Wall Panel 80D Dark Oak: judging a dark finish before you buy

Of the four finishes in the fluted 80 profile, the dark oak is the one most likely to arrive looking different from what someone pictured. That is not a criticism of the panel. It is what dark wood effects do under different light. The photographs are on the Wall Panel 80D dark oak pack page, and they are the whole of the colour information that exists.

Quote the code, not the web address

Start with a housekeeping point that will save a crossed wire. The address of this page reads as dark brown; the panel itself is listed as 80D Dark Oak. The two do not agree, and the name is the one to go by. If you telephone or email about it, say 80D and the words dark oak. We will know exactly which of the four you mean, and nobody picks the wrong box off the shelf.

Why a dark panel is harder to judge

A pale panel shows you its colour in almost any light. A dark one shows you the light instead: a reflection off a window, the colour of a lamp, how much of the grain the camera caught. The listing gives you a name and a set of photographs. It does not state a gloss level, does not describe the grain, and does not reference any colour standard. So if you are matching a dark oak floor, a walnut table or an existing dark door, the honest answer is that this page cannot settle it for you.

Two things you can do about that. Ask us to look at the panel against whatever you are matching and tell you what we see, in words rather than adjectives from the listing. And if the match has to be exact, take the decision in person rather than on screen, because the catalogue does not list an offcut or sample of the panels.

How far one pack goes

The listed figures, with the qualifier the listing itself attaches to two of them:

• Panel size, when fitted and interlocked: 15 x 240 x 1.5cm
• Twelve pieces in a pack
• Coverage, when fitted and interlocked: 4.32m²
• Which works out at 1.8m of wall width, floor to 240cm

Because the 15cm is the covered width rather than the loose board, the arithmetic is clean. A 1.5m run behind a bed is one pack. A 5.4m open-plan wall is three packs with nothing to spare, so make it four if there is a corner to return or a socket to cut round. The dimension order is not labelled on the listing, so confirm with us which of the three figures is the face width before anything is cut.

The rest of the profile, and the dark oaks elsewhere

In this profile the companions are Wall Panel 80A in oak, the light grey 80B, and the mid grey. If you want a dark oak without a fluted face, Wall Panel 62D and Wall Panel 05B in dark oak are both PVC boards in the same range, and neither listing mentions grooves or flutes — though neither spells out its face profile either, so ask if that is what you are choosing on. None of them is listed as a colour match for this one, so pick one code and stay with it across a room.

Three things the listing does not say, all worth asking before you order a dark wall: how the panel is fixed, whether anything finishes the edges in this profile, and what its fire classification is. Nothing in the catalogue carries an 80 trim, and Adhesive for Wall Panels is a separate listing rather than a recommendation on this page. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond.

Look at the Wall Panel 80D listing in daylight if you can, tell us the room and what the panel sits next to, and we will tell you honestly whether the tone is going to work. The rest of the finishes are in Slat & Acoustic Panels.