In the realm of natural beauty and unparalleled elegance, wood and veneer stand out as materials of choice for adding warmth, character, and luxury to any space. However, it’s important to acknowledge the inherent qualities that make each piece unique. This page serves as a gentle reminder of the natural properties of wood and veneer—properties that contribute to their distinctiveness but also require a specific understanding and care. From variations in colour, grain, and texture to the special attention needed to maintain their beauty, we’ll dive into what makes these materials both exquisite and uniquely challenging. Let’s celebrate the natural imperfections that make wood not just elements of our decor, but storytellers of the natural world.
The characteristics of the wood and veneer used to build our Doors and Shutters may vary slightly from the wood and veneer used in any samples or product photography due to the inherent characteristics of the material.
Wood and veneer are natural materials. There will be variation, including knots, texture and grain variations. We cannot control or guarantee the exact look of any door or shutter. All of our doors and shutters are completely handcrafted, and we make no representation or guarantee that any product will appear exactly as any another. We produce our products to represent the marketing photos as best as possible.
Wood is a natural product that responds to temperature and humidity variations by expanding and contracting. Sometimes these changes may be noticeable in the physical appearance of the product.
Although every care is taken to ensure our products are able to handle temperature and humidity changes, the conditions of your home can affect the wooden products you buy from us. Your items can experience small movements and cracks as it adjusts – this is not a fault, but a natural occurrence within the fibers of a natural product. These cracks are known as “Checks” in the timber industry. These checks are not faults or defects but the characteristic of solid wood as an entity, wood tends to dry over the period of time but this phenomena does not hamper the life of the door or shutter.
We advise you to keep the product in consistent, stable conditions to minimize the effects of temperature and moisture change in the atmosphere. For example, avoiding placing the product close to a heat sources such as a radiator or heaters will go a long way to ensuring the longevity of the product.
Any modifications or alterations made to the products post purchase are not recommended and will void the product warranty.
Our doors and shutters are Handmade from beautiful Kiln Dried (perfectly seasoned for optimum moisture content) European Birch Wood, African Teak Wood and Birch and Teak veneer. Our signature Five-piece Doors are constructed in a traditional way by adding stiles and rails to create the profile, allowing for expansion of the product due to climate variations throughout the year. The center panels (raised or flat) are engineered veneer panels. Therefore join lines are an essential standard with a variable acceptance for said join lines. Makemydoors does not consider an open joint line a defect or a quality issue.
Our products are pre-finished, there is not requirement of any additional finishing with oil, varnish etc. We use specialized additives to their stain/polish finishes to ensure longevity however all finishes are vulnerable to slight discoloration due to airborne particles such as cooking, grilling, smoke, fireplaces, candles and more. Prolonged exposure to natural or artificial light and/or moisture may alter the finish colour as well. Natural Timber has also been known to oxidize over time under the stained finish causing a slight mellowing effect.
Touch up or replacement items completed after installation may not result in an exact match due to discoloration.
While our products are constructed with brand new materials, our doors and shutters receive a delicate “staining” which is our way of mimicking the natural wear and aging by highlighting the effects of character that occurs with traditional timber joinery.
Although we have a system to ensure “staining” is relatively uniform, it is important to understand that no single piece can be exactly duplicated by this inherently beautiful craft, the process of staining every piece is truly unique. There will be slight variations between pieces which is inherent in the process and is the beauty of the art of staining; that has been performed for thousands of years, both naturally & handmade.
Grain patterns can vary from a light grain to an irregular or “curly” grain. These variations are very attractive, occur naturally, and are considered a desired effect. It is important to understand the timber used to create your completed joinery project may have a different appearance to those of a small sample or a different project. This is part of what makes your choice in Makemydoors; truly a unique and natural product, especially when you choose a stained finish that highly exhibits the natural grain in the timber.
Makemydoors offers the option to customize the color of doors and shutters in your desired Solid colour. It needs to be noted that samples and final projects alike will be manufactured as close to the requested/ approved finish as possible.
Requested Solid formulated colour samples can appear slightly different to that of a Paint Manufacturers swatch sample, being our base material is timber and theirs is paper together with the different gloss levels.
Cleaning your doors and shutters
To clean your doors and shutters, we recommend wiping first with a slightly damp cloth to clean any minor stains and dust and then use a dry cloth immediately after to fully dry the product.