For a special design language: natural-look laminates for any interior

For planners and interior designers, freedom of design is often the decisive factor in whether a project can be realised exactly as planned. When it comes to materials, the ideal scenario is when the choice is not bound by strict limits. Some materials can offer answers to a multitude of requirements all at the same time, and for the designer, it is often the case that they only hit upon the right idea once they have looked at a manufacturer's product range.

Landing upon certain colour, a particular decor or the special haptic properties of a material can then lead to the inspiration needed to optimally furnish a room in a function-oriented way or to an aesthetic rethink. As far as surfaces are concerned, those that are particularly subject to increased wear and tear, for example, laminates, have long proven their value.

Whether in the realm of shop fitting, exhibition-stand construction, hotels, schools, kindergartens or hospitals – wherever tabletops, sideboards, counters, cabinets or doors are touched and used particularly frequently and by many different people, the use of laminates is recommended. German manufacturer Egger is a true specialist in this field, and has long been a familiar name to planners and interior designers. 

Egger has been producing laminates for 30 years and has established itself as a leading manufacturer in the sector in Europe, with cutting-edge equipment and high levels of innovation and quality awareness. Egger has been operating its own laminate production facility in Gifhorn, Germany, since 1992. Every day, around 180,000 sqms of laminate leave the factory to be used on various projects in a variety of industries, from architecture and furniture to carpentry, joinery and doors. 

Laminates can do much more than just create resistant surfaces. Take, for example, the aspect of increased hygiene requirements in hospitals, surgeries, public facilities as well as in gastronomy. With their antibacterial surface properties and resistance to many cleaning agents and chemicals, laminates from Egger represent a wise specification choice in the healthcare sector, as well as for the fit-out of laboratories. 

And when we think of furniture and doors in schools and kindergartens, it also becomes immediately clear that abrasion, impact and scratch resistance are particularly necessary properties if surfaces are intended to last over a long period of time. The material also proves its worth in the interior fittings of cruise ships and yachts, for which Marine Equipment Directive-certified laminates are available. Such laminates are not limited to use in ship interiors, however, but also on train projects and caravan construction.

Its flame-retardant ‘Flammex’ has an increased fire resistance and is often implemented in high footfall locations such as public buildings and hotels, as well as for trade-fair and shop construction, where its decorative surfaces can be used on walls and ceilings, for example.

In terms of the equally important factor of the look and feel of the laminate, Egger offers interior designers and planners a wide range of natural-looking surfaces, for example, with its Feelwood synchronous pore surfaces, where the structure follows the grain of the decorative pattern. These wood reproductions can barely be distinguished from their solid wood veneer counterparts. 

The possibility of being able to re-shape laminates is particularly advantageous in shop, hotel and trade-fair construction. In this way, reception counters, partition elements or curved furniture can be realised in a wide variety of shapes and, for example, also in a marble or stone look. In addition, matching edge bands as well as some coated panels are available for all laminate decors in order to implement holistic room concepts in an uncomplicated and economical way. 

Egger also provides solutions for designs that opt for matt finishes. Its PerfectSense Topmatt laminates are characterised by a velvety-warm lacquer surface on which virtually no fingerprints remain, giving table tops, worktops and furniture fronts a particularly pleasant finish. For high-gloss finishes, ‘PerfectSense Premium Gloss’ laminates are available with a special depth effect and brilliance. Both types are also available with a coloured core in selected variants. 

With Egger, robustness and aesthetics can be brought into harmony in a variety of ways, offering planners and interior designers a seemingly endless array of practical and aesthetic design choices – and what's more, ones that last.

© Architonic

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