Design Story: Birchbark

The natural world gives us an endless selection of beautiful visuals to inspire us in our daily lives and enable us to craft biophilic designs that provide a sense of comfort and renewal. The new Birchbark Formica^® Laminate pattern was created through the ultimate creative process: taking a walk in nature.

In fact, nature is a key element of the Safe Haven theme, one of the driving design forces behind the Formica^® High Pressure Laminate (HPL) SurfaceSet^® 2022 commercial introduction. This innovative collection includes a panoply of surfaces that offer the reassurance of nature, allowing us to feel safe in uncertain times.

The natural world is a reassuring presence that provides balance in our busy, demanding lives. Renee Hytry Derrington, Managing Principal of Design at Formica Group North America, says now is the time to lean into this representation of nature.

“Attention to detail was so important in the Birchbark design,” she says. “It’s about capturing everything that makes a birch visual so iconic.” This included perfecting the look of the lenticular horizontal slits and capturing the papery aspect of the bark.

Optimizing the Birchbark pattern included scanning bark from birch trees and styling the resulting image to create a nuanced representation. The team leveraged the latest design technology to select the most appealing sections from the source, moving knots and other features to create the best visual across the full sheet of laminate. In this way, they were able to generate a pleasing backdrop perfect for walls, table tops and backsplashes.