Wall Panel 21 Trim: matching six wood and plain finishes

A wood-toned panel is less forgiving about trim than a plain colour, because a mismatch shows as the wrong grain rather than just the wrong shade. The Wall Panel 21 Trim avoids that by being sold in six finishes, each one named for a specific board in the 21 series.

Six finishes, six panel codes

There is no interpretation needed here. The finish you want is the letter on the panel you bought:

Four of the six are wood tones and the gaps between them are narrow. Oak, white oak, dark oak and walnut will all look plausible next to each other in a photograph on a phone and quite different on a wall. If you have the panel code, use it. If the panels came from an earlier order and the code is lost, take a sample to the shop rather than ordering on the strength of a screen.

Length and quantity

Each length is listed at 2 x 1 x 240cm, with the 240cm the length and the 2cm and 1cm given without saying which is the visible face. A pack contains ten lengths, so twenty-four metres of trim, and that is enough that the quantity is rarely the thing you have to worry about. What to work out instead is how many full-height runs the wall needs, because a 240cm piece cut down is neater at every point than two pieces joined.

Measuring before the panels arrive

• Take the floor-to-ceiling height at each end of the wall and at the middle. Use the largest figure.
• Check whether the panelling will stop at the skirting or sit above it, as that changes the length you need from each piece.
• Note every opening. A window reveal typically wants trim on both sides, and the heads and sills are easy to overlook when counting.
• If a run exceeds 240cm, decide now where the join will sit rather than discovering it with a saw in your hand.

What the listing stops short of

The description names oak as complementing a modern interior and says the trim adapts to standard wall panel systems, but it does not give the fixing method, the material behind the finish, or a statement that the grain pattern is continuous from piece to piece. On a grained finish that last point is worth raising with the shop if a long run is going somewhere prominent.

Nearby finishes in the same series of trims

Other panel numbers have their own matched profile: the Wall Panel 63 Trim and the Wall Panel 81 Trim are both 240cm, and the bracket for PVC wall panels covers the fixings on the 81 and 82 boards. Everything is listed under Trims & Fittings, with the boards in Wall Panelling. Delivery is free within 50 miles of the Glasgow store, £50 beyond.

Find your panel letter, measure the tallest point of the wall, then order the Wall Panel 21 Trim in the matching finish.