Natural veneer is wood sliced from the log of a tree. Each piece of veneer features an authentic pattern which reflects the species of tree it came from and environment where it has grown.
Unlike engineered or dyed veneer, natural veneer is not altered or enhanced during production.
Natural veneer - also known as real wood veneer - has environmental advantages over solid wood. Because a single log is sliced into many sheets of veneer, it requires significantly less logs to produce an end product than using solid wood.
We supply more than 200 varieties of natural veneer, ranging from everyday species like walnut, oak and ash, to rare exotic species such as pearl moon ebony, ziricote and figured sycamore.
View our range of available woods
There are many uses for veneer, from furniture making - for example, dining room tables or bedroom cabinets - to making doors, wall paneling and wood flooring.
Real wood veneer is often used to give a premium finish in receptions, conference rooms and hotels. It also has some more exotic uses, such in the building of yachts and aircraft.
The image shows a set of coffee tables produced from end sawn veneer.
See more in our image gallery
The logs chosen for natural veneer production are carefully selected to ensure they are the highest quality. The quality is important because the features of the wood will be visible in the finished product.
Freshly cut logs are cooked to make them supple, then are split and sliced into individual sheets of veneer. These sheets are dried, guillotined to size and sorted for their intended purposes.
Learn more in our video guide to making veneer.
Species of veneer are available in various cuts including crown, quarter, rotary and rift cut.
Read our guide to the different types of veneer cuts.
Natural veneer is wood sliced from the log of a tree. The manufacturing process is designed so as not to alter or enhance the features of the wood and as such there will be some natural variation between different sheets of veneer.
On the other hand, engineered veneer is a re-manufactured product. Veneer is processed to achieve a pre-designed, consistent look in the finished product.
Find out more in our guide.
It's thought that the first use of veneer was by the Ancient Egyptians, around 5000 years ago. Find out more in our guide to the history of veneer.
