faux bois

Refers to illusionistic effects on two- or three-dimensional art works in which the appearance of wood grain is simulated. In interior spaces, pine and other inexpensive softwood paneling may be painted to imitate expensive woods such as oak, walnut and cedar. Plaster or wall paper may also be painted with a wood grain texture. The term may also refer to furniture or other objects, typically intended for use outdoors in a garden, where the objects appear to be made of branches or trunks of trees, both in their three-dimensional form and in the surface effect that simulates wood grain.