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If you are of the opinion that you know in detail what a modern sauna looks like, then we must say that you are wrong to some extent, just like we were about 20 years ago. Now, before you start drawing stage tables and looking for heaters in sauna shops, we recommend that you take a good look at the page where you are now. We are quite sure that if you start acting according to our wishes, your perception of the sauna will change considerably, because you will find quite a few new details for yourself that you have not encountered before. There is nothing crazy about this, because you may have never built a sauna before. For us, however, the field of sauna construction is a daily way of life.
Saunamaailm-user
Marko Tamm
Saunamaailm CEO, Founder

Sauna design

PALETTE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF TREE SPECIES USED IN THE BUILDING OF SAUNAS
Have you decided to build a wooden sauna house or another wooden structure? We recommend you the most popular wooden materials used in the construction of saunas and guest houses. We recommend a combination of darker and lighter wood to give the sauna a modern and unique look. You can see more pictures in our photo gallery.
Sauna-Wood-Palettes

Lining board and stage board

Abeche-texture

Abachi

Abachi - The palm tree has a porous structure that grows in the tropics. It has a low density that prevents the wood from heating up, even at the highest temperatures in the sauna room. When the sauna temperature rises, the abachi wood takes on the air temperature, but as soon as you touch the wood, it immediately takes on the human body temperature. The wood is smooth, resin-free, quite soft, moisture-resistant, easy to process, usually creamy to slightly yellow.

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Aspen

The aspen liner is widely used to decorate saunas due to its low density, lack of resin and small twigs. Useful examples of the aspen illustrate the high tannin content, which not only significantly reduces the wood's ability to rot in a humid environment, but also gives it a particularly incredible odor. The aspen lining does not crack, is easy to process and works well in humid conditions.

Parn-maple-texture

Linden

Linden is one of the most famous trees. When heated, lime tree produces a pleasant smell and some essential oils, which have bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties, help prevent frostbite and eliminate its symptoms. High humidity helps to maintain and improve the properties of lime wood, making it an ideal material for sauna. The use of lime wood to decorate saunas also justifies this whole complex of useful properties of wood: a relaxing and restorative effect, creates positive energy. The wood has a pleasant light color that does not change even after a long time. It should be noted that the tree has a homogeneous structure and branches are rarely found, which significantly increases the value of linden.

Ash-tree-texture

Ash

The Ash is the most valuable deciduous tree. The lining of the Ash wood is very durable. The Ash tree is strong and dense and resembles an oak tree. The texture of the wood is expressive and bright, which is why it is often used in interior decoration, for making moldings and sauna walls.

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Alder

Alder wood is very popular when building a sauna or a guest house. The reason is very low thermal conductivity, the strength that allows the use of alder wood in wood design. In addition to finished alder, absorbs very little moisture. The combination of these properties and durability makes alder wood the best way to build a sauna. There is another feature that distinguishes alder finishing from other methods. Lepal has an unusual color, like wood painted with coffee. Due to humidity and temperature, the wood can change color and acquire a different shade, so the sauna, finished with alder, looks impressive.

Cedar texture

Cedar

The main characteristics of Canadian Red Cedar - durability, excellent odor, natural resistance to decay and insects, geometric stability and high insulating ability - have a very wide range of applications. It is recommended to use for interior decoration of houses and saunas.

Thermal wood

Heat treatment improves the weather resistance and thermal insulation of wood and reduces the moisture expansion of wood. At high temperatures, resin is also released from the wood. The resistance of wood to bacteria and fungal diseases increases. And the main big advantage is the stability of the wood – heat-treated wood “plays” less and slower under the influence of moisture and heat than ordinary untreated wood. The heat treatment process is as follows: well-dried wood is placed in a special room without oxygen (wood does not burn at higher temperatures without oxygen), which is filled with steam. The wood is then heated to a high temperature of 200 to 240 ° C. After this process, the wood is quite dark brown in color, making the thermal wood look like expensive exotic wood.
Thermo-Haab-texture

Thermo aspen

Heat-treated wood absorbs water significantly more slowly and less under the same humidity conditions, and its shrinkage becomes minimal and more resistant to the environment. Lime, abachi, alder, ash and some other wood species are most often heat treated. This material is used for finishing saunas.

termotoodeldud-termopappel-sts4

Thermal poplar

Poplar is a hardwood tree very similar to aspen in its properties and appearance. They belong to the same family. The poplar, as well as aspen, does not emit tar, splinter free and does not heat up. As the material is well suited for heat treatment. Distributed throughout Europe, grows in North and Central Africa and in West Asia.

saunainter-sauna-voodrilaud-tume-termolepp-voodrilaud-sts4-15x85mm-1800-2400mm-harjatatud

Thermo Magnolia

Magnolia is very similar to aspen. The main feature of this tree is a unique view. Since the magnolia tree is large enough, it can be used to produce wide and long boards.

thermo-pine-texture-lite

Thermo Spruce

Scandinavian spruce grown specifically as raw material for the production of decorative lining, which is widely used for the wall cladding, saunas, terraces, etc. Scandinavian spruce is processed by special technology of thermal treating. Spruce lining has a light yellow colour with lots of small knots. Spruce wood is mostly accepted to perceive as a decorative element. The main advantage of spruce lining is a durability, due to high resin content, protecting the wood from rotting.

Thermo-haab-intense-texture

Thermo Aspen Dark

Because of the heat treatment method, the wood during an explanation period absorbs less water under similar humidity conditions, and its shrinkage becomes minimal and increases resistance to environment. Linden, abachi, alder, ash and some other species are most often heat - treated. All this material is the most often used for finishing baths or saunas.

thermo-parn

Thermo Alder

The usual alder after heat treatment turns into elite wood. Modern technology helps to improve the properties of wood, strengthen it and also repaint in any colour without losing natural look. Heat treatment of wood allows you to paint it all over the thickness and give the usual alder the look of an elite tree.

thermo-pine-radiata-texture

Thermo Pine

One of the most popular types of timber, thanks to exploitation period. Thermo pine will serve to the whole generation of your family. Thermo Pine is an excellent natural material for use in interior decoration. Pine itself is a soft timber, but after heating under the steam 190-215 °C wood gets rid of tar and extra humidity and gains strength and durability.

thermo-yasen-texture-lite

Thermo Ash

Thermo ash is a natural and environmental - safe material, a product of timber hot steam treatment. This procedure improves boards properties changing them on a molecular level. Processed product becomes more durable and flexible. Moisture, fungus and mold resistance being improved, what makes timber life cycle longer. Depending on the intensity of processing, thermo ash takes on colors from pale gold to dark chocolate.

Lining board profiles

The profile of the cladding table affects the design of the sauna. Unfortunately, due to technological difficulties, these profiles cannot be produced to a limited extent. In addition to different wood colors, it is allowed to coordinate the profiles of two different lining boards in the sauna steam room. It has been proven that the use of different types of wood and colors to some extent reflect the character traits and personal importance of the sauna owner.

Kelo style

This style can be called in many ways – wild, natural, traditional, antique … The use of a raw lining table gives the design of the sauna a natural look, which goes back to ancient times, when no one had even a small idea of modern technologies. The uneven wooden surfaces of the sauna, built of 300-500-year-old native wood, make each sauna unique.

Decorative materials

Decorative materials give the sauna an aesthetic shape. In this case, some work of art will appear in the sauna, which is not really a simple activity. In addition to their aesthetic shape and eye-catching appearance, materials must have certain properties that tend to change with temperature or other external factors.

Decorative panels

Decorative wood panels for sauna lining are often quite different in both color and properties. The minimal use of panels makes the sauna bright and unique, even if the walls of the sauna are covered with a regular lining board.

Decorative stone

Experience shows that decorative stone is used even more often in the sauna than decorative wooden panels. The thing is that decorative stone is much more fireproof compared to other lining materials. But first, this stone is suitable for decorating the walls in contact with the heater.

Salt bricks

Salt bricks can even benefit threefold, namely – salt bricks fill the air with minerals that are good for health and also complement the basic design of the sauna. However, the roar from the bricks creates a pleasant and warm atmosphere in the sauna.

Charcoal cladding board

Charcoal surface EXTRA BURNT. Does not smell, does not stain or crumble. The source material is Siberian larch. Siberian larch is denser and stronger than pine, well resistant to moisture (becomes stronger in water), temperature drop and fungi. Practically does not rot. Siberian larch wood is an amazing material for interior design because it is environmentally friendly and has healing properties.

Color choice

When developing the design of the sauna, it is also possible to use natural paints containing minerals, which, when absorbed into the wood tissue, properly protect the wood lining of the sauna against moisture and IR radiation. Natural color does not crack or peel. The advantage is that the colorless surfaces can be easily renewed if necessary. PAINT ECO is available in eight colors. Other colors are available on request.

Lighting

The time when sauna lighting was used in the sauna only for safety is long gone. This year, the light in the sauna will be used for completely different purposes. In our shop you can choose different types of sauna lighting that meet your wishes and the design of the steam room. Properly chosen sauna lighting creates a good mood for you and other sauna guests.

Cariitti accessories

As the sauna itself is a very old custom, there are not many companies specializing in the production of sauna lighting. One of the best-known manufacturers is Cariitti, which, according to the quality of production and quite high demand, conquered the world market in the production of various luminaires.

Sauna design gallery

Before building a sauna, we recommend that you also visit our sauna gallery, where you will find various solutions for sauna design collected from all over the world. We also use the experience gained by other specialists to our advantage. Remember that the sauna is not a boring place, but rather the right place where you can stimulate your reflection and fantasy.