Wall Panel 17E Black: planning a black slat wall behind a TV

Behind a television is one of the few places a black wall reliably works. The screen stops being a dark rectangle hung on a pale wall and becomes part of the surface instead. Wall Panel 17E in black is the wide-slat version of that idea, and almost every practical question about it concerns the things that have to pass through the wall.

What changes when the wall goes black

Two things. Reflections from a window opposite become obvious on the wall as well as on the screen, so watch where the daylight lands at the times of day you actually use the room. And dust shows on a dark surface: if the slats are run horizontally the top edge of each one is a narrow ledge, and the listing does not state which way they are meant to run, so check the photographs. Neither is a reason to avoid it. Both are easier to accept if you knew before the panels arrived.

Brackets, sockets and where a slat gets cut

Set the wall out on paper first. Mark the centre of the screen, the bracket fixing positions, the sockets and aerial points, and the cable route. A slim cable will sit in a 1cm gap, but nothing on the listing says there is usable space behind the felt backing, so do not plan on running cables out of sight behind the panel until the shop confirms it. A bracket is a separate matter: it needs to reach something solid behind the panelling rather than the panel itself, and this listing states no panel weight and no load figure, so plan the bracket into the wall or a batten. Then place the joints between panels so they do not fall in the middle of the screen's width, where a cut slat sits in plain view. A joint behind a unit or close to a corner disappears.

What is in a pack

Four panels at 60cm each cover a 2.4 metre width at the listed 240cm height. A chimney breast is usually narrower than that, a full media wall usually wider, so measure and round the pack count up. At a listed 1.5cm the panel is thin, but it still has to clear a skirting, an architrave and a socket faceplate, so check those three before the first panel goes up.

The sound wording, and what is not in it

The description says the panels are HDF slats with a felt backing that absorb sound and reduce noise transmission. For a room with a soundbar in it, the useful part of that is the absorption: a slatted, soft-backed wall takes some of the hardness out of a room with a bare floor and a lot of glass. What is not published is any figure at all, no coefficient, no NRC and nothing by frequency, and absorbing sound in a room is a different matter from stopping it reaching the next room. If the wall is for a studio or an office where a number is needed, ask the shop for the manufacturer's test data.

Edges, and the nearest alternatives

The trim named on the listing is Wall Panel PVC Trim Acoustic, which finishes the cut edge where panelling stops; it is ordered separately from panel trims and fittings, along with the panel adhesive. If the wide slat is bolder than you want in black, Wall Panel 15E is black on a different profile, and Wall Panel 17C in dark grey is the same profile a step short of black.

The measurements, the photographs and the delivery options sit on the Wall Panel 17E black page, and the rest of the group is in slat and acoustic panels. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond.