in small bundles from DIY and furniture stores. Using these slats, you can then create decorations of all kinds, reflecting a minimalist and modern look.

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In this example, the slats have been used in a creative way to decorate the corner of a room.

5. Slats used to support useful accessories

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Combine decoration with functionality: in this example, a few vertical slats on the wall (which extend along the ceiling), have been used to mount light fittings on. This is a much more elegant look than mounting the light fittings directly to a bare ceiling!

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Here, vertical slats support horizontal shelves: in turn, the shelves can be used to place other decorations (books, plants, etc).

6. Have fun with the background

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Have you ever thought about how nice wooden slats would look if you use decorative wallpaper in the background (and add a couple of horizontal shelves)?

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7. Wooden slats on the ceiling

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In the past, a wooden ceiling either had panelling or exposed, rustically-styled wooden beams. By using wooden slats, you can now enjoy a "compromise" between these two, old-fashioned options!

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Additionally, this approach looks great in all-white environments, even for double-layered roofs.

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8. Wooden slats on furniture

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Pay attention in furniture shops and even to the props being used in movies recently: it won't take you long to see funiture which reflects this modern trend towards using wooden slats. Here's a good example showing slats used for the base of this coffee table.

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And this beautiful island in a new kitchen also takes advantage of this modern trend!

Have you already used wooden slats in your home, or are you thinking of doing so?

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