Wooden boiseries: much more than just claddings

By 14 January 2019News
wooden boiseries

The artisanal experimentation of the historical Florentine brand is examining the field of wooden boiseries.

Traditional craftsmanship, sartorial skills and attention to detail characterise the gorgeous claddings by Florentine Maison Chelini, which can embellish any location and lend a delicate three-dimensional effect, thus turning even the plainest of walls into a true work of art.

Explore our photo gallery of high-end carpentry works handcrafted at Chelini’s workshops:

-> Discover Chelini world: download our catalogues

Benefits of wooden boiseries

By cladding the inner walls of your home with panels made of a natural material such as wood, you will combine the benefits of excellent soundproofing and thermal insulation with a striking aesthetic effect. Classy and spectacular, a wooden boiserie embellishes the rooms of the house, gives value to the walls and transforms the look of every room without subverting their morphology.

An undisputed benchmark for those who search for classic and modern wooden boiseries, historical Florentine company Chelini, a symbol of the craftsmanship, the excellence and the values of the “Made In Italy” industry all over the world, has developed its skills in the artisanal production of fine furniture and elegant and refined furnishing accessories since 1898. Good taste, attention to detail and tradition in the wood processing, combined with great attention to innovation, are the cornerstones of the philosophy of historical brand Chelini, which offers elegant and well-finished final products that are always up to date.

Ideas for modern wooden boiseries

Any location can be decorated with an elegant wooden wall cladding. An elegant wooden boiserie can be installed in any context: from the private rooms of metropolitan lofts, to ancient villas, to residential apartments, to the executive lounges of management offices, to luxury hotels, to retail stores.

There are basically three types of wooden claddings:

– a cladding made of wooden panels, the dimensions of which depend on the size of the walls that are going to be cladded;

– a cladding made of wooden planks, much appreciated nowadays;

– matchboarding, which is typical of mountain chalets and cottages, and consists in laying long, narrow wooden slats, vertically or horizontally.

Prior to installation, the boiserie panels are carefully decorated, cut, carved or inlaid depending on the customer’s directions. There are several possible finishes, such as:

– oil and wax polishing;
– coating;
– lacquering;
– precious cladding sheets such as gold or silver foils.

And also:
– fabric inserts;
– claddings made of synthetic materials;
– alternating wallpaper and carved wood;
– mirror inserts;
– hand-painted decorations.

There are numerous finishes that prove the sartorial vocation of Florentine Maison Chelini and its ability to interpret the materials in an innovative way.

Real wood boiseries

The use of wood for wall and ceiling cladding has very longstanding roots. The first wooden wall claddings were created for practical reasons rather than for decorative purposes. The installation of wooden boards and panels to clad walls and ceilings was originally meant to limit heat dispersion, protect the rooms from humidity and guarantee greater soundproofing and thermal insulation both in countryside houses and stately homes. It was only later that boiseries started to be used also for decorative purposes, to embellish the inner rooms of houses.

Wooden boiseries can be made with:
– solid wood panels;
– panels made of recycled wood, taken from old trusses or parquet floors, former factories, dismantled mountain lodges, boats or jetties;
– veneered panels on a wood fibre base.

However, wood isn’t the only material that can be used to make indoor wall claddings. It’s also possible to use ceramic, plaster, marble, bamboo fibre, stoneware, metal, stones and resin, laminate panels, PVC or MDF (medium-density fibreboard).

Styles and types of wooden boiseries

Several styles with more or less elaborate decorations developed over the centuries. Low reliefs, inlays and decorations made of gold and other precious metals on wooden panels were the most popular in the Kingdom of France in the 17th and 18th century. Some charming examples of artistic boiseries can still be seen at the Palace of Versailles in France and at the Royal Palace of Caserta in Italy.

In the creations by Chelini, the classic style is reinterpreted to create modern wooden boiseries with clean lines and a more simple and basic design, so that they can adapt to any kind of house, even the most modern ones. A boiserie is a characterising cladding that reshapes the rooms, lends a warm and welcoming allure to modern apartments and creates, at the same time, a fairy-tale atmosphere in classic locations thanks to its finishes and decorations.

Planning and installation

When you decide to install a wooden boiserie, first of all you need to determine whether it will clad all the walls of the room or just some of them. You can install a floor-to-ceiling wooden cladding to cover the wall entirely, a half-wall cladding with a frame on the end or a combination of the two.

Wooden boiseries are usually about 5 to 10 centimetres thick, depending on the construction technique, the processing and the materials. Before proceeding with the installation of the wooden wall cladding, consider how the room will change and how much space will be lost due to its application.

Prior to installation, it is advisable to check carefully the state of the wall that is going to be the base of the boiserie, and to make sure that there aren’t any water infiltrations, mould and water stains that would damage the cladding. The ideal thing to do would be treating the walls with specific waterproof paints that protect them from infiltrations.

A wooden boiserie is generally made by prearranging a structure on the walls that works as laying surface, and after that the boiserie panels are applied on it with their respective finish.

Customised consultancy for wooden boiseries

Would you like to embellish your home, office or shop with an elegant wooden boiserie?

Contact us for a customised consultancy or come and visit Chelini’s new showroom in Florence, 9 viale del Poggio Imperiale.

We will listen carefully to your requests, we will help you find the style choice that best suits your needs and we will be able to meet any product customisation request.