This has bothered me for years, and even after visiting Star Trek: The Experience back in 2008, I still can't figure out the answer. On the port and starboard walls of the bridge, directly aft of the dedication plaque and bridge replicators, are a series of beige (or brown, in season 1) panels. In season 1 they look to be made of wood, and from seasons 2-7, they appear to be...aphostered? I'm not sure. It makes little sense to have plush walls, even if the texture is leather or pleather, but this is, after all, the Enterprise-D we're talking about. If anyone can help identify the materials these panels are made of, let me know! Thanks!
Are we talking about this? I would think it's probably the same thing that Wesley's console is made of, plastic, a molded synthetic resin. I always got the impression that entire bridge was made out of Tupperware
It's an upholstered panel, but a different color than the chairs. You can see how the (equipment status?) panels compress the material where they're mounted to the backer board.
Considering how much the ship gets shaken when facing enemy ships, spatial anomalies, etc., it would be nicer to be thrown into a cushy wall than a solid wall. Kor
Was it ever established what's behind the lockers? EPS relay conduits? Computer servers full of isolinear chips? (The little blinkies remind me of server rooms at work ) The minibar?
In "11001001" the Bynars had one open working on what appeared to be a bank of isolinear chips. Maybe the minibar is on the other side?
Ex Astris Scientia has a detailed analysis of the changes made to the Enterprise-D bridge. They speculate that it's some type of fabric covering: http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/enterprise-d-bridge.htm