How To Use Walnut Color For Your Contemporary Spaces

The walnut color is an admired interior shade. Walnut wood is considered to be one of the finest wood species worldwide. The wood is known for its rich brown and deep purple tones. Walnut furniture, for example, isn’t stained because of its natural beauty.

Walnut Color

This doesn’t prevent other woods from being stained to achieve that same walnut color, however. Here, we’ll look at walnut color furniture pieces and show you why they’re special.

Walnut Color Heartwood

Walnut walls with copper lighting

The inner part of American black walnut wood, called “heartwood,” can be anything from a rich brown to a deep purplish-brown. Other types of walnut heartwood include pale brown and dark chocolate brown with even darker brown streaks in it, with a reddish or grey tone.

Walnut sapwood, which is the living, outer part of a walnut trunk or branches, ranges from bright white to a creamy, yellowish, grey.

Dark Walnut Accent Pieces

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Black walnut is popular among woodworkers worldwide. As an interior decor item, dark walnut is a favorite color accent.

Walnut Wood Decor

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Walnut stools and side tables have a smooth finish, which makes them desired items for interior design. Other features of walnut wood include a stylish grain pattern, shock resistance capabilities, and strong properties. Walnut accent pieces adhere to a design aesthetic unlike furniture made with different types of wood.

Walnut Wood Lighting Fixtures

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Not only is deep walnut a striking contrast for lighting fixtures, but walnut by itself has functional features. The wood turns, sands, and carves well (lewislp). This makes it a great option for high-end lighting fixtures. The pendant in this example is ideal for a traditional or contemporary space.

Walnut Wood Chairs

Walnut walls with copper lighting

The grain pattern of walnut is another charming aspect. With a smooth finish or oiling, a satiny grain will be highlighted. However, other woods can be stained to match walnut with a variation on the grain.

Walnut makes an excellent choice for accent chairs, dining chairs, or office chairs, among others, even if walnut lumber isn’t used.

Walnut Wood Chair

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Placing a contrasting element with walnut, like the ivory-white chair pad on a walnut color wood chair is often used to and a sophisticated appeal. The two-tone look is chic in a variety of decorating styles.

Black Walnut Stool

Walnut walls with copper lighting

With such a gorgeous, rich look, it’s no wonder that walnut wood is used for high-end furniture, carving, and flooring accents. In addition, other woods are stained to try to achieve that same look for budget-friendlier options.

Walnut Color Tables

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Walnut is versatile in interior design. Its depth and richness make it a foundation or an eye-catching accent or anything in between. One way to incorporate walnut into your interior is to pair its satiny richness with industrial pieces.

Walnut Wood Art Decor

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Walnut wood and walnut color lumber looks chic on their own and also when combined with wood tones of a different tint, as is evident by this fantastic guitar-themed side table.

The blonde wood helps to emphasize the mid-range natural luster of the primary walnut. Walnut grain is straight, so it contrasts with the curved silhouette of this tabletop.

Black Walnut Furniture

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Walnut lumber is desirable to work with, and the heartwood has such gorgeous dark tones, that’s used as a veneer on furniture and paneling. This means that walnut is sliced thin and then glued on top of less expensive woods. The practice allows more people to afford the sophisticated look of walnut.

Walnut Wood Accent Piece

Walnut walls with copper lighting

This two-toned table is a contemporary focal point. The walnut strip down the center extends past the length of the blonde strips flanking it. Incorporating two tone onto a dining table or office desk increases the visual appeal and distinction, without sacrificing the clean lines and contemporary style.

Walnut Wood Coffee Table

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Because of its durability, this walnut wood coffee table would last a lifetime. This driftwood-style table is thick and has a natural grain curvature on the sides. The organic flow of the wood grain table top and its contrast with more industrial polished chrome U legs.

Dark Walnut Decor

Walnut walls with copper lighting

While walnut color table tops are the more common method of incorporating the wood type into a table, there are other creative design options as well. Consider this glass-topped table with a curvy walnut color base – the look is stunningly fluid, despite the hard materials used to create it. Opting for walnut, as a darker wood tone, on the base here makes it stand out.

Walnut Color Vanities 

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Walnut adds an eye-catching contrast to white. When combined on a two-tone vanity, dresser, nightstand, or credenza, the effect is graceful. Even with the patchwork of walnut colored wood strips on the drawer faces of this dresser, the whole piece maintains its modern appeal with clean lines, flat faces, and straightforward angles.

Dark Walnut Console

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Other pieces can get a little more detailed with their walnut color, though, and still work stunningly in a contemporary setting. This herringbone-style credenza is evidence of this claim, and the walnut colored front face plays largely into its success.

“The warm brown [walnut] wood finishes beautifully. It is easy to work with yet durable. It shrinks and swells less than any other wood, which makes it valuable to cabinet makers” – ostermiller.

Walnut Color Doors & Walls

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Walnut lumber is a premium domestic hardwood, which means its expensive. This is why walnut color veneer is popular. It is used on doors and walls in the form of paneling. 

Walnut Wood Fixtures

Walnut walls with copper lighting

Wall paneling in a walnut color is both rich and cozy; its darker hue wraps the space into a more intimate setting. With the inclusion of great lighting and/or ample natural light, walnut colored walls are becoming popular again.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)FAQ

What Color Floor Goes With Walnut Cabinets?

Walnut cabinets look best with flooring that has lighter color. If you want visual interest, then contrasting colors is the best way to go. This doesn’t mean that the color contrast must be dramatic. Remember, if you’re having problems deciding which color to use, then refer to the color wheel.

What Color Goes With Walnut Color Stain?

Interior decorators and designers agree that walnut is best paired with purple colors. For 2022, Pantone’s color of the year is Very Peri, which happens to be a mid-range purple hue.

What Is Brazilian Walnut Wood?

Brazilian walnut is from South and Central America, and Mexico. The wood is oily and offers a moderate luster. The wood is popular with natural oil finishes. The wood’s oily properties and density make it hard for urethane finishes to cure.

Why Is Walnut Wood Good For Furniture?

Not only is walnut durable but also flexible. The wood is easy to shape and bend, yet at the same time, it doesn’t warp. In hot temperatures and high-humidity climates, walnut furniture is not affected, unlike other wood species. This is why walnut furniture is more expensive. A walnut desk, for example, will last a lifetime. The money you spend upfront for walnut furniture will save you money in the long term.

Does Walnut Wood Change Colors?

The older walnut gets, the lighter its color becomes. After a period, a rich honey color will emerge from the walnut, which changes its color.

Is Walnut Wood A Risk To Those With Severe Nut Allergies?

Nut allergies are caused by lipids and proteins in nuts. It’s the “nut meat” that a person would be allergic to and not the wood.

Walnut Color Conclusion

Walnut is a tertiary color, which means it’s made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color. The color is an excellent choice for a piece of furniture. Do to its excellent machining characteristics, dark walnut furniture, for example, offers durable versatility. 

Walnut’s tight grained features and overall grain pattern make it a stand out among other wood species. The cumulative effect of walnut wood includes a long-lasting sense of stability, making walnut wood pieces smart choices when buying family furniture.