Feels good: natural haptic lacquer panels from Egger

Handling things with care, applying one's strength correctly, having sensitivity and empathy - all this is understood by the famous idea of having a certain ‘feel‘, which is so important in design and architecture in particular. As this metaphorical quality refers to the physical sense of touch, haptics comes into play, which is playing an increasingly critical role in design. The reason for this is very simple: through touch, visual perception is directly transformed into a feeling.

Surfaces have long since freed themselves from the two-dimensionality that gave them little say in spatial terms. Through the texture of their surface structure, they bring themselves back into play. Through the tactile experience, new messages reach the subconscious, inviting us to perceive the space as a whole in a new and, above all, more intense way.

The german company Egger lets you literally feel nature right down to your fingertips with its new PerfectSense Feelwood lacquered board range, which opens up new design possibilities in furniture and interior design with its velvety-warm and matt-textured surfaces. This "Assortment for the senses" includes six exclusive décor novelties, including five new wood reproductions, as well as the trend colour black.

The fact that not all boards are the same becomes clear at the latest when you see the know-how behind it. Egger's clear goal with PerfectSense Feelwood was to harmonise the look and feel in a particularly innovative way. It did everything in its power to be the first wood-based material manufacturer to combine a matt lacquer surface with Feelwood structures that are synchronously matched to the respective overall décor. "Our innovation does justice to the trend of matt, oiled real wood surfaces and shows a naturalness never before achieved on a sustainable wood-based material substrate. You can see it, but above all, you can feel it", says Klaus Monhoff, Head of Décor and Design Management.

Naturalness is always associated with special value. That's why Egger's top priority in the development process was to create an extremely natural look. Thus, the choice of woods was particularly selective and focused on those that already possess a high degree of naturalness. The Cuneo Oak is responsible for the sapwood content, the mirror effect is due to the Garrone Oak, while the Halifax Oak stands out due to small cracks and the Riffian Oak is characterised by a natural planking. It is precisely the low gloss level of the wood reproductions that is the icing on the cake: it better emphasises the clearly greater depth effect and natural play of colour.

Appearance, however, is far from everything. The new lacquered boards "shine" with practical features such as an anti-fingerprint surface, which proves to be a great advantage especially with dark colour variants. For surfaces that are often exposed to moisture and heat, such as in kitchens and bathrooms, the matt lacquer finish impresses with its resistance. The matt PerfectSense lacquer finish gives the synchronous pore surfaces TM28 Feelwood Nature Matt and TM37 Feelwood Rift Matt boards their authentic real wood look. As a result, the special surface defines the entire appearance of PerfectSense Feelwood.

This naturalness is, of course, far more than just lip service. Based on a formaldehyde-reduced, melamine resin-coated Eurodekor E1E05 TSCA P2 CE board, the chipboard used consists of 89 per cent renewable resources and 70 per cent recycled material or by-products from the sawmill industry.

The efforts to develop this product have already paid off. Both the jury of the Red Dot Award in the category Product Design 2021, which awarded PerfectSense Feelwood for its high design quality and robust product properties and that of the German Innovation Award, which was impressed by the qualities of the lacquered boards, bestowed the coveted awards on Egger.

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