A common device used in
70's-era
suburban interior design. It involves the use of
compressed wood pulp formed into
panels printed with a design made to resemble a
cross-cut from a single, large
board. The
intent is to lend a
cozy,
hardwood,
oak-paneled feel to one's
home at a minimum of cost. The actual effect is a cheesiness unmatched by any design standard of the
seventies, with the possible exception of the combinations of green and orange found in the
wallpaper,
curtains, and
linoleum of the day.
An interesting sidebar: In
television commercials and
print advertisements for
Calvin Klein Jeans aired and published during the mid-1990's, fake wood paneling was one of the characteristics cited that gave the impression the ads were intentionally reminiscent of
child pornography produced in the basements of suburban homes during the
1970's. The ads were discontinued due to numerous outspoken critics of the
campaign.