Formica Corporation Expands Woodgrain Collection with New Species in Neutral Colors

CINCINNATI (Oct. 5, 2020) — Formica Corporation announces the launch of an updated line of Formica^® Laminate Woodgrains giving designers a complete, on-trend and usable woodgrain palette for modern commercial spaces. Based on extensive research, the launch includes 16 new wood designs that also meet macro commercial design trends in nature and natural materials.  

“When designing with wood, we’ve learned color goes hand-in-hand with species and style for many designers,” said Renee Hytry Derrington, managing principal at Formica North American Design. “Designers were seeking more neutral colors and tonal variations of whites, lights, naturals, grays and true browns. These new woodgrain designs enhance feelings of warmth, comfort and familiarity – all while providing a durable and easily cleanable alternative to real wood surfaces in hardworking spaces like hospitals, classrooms and office settings.” 

Formica Corporation held focus groups with commercial and furniture designers across the United States to identify the most usable wood visuals. The selections that consistently met their needs were neutral colors with lighter-toned options to complement Scandinavian designs, as well as more choices in ash, elm, oak and walnut.   

The 16 new patterns are grouped into seven series: Elm, Ashwood, Cherry, Modern Oak, Modern Walnut, Traditional Walnut and Casual Woods, creating a robust offering of woodgrain laminate designs in stain colors from light to dark. 

Elm Series 
This new species to the Formica® Laminate Woodgrain collection is valued for its interlocking grain and resistance to splitting, making it useful for furniture production. While this species is rare in real wood, it provides ideal inspiration for laminate designs with subtle graining and neutral color tones. 
• Buff Elm: A warm, creamy elm
• Beige Elm: A true beige elm
• Camel Elm: A darker beige elm
• Graphite Elm: A warm, black elm

Ashwood Series
Long considered a cousin of oak, ashwood is popular in furniture design and offers a linear, multipurpose visual. 
• Ashwood Bone: A soft, gray-white ash
• Ashwood Beige: A light chameleon ash
• Ashwood Oak: Ash stained in a modern oak color

Cherry Series
Often used for cabinets and furniture, this series has a soft, flowing, straight-grained layout and true brown color tones. It is ideal for furniture and architectural doors.
• Clove Spice Cherry: A mid-brown stained cherry
• Nut Brown Cherry: A true, dark-brown-stained cherry

Modern Oak Series
Depending on the specific species, oak has a wide range of color variation. Its open pores accept stain readily, but gray stains on natural wood tend to discolor easily. The elegant, straight grain of this laminate series offers a solution for trending gray and black wood designs that are also easy to maintain. 
• Grayed Oak: A true gray-stained oak
• Inked Oak: A blackened oak

Modern Walnut Series
Walnut is widespread throughout the world and ranges from creamy white sapwood to dark chocolate heartwood. This series is modernized with “heathered” stains, in which brown is neutralized with a hint of gray. The mixed-width, random-match layout with half-cut cathedrals represents the look of solid lumber construction.
• Taupe Walnut: A greige, mid-toned stained walnut
• Hazel Walnut: A darker brown-gray stained walnut

Traditional Walnut
A classic walnut with a random-match layout and half-cut cathedrals that works well in traditional and modern environments in which architects and designers want to contrast style with a familiar wood visual. 
• Formal Walnut: A classic brown stained walnut

Casual Woods
Unique finishing techniques and a new species inspire these patterns, both featuring a dark brown stained look with random-match layouts and cathedrals.
• Tula Oak: Features a cerused technique, which involves rubbing a contrasting color into wood pores to highlight the grain. This deep-brown oak design features gray cerused pore details
• Antique Mango: Fast-growing, sustainable mango provides a stylish alternative to rare, slow-growing exotic woods and inspires this curvy, tone-on-tone stained brown wood design. 

Formica^® Laminate woodgrains can be applied horizontally or vertically. Material costs range from $1.50 – $2.00 per square foot. To learn more, visit http://www.formica.com/specialty.