Where laminate belongs

A kitchen in Bengaluru sees oil, turmeric, steam and a cloth that is not always dry. A wardrobe sees fingers, hangers and the odd splash from a bathroom that shares the passage. Those are different jobs. A single finish on every shutter is simpler to photograph than it is to live with.

Laminate belongs where you wipe. The hob run, the sink shutters, the inside of a wet-side drawer, a child’s study if it will take colour. It is chosen because a mark can come off without a ritual. That is not a consolation prize.

Veneer where the grain is the point

Veneer belongs where you want the wood, and where the surface is not a chopping board. A wardrobe face in a dry bedroom, a TV unit away from the kitchen steam, a door you see from the sofa. It needs a better edge, more care at the corners, and a household that will not scour it.

Mixing the two in one room is ordinary, not a compromise. Laminate on the working stretch, veneer where a hand rests and oil does not. The drawing should name which is which, so you are not surprised on fitting day.

The board under the face

The finish is only the skin. Near water, the board has to tolerate moisture. In a dry wardrobe, a stable core that stays flat and holds a screw usually matters more than a waterproof label. A stamp on the sheet is not a kitchen plan.

Ask to see the edge as well as the face. An edge band that is thin, poorly glued or cut short is where water and heat get in. That failure does not show on a mood board.

What to bring to a visit

If you already like a colour, bring a photograph of the room in daylight, not only the sample. Laminate that looked warm in a shop can go grey next to a north window. Veneer changes through the day. The visit is for that, and for saying which shutters will see a wet cloth.