The Many Uses of Kirei Board

We'd seen Kirei board (an eco-friendly wood substitute) on the pages of magazines - but this was the first time up close. It is complex and interesting to look at, extremely light, and can function pretty much anywhere in the home. We especially like seeing it used on walls (rather than a painted accent wall, cover with Kirei for amazing natural texture).

Kirei is "manufactured from waste sorghum straw and a zero VOC adhesive, making it a recycled and healthy for interiors." We especially liked seeing it used on walls (rather than a painted accent wall, layer on the boards for amazing natural texture).

Kirei is a "Japanese word embodying the qualities of 'clean' and 'beautiful'." Locally, you can buy in 3' x 6' sheets from Greenmaker Building Supply: Available in 3' x 6' sheets and in three different thicknesses:

10 mm = $250

20 mm = $325

30 mm = $425

Comments (4)

So is it basically an MDF type material? I can't see paying that kind of cash for that ($250/3x6 sheet); I'd rather pay for oak plywood.

It's nice looking but too expensive.

posted by Melissa82 on May 6th 2008 at 5:40am
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Am I wrong to think this stuff has a faddish appeal (but not to me)? It is very expensive for something that's going to look dated... and I won't say eco-consciousness in general is going to date it, but it's priced like a luxury material. Painting over it would defeat all its purposes currently, and diminish the value of it next year or the year after that. I'd say it just doesn't look nice enough to age well.

posted by K T G on May 6th 2008 at 6:42am
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This material is really cool to work with. Although it may be a bit pricy, it definately serves a purpose. To compare it to MDF is a bit crazy. There is a distributor in Michigan that I believe has better prices on it than the prices listed. Along with it being used in the applications shown above, I have seen a couple of companies use it as center panels in cabinet doors.

posted by VCWPMI on May 7th 2008 at 2:18am
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"manufactured from waste sorghum straw" if you know that, you can't justify these prices. I think it's partly because it's a bit exclusive. Prices will go down within a few years.

I like the look, but these prices are way to high.

posted by AlexHoogeveen on June 7th 2008 at 1:55pm
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