Hand-crafted to emulate the look of solid timber, Prime Toitū Veneer was introduced to the market last year. The Toitū veneer panels use mismatched veneer leaves in a planked effect, offering architects, designers and specifiers an interesting alternative to the classic crown or quarter-cut panels. The mismatched leaves provide considerable variation in colour and grain which works especially well for wall panels or large-scale cabinetry where a focus on authenticity and sustainability is desired.

The Prime Toitū Veneer range consists of six New Zealand-native timbers, along with American White Oak, Macrocarpa and American Walnut.

Traditional veneer is already a much more sustainable and affordable option than solid timber, yielding 20 times more surface area with leaves around 0.6mm thick. Prime Toitū Veneer adds a whole new level of efficiency and sustainability by using even more of the tree.

At the same time, the construction reflects the nature of the whole tree, with all its complex colours and textures and natural imperfections. It means every project is unique — a mismatch of different leaves in different colours and widths, but all from the same species.

Prime Panels' 'standard' natural veneer range is still available for those who want a more uniform, matched look — for smaller projects, such as kitchen or bathroom cabinetry. But for wall or ceiling panelling on larger projects, such as commercial interiors, foyers, receptions, restaurants, etc, Toitū offers a fresh and more natural look where the whole tree, with its full range of colours and grains, can be celebrated.

The panels are also from certifiably sustainable sources, backed with the added advantage of the company’s exclusive Track my Tree initiative for NZ Native species — a code can be used on the Prime Panels website to identify exactly where each tree came from via Google Maps, view the logging permit and tree source i.e. windblown or plantation grown.

All of the different varieties in Toitū veneer carry Environmental Choice NZ accreditation and come in panels sizes up to 2750mm x 1220mm depending on the MDF or plywood substrate chosen.

A recent fit-out of the One NZ store used Toitū Mixed Rimu extensively for the wall and ceiling panels and for the furniture. The mixed Rimu leaf selection using pale, coloured and heart Rimu highlights the beautiful variances that occur throughout the native tree. To find out more about the exact origin of the Rimu used for One NZ, enter the code RDG1005RM on Prime Panels’ Track my Tree page.