How Wood Slat Systems Can Improve Acoustics in Commercial Spaces
- Commercial Millwork
A beautiful commercial space can quickly become uncomfortable when noise bounces off hard surfaces and conversations compete for attention. In an episode of The Maker’s Intent, host Mike speaks with Kyle Greenfield, president of AF Johnson Millwork Company, about how wood slat systems can help solve these challenges. The key takeaway is that thoughtful restaurant acoustics millwork can reduce echoes, control how sound travels, and add visual warmth at the same time. Kyle also explains why restaurants and other busy public spaces can benefit most from combining acoustic planning with intentional design.
Why Do Commercial Spaces Develop Noise Problems?
Many commercial interiors use materials such as concrete, glass, tile, and other hard surfaces. While these finishes can create a clean, modern appearance, they also reflect sound instead of absorbing it.
“The harder the surface is, the more it makes sound waves bounce,” Kyle explains. As those reflections build, occupants hear more echoes and reverberation throughout the room.
This basic principle is also recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which notes that sound-absorbing materials can reduce reflected or reverberant noise within a space.
For a restaurant, this matters because the room may contain dozens of conversations at once, along with music, kitchen noise, dishes, and employees moving throughout the space. When too much of that sound carries across the room, guests may struggle to hear the people sitting directly across from them.
How Do Wood Slat Systems Help Control Sound?
Wood slat systems can manage sound in more than one way. According to Kyle, one option is to install sound-absorbing material behind the visible wood slats. The wood then becomes the architectural finish while the backing material performs much of the acoustic work.
The gaps and spacing between individual slats can also affect how sound moves. Rather than letting a sound wave hit a large, uninterrupted surface and reflect directly into the room, the assembly can help disrupt those reflections.
The U.S. General Services Administration’s guidance on acoustic comfort similarly identifies absorptive wall finishes and perforated wood assemblies as tools that can reduce reverberation.
The design can also be adjusted based on the desired result. In some spaces, sound needs to carry. Performance halls, for example, may use carefully designed wood surfaces to help distribute sound toward an audience. Restaurants usually have the opposite goal. They need to limit how far individual conversations travel.
Why Are Restaurants Especially Challenging?
Restaurants combine large numbers of people with many independent sources of sound. Unlike a theater, where an audience is generally listening to one performance, diners are having separate conversations at different volumes throughout the room.
Kyle points out that this makes restaurants and similar public spaces strong candidates for acoustic treatments.
Poor acoustics can also affect the overall customer experience. Kyle describes the familiar situation of visiting a restaurant with attractive interiors and good food, only to find the environment so loud that holding a conversation becomes difficult.
If guests cannot comfortably talk to the people they came with, the room itself becomes a distraction. Controlling reverberation can make the space feel calmer and more inviting without requiring the restaurant to sacrifice its open layout.
Acoustic Design Can Also Improve the Look of a Space
Wood slat systems are not purely functional. Their finish, spacing, direction, and color can become major architectural features.
Kyle explains that wood can create anything from a warm, intimate atmosphere to a sleek, contemporary appearance. Businesses can pair decorative slats with acoustic materials that would otherwise have little architectural appeal.
That balance is important because good acoustic design should support the intended character of the space rather than look like an afterthought. The GSA’s Sound Matters guidance recommends combining absorption with other design strategies when addressing acoustic comfort.
Start With the Experience You Want to Create
Businesses considering a new installation or retrofit do not necessarily need to become acoustic experts. Kyle recommends starting with the desired experience. Should the room feel warm and cozy? Modern and minimal? Open but still intimate?
From there, designers and millwork specialists can determine how the materials should work together.
Kyle recalls one restaurant project where wood slats helped transform a large, cavernous space. The installation maintained natural light while making the room feel warmer, more contained, and more intimate despite its size.
For businesses considering restaurant acoustics millwork, that project illustrates the larger opportunity: acoustic solutions can solve sound problems while simultaneously supporting lighting, atmosphere, branding, and architectural character.
FAQs About Wood Slat Acoustic Systems
Do wood slats absorb sound by themselves?
They can help influence sound reflections, but many systems also use an absorptive backing material behind the wood to improve acoustic performance.
What types of businesses benefit from wood slat acoustic systems?
Restaurants, bars, hospitality spaces, lobbies, and other busy public environments can benefit, especially when many conversations occur simultaneously.
Can wood slats completely soundproof a restaurant?
No. Sound absorption and soundproofing are different goals. Slat systems can help reduce reverberation and control reflected sound, but complete sound isolation requires additional construction strategies.
Can acoustic wood slats be added to an existing space?
Yes. Wood slat systems can potentially be incorporated into renovation or retrofit projects, depending on the existing walls, ceilings, layout, and acoustic goals.
Do acoustic treatments have to look industrial?
No. Wood slats allow acoustic materials to become part of the architectural design rather than appearing purely functional.
What should a business decide before designing an acoustic system?
Start by defining how the space should look, feel, and sound. Designers can then determine the appropriate materials, spacing, backing, and placement to support those goals.
Mike: Hello, everybody. Thanks again for joining us on The Maker’s Intent, brought to you by A.F. Johnson Millwork Company. I am joined once again by Kyle Greenfield, the president of A.F. Johnson Millwork. How are you doing today, Kyle?
Kyle Greenfield: I’m doing great, Mike. Thanks for having me back.
Mike: Always a pleasure. This is something I’ve always been interested in. When I was a kid, my grandfather did a lot of woodworking in his basement. Since I’m so old, I’m always interested in how things have evolved over the last fifty or sixty years. So talking to you is always very interesting to me.
Kyle Greenfield: Outstanding. I kind of grew up the same way, so it’s fun getting to see the professional side of it, not just the amateur basement stuff.
Mike: Yeah, the basement stuff. My grandpa had all kinds of big equipment in his basement. I’m telling you, he was a farmer back in the early 1900s, so he loved doing it and built a lot of things for us. I always love talking to you about this.
Today, we’re going to be talking about woodworking and how wood slat systems can solve noise problems. We’re going to go through how wood slat systems improve acoustic performance. So why is noise such a common problem in commercial spaces?
Kyle Greenfield: Typically, the harder the surface is, the more it makes sound waves bounce, which starts to create echoes. So we need to change that. Slats help absorb sound and knock the sound waves down so they’re not bouncing back and forth and creating echoes.
Mike: How does that work? How do wood slat systems help control sound and improve acoustics?
Kyle Greenfield: There are a couple of different ways. A lot of times, the backing behind the slats is actually a sound-absorbing material. We can use some type of soft cloth-like material that really absorbs the sound, and the slats are almost decorative on the front.
The other way is that when you create those different gaps between the slats, it changes the way sound moves. The sound can’t just hit a wall and bounce right back. It gets absorbed in those spaces because of the movement in and out between the slats.
Mike: Okay, that makes sense. What is an NRC rating? I’ve never heard of that. What does it tell you about acoustic performance?
Kyle Greenfield: That one is slightly over my head, Mike, and it has more to do with designers and how they evaluate acoustics. I can’t tell you exactly what NRC stands for, but the rating has to do with how sound is going to behave in a room.
You can use wood and slats in different ways to actually amplify sound, too. In some performance halls, the wood is designed very precisely. World-class concert halls are extremely hard to build and very specific about exactly where every piece of wood goes to get the right performance.
In that case, they’re using it almost like a microphone to amplify sound. You can have a piano way up on stage and hear it the same way in the back because the way the slats are set up helps carry the sound.
The opposite can also be true. In a restaurant, for example, you may want to keep sound where it is and not amplify it. You want to knock it down so you can’t hear people across the restaurant, and so it doesn’t create echoes.
Mike: That makes a lot of sense. So it helps keep the decibel levels down and keeps the space from being so echoey. I know that’s probably not even a word, but that’s the word I use. At least you knew what I meant.
How much design flexibility do wood slat acoustic systems offer?
Kyle Greenfield: All kinds. One of the really cool things, which we’ve talked about, is what can be behind the slats. You can design something that doesn’t have a lot of architectural value by itself but absorbs sound, and then use the wood as cladding to create a better look.
You can also change the direction of the sound and make sure it’s not escaping where you don’t want it to go. I think that part is pretty cool: focusing or channeling sound to where you want it to go, or where you want it to stop.
Mike: That is very cool. When you were talking about the piano, you said you could design things so the people in the back could hear it. You could probably also design it so the people in the back couldn’t really hear it at all, right?
Kyle Greenfield: Correct. You can amplify sound or almost stop it very quickly, depending on the direction and spacing of the materials. It’s pretty amazing.
Mike: I really should have hired you when my kids were little for their nursery.
Kyle Greenfield: That would be kind of fun to do, a custom nursery like that.
Mike: Maybe I just came up with your new niche.
Kyle Greenfield: That would be cool.
Mike: It would make Ferberizing a lot easier, I’ll tell you that.
Kyle Greenfield: Yeah.
Mike: Let’s get back on track here. What types of commercial spaces benefit most from wood slat acoustic systems?
Kyle Greenfield: Typically, it’s going to be spaces that are fairly public, like restaurants and public areas where you’re bringing in quite a few people.
Restaurants are especially unique because you have a lot of different people having a lot of different conversations. In a more open space, or in a concert hall like we talked about, you’re not dealing with as many separate conversations. Everyone is usually focused on whoever is performing.
So public spaces where everyone is doing their own thing are probably where these systems can be used the most effectively.
Mike: That makes sense. In a restaurant, you’re not only talking about multiple conversations happening at once. You’re also talking about different tones and volumes. Just look at the difference between my volume and tone compared to yours.
Kyle Greenfield: Exactly. You’ve got such a big, deep voice that it’s going to carry. If we have a way to knock that down or change the direction of it, we can keep it from carrying to a completely different part of the restaurant.
Mike: When we’re done, I think I have a couple of bar owners who are going to need your services just because I go in there. They’re going to be like, “Please.”
Kyle Greenfield: That was your old industry, so you know your way around it, too.
Mike: Absolutely. So you should know this: what can poor acoustics actually cost a business, and how does A.F. Johnson’s solution help prevent those problems?
Kyle Greenfield: There are a lot of different ways, but let’s talk specifically about restaurants again. We’ve all been to a place that looked nice and had decent food, but you could hardly stand to be in it because it was so loud. You couldn’t hear the people sitting across from you.
That takes away from the experience. You came to enjoy time with the people you want to be with, but you can’t hear them. If we can help with that, keep the echoes down, and make people feel more comfortable, it improves the overall atmosphere.
Plus, there is the visual design side. It can definitely dress up an area.
Mike: One hundred percent. Especially when you’re dealing with wood, you can make it look almost artistic rather than just functional.
Kyle Greenfield: Absolutely. You’re getting both a visual effect and an audio effect. It helps create the image or feeling that the restaurateur or bar owner wants in the space. Color-wise, we can warm it up, cool it down, and do all kinds of things depending on the type of feel they want.
Mike: You can go with that modern look where one piece is really light, one is really dark, and one is medium. That whole staggered look is very cool.
Kyle Greenfield: Exactly.
Mike: Kyle, what should businesses know about installing or retrofitting wood slat acoustic systems?
Kyle Greenfield: The biggest thing is that they need to decide what effect they want. If the main focus is the visual look, designers can figure out the sound absorption and other acoustic details.
I don’t think anyone necessarily needs to be an expert on that. We can find the designers who are. The main questions are: What do you want it to look like? How do you want it to feel? Do you want warm and cozy, or sleek and modern? Once we have that idea, we can start designing toward it.
Mike: That’s very cool. Let’s wind this up with story time. I know this is your favorite because I always make you think on the spot, but could you share a specific project where a wood slat system noticeably improved the acoustics of a space?
Kyle Greenfield: Sure. I’m thinking of a restaurant we talked about a few episodes ago. The owner used quite a bit of it to create a warm, cozy effect, but it also allowed light through in different areas.
It kept the restaurant very open from a lighting standpoint without blocking all the natural light going into different areas. At the same time, it really warmed the area up and kept it from feeling as cavernous as it did when we first walked into the space before everything was installed.
I thought that was pretty cool. The space felt almost intimate and contained, even though it was a massive area.
Mike: I also liked how you said you added something to a space that felt cavernous, but by adding it, you almost opened it up with natural light and everything.
Kyle Greenfield: Exactly.
Mike: So it was like you were solving multiple problems with one project.
Kyle Greenfield: Exactly. That particular project turned out really, really cool. I think they did a great job with it.
Mike: Very good. I’m sure you have designers who understand both the acoustics and the aesthetics.
Kyle Greenfield: Exactly. We can find the people to get you the look you want and solve the sound issues at the same time.
Mike: Very good. We’ll talk off camera about that baby room or nursery idea. Maybe we can start a little side project and help some mothers out, too.
Kyle Greenfield: I think that would be really cool.
Mike: Look at that. I got your wheels turning, as always.
Kyle Greenfield: As always.
Mike: I love talking to you, and I look forward to our next episode, where we’ll talk about all the things our grandfathers tried to instill in us.
Kyle Greenfield: There we go. Looking forward to it, Mike.
Mike: Thanks a lot. Thanks for joining us on The Maker’s Intent. I’m Mike, your host, and I’m here with Kyle. We’ll be here again soon.
Kyle Greenfield: Thanks, Mike.
