Behind the Scenes

Walnut is a dark brown hardwood with variation in colour and grain. Its color ranges from a dark brown to a blonde to a reddish brown. It can have straight grain or very complex interesting grain patterns. It’s important to note that when we say “Walnut” at Loewen Design Studios we mean the wood. Sometimes you’ll see others use “Walnut” to mean a color of stain on a different wood. We definitely mean the wood, which has much more exciting variation and richer browns than any walnut stain I’ve seen to date. 

Why People Choose Walnut

Walnut is an excellent wood that people have been using for furniture making for a very long time. There are some really simple reasons for this. 

1. It’s very pretty
2. It’s very hard
3. It holds up well
4. It’s nice to work with

Walnut is one of those unique things that’s both a great material to build with - it’s strong and durable - and it’s beautiful. So often you need to build something strong then make it pretty on top. Walnut does both of those at the same time. It’s the best.

Walnut Isn't Perfect

While I love listing the wonderful things about Walnut, it’s also worth mentioning that it isn’t perfect. It is hardwood, but it isn’t the hardest hardwood. It will hold up to a lot but it is more dentable than something like Maple. The nice thing is that it’s a little less dense so it isn’t quite as heavy as some other woods. 

Walnut Coloring

Walnut does also have natural color variations. They tell the story of the trees that make up the piece. This is part of what makes Walnut so special. One piece of walnut won’t be exactly like another, so the piece of furniture you get won’t match another exactly. Walnut does always look like walnut, but within a range. 

All in all, walnut is excellent, but only if it’s right for what you’re looking for. It certainly isn’t right for everything all the time. But the brown of walnut is very wonderful. It really can’t be duplicated by any stain on another wood. Believe me, I’ve tried.

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