Plyboo "entertainment center"

Comment

Comment by gdatomic on October 26, 2009 at 12:30am

There seem to be a bunch of suppliers. Certainly seems to be easier to get on the West Coast. My source was Emerson Hardwoods in Portland, OR. Pricey, but a really great look.

It's supposed be among the most dimensionally stable plywoods out there. The core really isn't "ply's", so the Plyboo moniker's a bit off. There seem to be (from web searches) some more truly "ply" based version, but I've not seen them in person. (I have seen flooring made more like particle board with bamboo slices. Gives a more organic texture than the straight grain shown here.)

This piece was finished at a shop with a simple water based finish. No staining in this case. I've seen some pieces that appear to have colored stains. But those might also be some veneers or "fake bamboo" laminates.

With this finish, it's a beautiful gold/yellow. Not sure the photo's do that justice. (Incidentially, we're about to paint the wall behind it a tan/taupe. Will be a nice contrast.)

Thanks for the comments on the modern design. We've based our office style on the 50's/60's without getting too extreme. So this design fits. And the grain in the bamboo reinforces the squareness of the design. I love the peacefulness of the face grain. It's just calming.

Comment by Kevin on October 23, 2009 at 9:32pm

I'm not usually one for a modern contemporary look, but this is an awesome project. I work for a building materials supplier in the Atlanta area, but I have never seen any of this stuff up close. Looks like it would be really strong stuff.
Where did you get this material?
Is it something that you stain or just leave natural? How does it take stain?
Sorry to ask so many questions, this is just new to me and I was curious about what it was like to work with.
Thanks.
Really cool project.