Wood Veneer Hub’s Slat Panels Are an Easy Home Office Upgrade

As someone who has had walls painted in almost every apartment I’ve lived in as an adult, let me tell you that painting is bad. I’ve learned tricks over the years to get the job done faster (I even own a set of paint tools!), but it’s still a long, tedious process that can take longer than you’d expect.

Last year I had the opportunity to become a homeowner, and naturally the Great Algorithm took notice and started pouring all kinds of home makeover projects, products, and services onto my Instagram. (Did you know you can get a roof replacement for free? Yes, it sounds too good to be true.) One caught my eye, though—Wood Veneer Hub. I saw ad after ad scrolling through my feed showcasing home setups with a lovely wood slat accent wall. It was just my kind of aesthetic.

The company promises easy installation—a room makeover that doesn’t take a laborious day of painting—and it largely delivers. As WIRED’s resident home office product tester, I decided to give these panels a try my office. i did standing desk, office chair, webcamDesk lamps, even filing cabinets, but I’ve never tested anything that would radically change the look of my space.

Fairly easy install

Wood veneer hubs, called slatpanels, are strips of medium-density fiberboard bonded to recycled felt material with sound-damping properties. Each box has two slatpanels with about nine slats per panel—you’ll need to measure your walls (or ceiling!) to find the size needed. You can choose between a no finish or an oiled finish option, and I recommend the latter—it costs a little more but saves you the trouble of applying the finish and protects the wood.

I decided to try them on one wall in my home office, as an accent wall. It took about 13 slatpanels (I was sent seven boxes, which meant I had an extra slatpanel left over), and I screwed them to the studs. You can install them on top of your baseboard, but I decided it looked better without my baseboard, so I removed it. There is a small gap between the panel and my floor but it is hardly noticeable. This means I don’t have to cut panels (except for outlets and light switches).

This is the hard part – cutting the hole. I need to cut a few holes for the outlet, a light switch and my light fixture. If you have an electric saw, you’re already in a much better place than I am. I also had a normal hand and no workbench, so it was hard to get straight lines when cutting the pieces. I use mine Milwaukee Fastback The cutting knife was first on the felt side, and it did a surprisingly good job. Be smarter than me and use a long level or ruler and tape those lines to the panel to keep them straight. Thankfully, you have to look closely to see how jagged my pores are, or at least that’s what I tell myself.