Rustic Wood Paneling for Restaurant Interior Design

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    Figured Maple Wall Paneling at Ramen Song Restaurant
    Welcome to Ramen Song

    Interior Wall Paneling | Rustic Wood

    wain·scot
    /ˈwānˌskōt,ˈwānskət,ˈwānˌskät/
    noun
    1. an area of wooden paneling on the lower part of the walls of a room.
       
    verb
    1. line (a room or wall) with wooden paneling.
      “the interior was to be wainscotted to a height of 4 feet”
       
     
    In Summer of 2019, we worked on another project with Carey Nordstrand. However, instead of supplying instrument tonewood or flooring,  we manufactured interior wall paneling for Carey’s new restaurant in downtown Redlands, California, Ramen Song.  

     

    For this wood wall paneling, we used lightly rustic long length figured Big Leaf Maple planks.  These rustic wall panels resembled more of a clean studio look than the barn wood wall paneling. Barn wall paneling is popular, as well. However, the restaurant has an Asian theme.

    Ramen Song’s Figured Maple Rustic Wood Wall Paneling

    While this isn’t technically a Nordstrand Audio project, Carey is a partner in Ramen Song restaurant. Thus, I was flattered when he asked if we could design a wall paneling together.
     
    His restaurant features Ramen and vegan dishes. Ramen is a Japanese food that roughly translates to pulled noodles. 
     
    Carey had several requirements for the wood wall panel system:
     
    1. Wood panels are manufactured in multiple wide face widths.
    2. Interior paneling plank lengths are long. 
    3. Paneling to be made from a bright color wood specie. 
    4. Rustic grade or natural character-marked wood is preferable to clear.
    5. The panels to blend in with the restaurant’s Japanese theme.
    6. Ideally, the wood specie should tie in with Carey’s luthiery work. Possibly, even a tonewood.
    7. The woodwork on the walls should be inexpensive. As in, marginally more than the peel and stick wall paneling sold at Home Depot. In fairness, the restaurant was mostly complete by the time the wood paneling idea came up. Accordingly, most of the restaurant’s interior design budget was already allocated to other areas.

    Basically, he requested a wall panel system with all the characteristics of expensive wood except the price tag.

    Figured Maple Wall Paneling at Ramen Song Restaurant

    Custom Milled Figured Maple Wall Paneling: Our Solution

    Carey came out to the yard in Fontana to check out some wood options. He looked at 1/2″ and 3/8″ Rift & Quartered White Oak long length solid strip flooring. However, he wanted something wider, perhaps as wide as a 6″ face.  Additionally, the weight and density of the white oak presented potential installation issues. We ruled out quartersawn maple tongue and groove flooring for the same reason.

    While very trendy, reclaimed wood planks were far too expensive.

    Just before leaving the yard, Carey said, “A wood like curly maple would be cool. Is that even possible?” With that, I instantly recalled our large stash of Western Curly Maple instrument outs.

    These are boards that we grade out of instrument wood. Usually they are culled out due to light figure, inconsistent figure or some other anomaly that disqualifies it for tonewood use. Accordingly, they sell at a substantial discount to on-grade instrument wood. Also, those same erratic grain patterns and character marks reinforce the rustic appearance that Carey requested.

    Figured Maple Wall Paneling at Ramen Song Restaurant

    Custom Wood Wainscoting Profile

    Using the instrument wood outs allowed us to make a unique and exotic custom wood wainscoting at a reasonable price-point. 

    However, we also designed a modified custom wall wainscoting profile for three reasons:

    1. Using a slimmed down 3/8″ thickness panel instead of 1/2″ or 3/4″ allowed us to re-saw two panels from each 4/4 maple board. This milling modification  reduced Cary’s material cost.
    2. The wood wainscoting installation was flush up against the wall and purely decorative. Thus, any extra thickness would serve no purpose visually or structurally.
    3. The thinner panel profile was a better use of our limited resource. That makes sense financially and environmentally.

    Rustic Wood Wall Paneling from Home Depot or Lowes

    Out of curiosity, I searched online to see what Home Depot or Lowes charges for rustic wall paneling. 

    We made a custom long length wood panel (or wainscot) out of solid exotic wood for a tight budget.  However, many designers do not have direct access to a manufacturer. 

    Home Depot’s Wood Wall Paneling

    Although Home Depot had no figured maple wainscot, I found a somewhat comparable product here. 

    Enkor Barnwood Collection 3/8 in. X 6 in. x 64 in. Mountain Music Engineered Wood Interior Accent Wall Panel (8-Box)

    Enkor’s Barnwood Collection looks nice online but it is not actual wood. These panels are digitally printed panels featuring a picture of reclaimed wood, rather than actual wood. 

    Home Depot’s prices are usually pretty competitive for a retailer. However, even this faux wood product costs $159.99/box of 20 square feet. That calculates to $7.95/square foot. 

    We made our custom rustic wood wall paneling using solid long length figured maple. Additionally,  our jobsite delivered price was  substantially less per square foot than Home Depot Enkor product. By substantially, I’m talking dollars, not dimes.

    Who Makes Wood Wall Paneling?

    Of course, we make wood wainscot but who else makes it?

    The company that has the largest online presence may be Elmwood Reclaimed Timber out of Missouri.

    Elmwood appears to use only solid wood in their wall panel manufacturing. Also, they show millwork being done on their website so I assume, like us, they do their machining in house. 

    According to their own website, Elmwood wood paneling starts at $8/sqft and goes up from there. 

    If I had $8/sqft to spend on wood paneling for walls or ceilings, I would definitely go with Elmwood’s entry level product instead of Home Depot’s Enkor wainscot. That is without even knowing what Elmwood’s entry level rustic wood panel is! Of course, I’m a wood guy. Both products look great but it’s an apples to orange comparison.

    However, our figured maple rustic wood wainscot is substantially less expensive than both the Enkor and Elmood offerings. Additionally, most manufacturers consider solid figured maple a premium option  or upgrade. Thus, I suspect Elmwood would charge in excess of $8/sqft to make a similar panel.

    Go to Ramen Song Restaurant

    While Ramen Song’s decorative wood panels may be a draw for me, most people go for the excellent Japanese-inspired cuisine. Also, I hear they have an awesome Happy Hour drink menu. 

    Go there for lunch or dinner and at least humor me by checking out our interior woodwork as you’re seated.

    Also, it’s in downtown Redlands. Can there be a cooler place to walk around, especially on market night?