Those beautiful panels on solid wood doors? They actually serve a purpose.
Most of us have been looking at raised panels on doors, furniture, and more for most of our lives, and with the exception of picking out kitchen cabinet styles, we've probably never given a raised panel or beveled edge a whole lot of thought. It's just a decorative feature, right? Something to break up the monotony of a large piece of wood?
Nope. According to woodworker Rex Krueger, those panels came about as a functional feature, not a decorative one. Krueger begins by showing how ubiquitous the raised panel is in our lives—doors, shutters, architectural detailing, etc. Then he explains that the beveled square or rectangle set within a matching frame actually served to account for the natural movement of wood.
Raised panels were created for function, not form. Photo credit: Canva
Wood is affected by temperature and humidity, with a tendency to expand, contract, and warp. It's why nails work well in wood furniture—they flex to allow for those changes, but nailing pieces of wood together keeps them from bowing or bending. However, as he demonstrates with the lid of a 400-year-old wooden chest, when a piece of wood isn't anchored to anything, it will become misshapen over time.
"It's the same problem with doors," Krueger explains. "You can't just have a plank of wood floating in midair. It's going to move and warp and stop working. If only there were away to put a frame around that door or lid to hold it flat…"
Enter panels. Early woodworkers figured out that they could shrink a piece of wood for a door a little bit and put it in a frame. The frame holds its shape because it's connected at four corners, and the panel sits loosely within grooves in the frame, allowing for expansion and contraction.
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Originally, panels were flat and grooves were cut into the frame to fit the flat panel. But that meant the panel had to be pretty thin, which isn't as durable. Woodworkers realized they could use thicker pieces of wood for panels by simply shaving down the edges to fit within the frame. That's where beveling came from, but in the beginning it wasn't done so neatly. It was meant to be functional, not decorative. But it did add some visual interest and looked quite classy and elegant, so woodworkers started making the beveling more uniform and tidy. Eventually, a distinct edge was added to offset the beveling, and now we see that style everywhere.
Of course, today's raised panel doors are rarely made of solid wood, as Krueger points out. So why do we still use those beveled edges and appearance of panels? Because we like the aesthetic. Function has morphed into form. But it's not just that the shapes of the panels visually break up the monotony of a solid piece of wood. It's the way the angles of the beveling reflect light. The shadows and reflections created when light falls across a raised panel's edges result in a range of shades and colors that people find visually appealing.
Today's raised panels are mostly for aesthetics.Photo credit: Canva
Judging by the fact that Krueger's video has 1.2 million views in a week and by people's comments on it, it's safe to say this information is blowing people's minds.
"This is a perfect example of 'what is ordinary is actually extraordinary.'"
"I own a garage door installation/repair company and have always been curious about how that particular design became the standard for 95% of overhead doors out there. Now I know it’s a hanger-on from when they were actual wood panels! Thanks for the video and please make this a series!"
"This style is so ubiquitous, I knew there had to be a historical reason for it even though it seems purely decorative today. I always wondered but never looked it up... Thank you for making what would have been dry research entertaining and fascinating!!"
"I am not a woodworker, I have never really watched any woodworking videos, I'm not handy, talented, or even very smart. But somehow this video popped up in my feed and now I'm hooked (as well as liked, commented, and subscribed)! Can't wait for a Secret History of Wood series!!"
Learning interesting historical details about commonplace things is such a vibe. If you want to see more videos like this one, you can find Rex Krueger on YouTube.