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Fronts

Fronts · Veneer

Veneered fronts

Real wood on the front: natural veneer with a living grain, or designer ALPI veneer, where the pattern stays stable from sheet to sheet.

Natural veneer

The living grain of wood

Veneer is a thin slice of wood glued to a stable base. The front gets the real texture of wood without the limits of solid timber: it is lighter, more stable through changes in humidity, and allows for large smooth planes.

The grain depends on how the trunk was cut. A tangential cut gives a pronounced 'flame', a radial cut a straight stripe, a rift cut the strictest and narrowest pattern of the three. From there, the finish sets the character: lacquer or oil, the depth of the tint, and brushing for species with an open pore.

The grain of natural veneer never repeats — that is its character. We select sheets by the direction and intensity of the grain so that neighbouring fronts form a single composition, and we settle the layout before production begins.

What we decide before production

  • Sheet layout. Where the grain runs: continuously across the whole run, mirrored from the centre, or as a separate sheet on each front.
  • Grain direction. A vertical grain elongates tall cabinets; a horizontal grain ties a long run into a single line.
  • Finish tone. We confirm it against a sample finish on the same veneer: the same tint gives a different result on oak and on walnut.
  • Neighbouring materials. Next to cold stone, wood looks warmer; next to warm paint, calmer and more neutral.
Wood species
European and exotic — see the list below
Cut
tangential, radial, rift
Finish
lacquer, oil, tinting, brushing
Thickness
0.6 / 1.5 / 2.5 mm depending on the component
Kitchen with veneered fronts in a warm tone and dark wall cabinets
A warm wood tone next to dark surfaces
Kitchen with dark wood veneer and a stone splashback
Veneer in a dark palette with a stone splashback
A tall block of light oak veneered fronts with a wine-rack grille and built-in appliances
A tall block in light oak: wine storage and appliances within a single plane

Wood species

What we work with

We choose the species by grain and tone, not by name: the same wood cut differently gives a completely different front. The list holds what is actually available in Estonia and what we will take on.

Light and mid-tone species

European oak

European oak

radial, tangential, rift

The base species: from a strict straight stripe to a pronounced 'flame'. Smoked, brushed and rustic variants are available separately.

Ash

Ash

radial, tangential

Lighter than oak, with a larger and more restless grain. There is a light selection for cool interiors.

Birch

Birch

radial, rotary

An even, light surface; a rotary cut gives a wide, calm sheet.

American maple

American maple

radial

An almost white tone with minimal grain — the most neutral surface of all.

Beech

Beech

radial, tangential

An even warm tone with a dense, fine texture.

Elm

Elm

tangential

Pronounced waves and shimmer — it works as an accent.

American cherry

American cherry

radial, tangential

A warm reddish tone that darkens over time.

Pine

Pine

tangential, rotary

A resinous grain with contrasting rings; more often used for interior surfaces.

Spruce

Spruce

tangential

Light, with even narrow rings.

Dark and exotic species

American walnut

American walnut

radial, tangential

Dark brown with a chocolate undertone — the most sought-after species in this group.

Sapele

Sapele

radial

A reddish shade with a ribbon shimmer; a smoked variant is available.

Anegre

Anegre

radial

A light honey tone with a soft silky sheen.

Teak

Teak

tangential

Golden brown with a calm grain.

Lacewood

Lacewood

radial

A speckled 'lace' pattern, rare and graphic.

Exotic species arrive in limited batches: we confirm the availability of a specific sheet before quoting.

Ready-veneered panels

When you need an exact, repeatable tone

Besides veneering with our own sheet, there are factory-veneered panels with a finish already applied: the tone and the grain are set by the manufacturer, so the kitchen, the wardrobe and the wall panels in different rooms will match one another.

Ready panels come with smooth, brushed, and boldly textured surface structures.

Decors: 36

Wall kitchen cabinets in designer veneer with a graphic moiré pattern
A graphic cut: the grain reads as a pattern, not as a plank of wood
Kitchen island with walnut veneer fronts and a calm linear grain
A calm walnut stripe — one tone across the island and the tall cabinets
Lower kitchen fronts in veneer with a burl grain
Burl grain: a dense swirl across the whole run of lower cabinets

Designer veneer

ALPI: wood with a predictable grain

ALPI is reconstructed veneer: natural wood is dyed, glued into a block and sliced again. The result is real wood whose grain and tone repeat on every sheet.

This veneer is chosen when predictability matters: a large project looks the same on every surface, and the palette isn't limited to natural tones — from familiar oak to graphite and coloured cuts.

When this solves the problem

  • Kitchen plus furniture in other rooms. One decor repeats across the wardrobe, wall panels and doors without matching sheets.
  • A long front with no visible joins in the grain. Neighbouring fronts don't clash with one another, even when there are fifteen of them in a row.
  • Colour that nature doesn't have. Graphite, smoke, bleached and coloured cuts — while the surface stays wood.
  • Adding to it later. The same decor can be ordered a year later: the grain and tone are set by the manufacturer, not by the sheet batch.
What it is
reconstructed veneer — real wood
Pattern
stable and repeatable across every front in the project
Palette
from natural tones to decors that don't exist in nature
Raw material
fast-growing wood, certified plantations

Source: ALPI

ALPI decors

Decor catalogue

The filter at the top splits the decors by lead time: 'In stock' is ready to ship right away, 'On order' we bring in for the project. We confirm timing at the quoting stage.

Decors: 160

In stock

Decors: 28

On order

Decors: 132

Execution

Usage scenarios

Veneer doesn't work on the door alone: it combines with milling and extends beyond the carcass — onto slats, wall panels and open shelves. Milling options are shown in a separate section.

Smooth front

The cleanest possible surface, where the wood grain does the work on its own. Opening — a Gola profile, an end-edge handle, or push-to-open.

Handle milled into the edge

The grip is formed into the front's edge — the line stays unbroken, no surface-mounted handles are needed.

Veneer inlays in painted MDF

The milled lines of a painted front are filled with veneer — colour and wood combined on a single plane.

Decorative slats

We make the slats in veneer too: pitch, width and depth are set for the project. They cover a wall, the end of an island or the transition between zones — in the same decor as the fronts, so the kitchen and the wall read as a single plane.

View milled fronts