Valchromat is an environmentally friendly wood fibre board which is made from recycled wood

We wanted to introduce you to some of our favourite materials. There are some amazing and innovative products out there. Things that push the boundaries in terms of sustainability, their method of production, their raw materials, or maybe they are just beautiful to look at. The first material we’d like to introduce you to? Valchromat.

What is Valchromat?

Valchromat is an environmentally friendly wood fibre board which is made from recycled wood from softwood forests that would otherwise be hard to use - like small branches and wood chips. It is ‘mass coloured’ with organic dyes - which means all the wood fibres are impregnated with colour, so you get vibrant colour throughout the whole material, not just on its surface. As well as the dyes being organic, they are also non-toxic.

As wood has natural variations in tone, the way each fibre absorbs the dye varies too - so Valchromat has a very natural appearance from all the subtle variations in the wood fibres on the surface and throughout the boards.

All of the fibres are bonded with a specially developed organic non-toxic resin. Not only does the resin give Valchromat unique physical and mechanical characteristics, it also makes it safe enough to be used for children’s toys.

You may have noticed that Valchromat has similarities to MDF, and you’d be absolutely right. It’s described as an evolution of MDF, for a number of reasons.

It has a higher density than traditional MDF
It has a higher mechanical strength
It allows working in three dimensions, as it has a consistent appearance throughout
It has a greater resistance to bending
It’s moisture resistant - so suitable for environments like kitchens that are subject to humidity.

The wood fibres give a characterful and natural feel to these cabinet doors in our Station Road project

Why do we love Valchromat?

It looks great.

We love using it to inject bursts of colour and personality into a project (like our Station Road kitchen). The wood fibres give it a really characterful, natural appearance, and because the dyes used are organic, the colours have a lovely warm and rich tone.

It’s environmentally friendly.

The wood used to produce Valchromat is FSC certified, the dyes and resin are organic and non-toxic, and the production aims to eliminate any environmental impact. Even the waste and bark resulting from the process is re-used to fuel the steam boiler.

It’s really strong.

We can confidently use Valchromat in lots of applications, knowing that it doesn’t just look good - it’s super strong and dense too.

What can you do with it?

Valchromat is a really versatile product - there’s so much that could be done. We love using it to make kitchen doors - a really simple way to inject some colour into a space. You could combine a number of colours together for a really playful but coherent space, or use it alongside plywood or another veneered wood for a more natural feel.

It can be fun to use it as a way of brightening up the inside of a drawer or cabinet - maybe some turmeric yellow drawer dividers, or a colourful spice rack for your pantry?

If you have any ideas for things you’d like to do with Valchromat - get in touch! We’d love to discuss your project with you.

What is Valchromat? An evolution of MDF