Reihax product

Flow

Name: Flow: an intarsia wall piece
Brand: Reihax

Flow is a wall piece in intarsia: light and dark bands of four woods that run across the surface like water or layers of rock. No paint, no print. Every line is a joint between two pieces of veneer, and each panel is sold only once.

The wall pieces Flow No. 1 and Flow No. 2 side by side: wave-shaped light and dark bands of wood — Flow No. 1 (left, framed) and Flow No. 2 (right, with an inlaid border): the same motif, two pieces of their own.

What Flow is

Flow is a square wall piece of 40 × 40 cm (about 16 × 16 in) in intarsia. Its surface is made of pieces of veneer in four woods, cut, fitted edge to edge and pressed onto a substrate. What looks like a drawing is the meeting of two woods: every line in the picture is a joint.

Flow exists as two pieces, No. 1 and No. 2. Both follow the same motif, and both are laid from the same four woods. They differ in the course of the lines, in the figure of each single band and in the edging: No. 1 hangs in a dark frame, No. 2 has an inlaid border. Each panel is sold only once.

The motif: movement made of wood

Many Reihax pieces work with clear geometry, with cells, edges and lettering, and so does the wall piece Fracture, made from the same four woods. Flow shows the other side of the same attitude: soft, flowing shapes that recall a current, wind or layered rock. The contrast stays the same, light against dark and warm against cool; only the form is free instead of constructed.

For the movement to carry, the bands run across the whole surface, from edge to edge. In most bands the grain runs horizontally as well, with the waves, so that the figure of the wood and the form pull in the same direction. Where a wave gets tight, cutting it calls for clean, even curves without a kink; any hesitation would show in the finished picture as a jag.

The pen holder THINK BIGGER carries the same language of waves, there on a few centimetres. How a motif carries over from a small object to a wall format is described in scaling veneer patterns; what else an intarsia wall piece asks for is on the project page intarsia wall pieces.

Four woods, no paint

Flow is laid from wenge, oak, ash and walnut. Wenge gives the deepest dark, walnut a warm middle brown, oak and ash the light bands. None of it is stained or painted; the gradation from deep dark to light comes from the wood alone.

Because it is natural wood, every band brings its own figure. In one oak band of Flow No. 2 there is a small knot with the fibres curving around it. Reihax does not hide a knot if it is sound and does not disturb the form; it is a sign that a tree was worked here, not a decor.

Close-up from Flow No. 2: a light oak band with a small knot between dark bands of wood — Detail of Flow No. 2: an oak band with a knot and fine rays, framed by dark woods. The curves are joints, not painted lines.

How these woods look next to each other, and why these four work so well together, is explained in wood species for intarsia.

No. 1 and No. 2: frame or inlaid border

Flow No. 1 is made as a picture surface and sits in a dark frame with a narrow gap between picture and frame. The frame sets the panel off from the wall and gives it the look of a classic picture.

Flow No. 1 at an angle on the wall: an intarsia picture in a dark wooden frame — Flow No. 1 in its frame: a narrow shadow gap stays between the picture surface and the frame.

Flow No. 2 needs no frame. The dark border is inlaid as veneer and belongs to the intarsia itself; the waves run up to this border and end there. That makes the panel look flatter and calmer, more object than picture.

Flow No. 2 at an angle on the wall: an intarsia picture with an inlaid dark border and no frame — Flow No. 2 from the side: the dark border is inlaid, not a frame set around it.

How Flow is made

The pictures in this section show Flow No. 2 in the workshop, from the pressed blank to the finished panel.

It starts with the design: the course of the bands and the decision which band gets which wood. Then the pieces of veneer are cut and fitted until the surface is closed without a gap (assembling an intarsia). The finished veneer picture is glued and pressed onto the substrate (gluing and pressing).

Flow No. 2 after assembly and pressing, before sanding, in the workshop — Flow No. 2 after pressing, not yet sanded: the bands lie in one plane; scratches and tear-out only disappear with sanding.

Then it is sanded, in stages from coarse to fine grit. Each stage takes out the scratches of the one before; at the end all four woods lie flush, with no step at the joints. It matters most here that dark dust from wenge and walnut is not rubbed into the open pores of oak and ash (sanding veneer).

Four details of Flow No. 2 side by side: before sanding, after 120 grit, after 240 grit and after 400 grit — Flow No. 2 at four stages of sanding: before sanding, after 120 grit, after 240 grit and after 400 grit.

The finish comes last. It deepens every tone, turns wenge deep dark, gives walnut warmth and warms oak and ash slightly. Only then does the picture get the contrast it needs on the wall (finishing veneer).

Flow No. 2 twice: on the left raw after sanding, on the right finished — Flow No. 2 raw after sanding and finished. Workshop light on the left, studio light on the right.

Number, year and woods on the back

The back of each panel carries the title, the number, the year and the four woods, along with the Reihax mark and "Made in Germany". So even many years from now it is clear which piece it is and what it is made of.

The backs of Flow No. 1 and No. 2 with title, number, the year 2026, the woods and the Reihax mark — The backs of Flow No. 1 and No. 2: title, number, year, woods, the Reihax mark and Made in Germany. The labels are in German.

Hanging and care

Wood lives with the room. A good wall for an intarsia picture has no direct sun and is not right above a radiator. Strong light changes the woods differently: ash and oak turn more yellow, walnut rather lighter (UV light and ageing). Quick changes of warmth and humidity strain the surface. In a normally heated living room, Flow is perfectly at home.

A dry, soft cloth or a dusting brush is all the care it needs. Cleaning products and damp cloths do not belong on the surface. There is more in caring for handmade wooden objects.

Where to buy it

Both panels are available through CherryCut, where you will find the price, availability and shipping. Because each piece is sold only once, a panel that has been sold is no longer available.

See Flow No. 1 on CherryCut (framed)
See Flow No. 2 on CherryCut (with an inlaid border)

Frequently asked questions

Are Flow No. 1 and Flow No. 2 the same picture?

No. Both follow the same motif of flowing light and dark bands, but the lines, the figure of the wood and the edging are their own. No. 1 sits in a dark frame; on No. 2 the dark border is inlaid as veneer and is part of the intarsia itself.

Which woods are in Flow?

Wenge, oak, ash and walnut, in both panels. The species are also written on the back. Lightness and colour come from the wood alone; nothing is stained, painted or printed.

Is every Flow one of a kind?

Each panel is sold only once and carries its number and year on the back. Reihax still does not call it one of a kind, because a motif can be laid more than once. What makes each piece unmistakable is the wood: grain, knots and the play of colour never repeat.

How big is Flow and how do I look after it?

Both panels measure 40 × 40 cm (about 16 × 16 in). A wooden wall piece needs little care: dust it dry, use no cleaning products, and choose a wall without direct sun and not above a radiator, because strong light changes the woods differently and wood reacts to quick changes of climate.