Wall Panel 15F Dark Grey: choosing between the grey slat panels

There are several greys in this range and they are not interchangeable. The Wall Panel 15F in dark grey is the deeper of the two greys on this slat profile, with 3.5cm slats separated by 1.5cm gaps and a felt backing behind them. This post is about picking the right one and ordering the right number.

Which grey, and why it matters

On this profile the listings offer a light grey and this dark grey; move to the wider-slat 17 profile and a grey oak is listed as well. The choice is less about taste than about what else is in the room:

• Dark grey reads as a feature. It wants a pale floor or pale woodwork opposite it, and it is the stronger choice on a chimney breast that is meant to be noticed.
• Light grey reads as a texture rather than a colour, and is the safer option when the panelled wall runs the length of a room.
• Either way, the gaps throw a shadow line that makes any grey look a shade deeper on the wall than it does in a photograph.

What the listing will not settle about the shade

The description says dark grey and leaves it there. There is no shade name, no reference code, and nothing on whether it is a cool grey or one with a brown note in it, which is exactly the difference that decides whether it works beside an existing sofa or fights with it. We would rather you asked than guessed: bring a cushion or a paint card in, or ask us to compare a panel against a photograph of the room.

The numbers, and the repeat they make

The listing gives the panel as 60 x 240 x 1.5cm, four pieces to a pack, covering 5.76m², built as HDF slats on a felt backing, code AWS-WP026. A 3.5cm slat beside a 1.5cm gap repeats every 5cm, so a 60cm face carries twelve of them. That arithmetic is ours from the listed figures; the listing does not say which element lands at the panel edge, so where two panels meet, the joint may or may not read as a wider gap. If that matters on your wall, ask us to look at a panel before you order.

Getting the quantity right on a wall that is not square

Rooms are rarely true, and a 240cm panel is unforgiving about it. Measure like this:

1. Measure the wall width at the skirting, at head height and at the ceiling. Order to the widest of the three.
2. Measure the floor-to-ceiling height in at least three places across the wall. If any of them is over 240cm, this panel will not reach and you want a taller one.
3. Divide the widest width by 60cm and round up for the panel count, then divide by four and round up again for the packs.
4. Add one panel if the last one lands as a narrow strip, because a cut through a single slat is the hardest cut to make look deliberate.

Finishing the edges

The named finishing piece is the Wall Panel PVC Trim Acoustic, sold separately, and it is what closes the top edge and any exposed end. Nothing in the listing describes how the slats finish at a cut edge or around an external corner, so settle that with us at the order stage rather than on the day. No fixing method is stated either; tell us whether you are going onto plaster, plasterboard or batten and we will tell you what the wall needs.

The alternatives worth comparing

Same profile, lighter: Wall Panel 15B in light grey. Same profile, darker still: 15E in black. Dark grey on the wide-slat profile: Wall Panel 17C, whose own listing carries its slat and gap figures. And for another dark grey in the range, Wall Panel 01C on the 01 acoustic profile. The greys sit side by side in Slat & Acoustic Panels, which is the easiest way to see them together.

The listing claims the felt backing absorbs sound and reduces noise transmission. It publishes no absorption figure, no acoustic class and no test standard, so treat that as a description of a softer wall and not as a specification. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond. Full details and the photographs are on the Wall Panel 15F dark grey page.