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Much Ado About Walnut Wood Pieces of Joy

Much Ado About Walnut Wood

At Pieces of Joy, we love quality furniture made with walnut wood.

A popular exotic hardwood, it’s valued and loved for its strength, durability, and rich vibrant brown colours. The adaptability of walnut wood makes it ideal for furniture including everything from dining room tables, dining chairs and cabinets and it’s commonly used for contemporary designs. Furniture made with walnut wood is striking and impactful, and it is a firm favourite for wood and furniture craftspeople, because it’s so easy to work with and it finishes beautifully.

A picture containing walnut tree, outdoor, plant, walnut tree trunk and branches

Walnut trees can grow really big often exceeding 100 feet in height and 6 feet in diameter, and grow best in environments where there’s full sun. If you’d like to learn more about the nuances of this gorgeous wood, read on as we explore:-

  1. Characteristics of Walnut Wood

  2. Grain Pattern of Walnut Wood

  3. Colours of Walnut Wood

  4. How Walnut Wood Ages

  5. How to tell if it’s Walnut Wood

  6. Other facts about Walnut Wood

 

Characteristics of Walnut Wood  



When it comes to furniture that is both beautiful and enduring, walnut wood really shines. It is:-

  1. Stable and solid

  2. Durable, robust but not heavy

  3. Good shock resistance

  4. Easy to work for carving and turning

  5. This wood glues and nails very well

  6. It has decent bending qualities

  7. Several unique colours

  8. Fine and equitably straight grain

A picture containing walnut wood bar cabinet with doors open. Filled with glasses, empty alcohol bottles

Grain Pattern of Walnut Wood

Walnut wood has an excellent and straight grain, which can be a bit abrasive in texture. It sometimes features swellings or irregularities, including waves and curls.

A close up of a walnut wood table top showing the walnut grain lines

A "crotch grain" can occur naturally where the walnut tree branches out, causing the wood fibres to fold. Each year a new ring tries to fit in the space that is left, and the creases continue to form where the wood is flattened.

A close up of a walnut wood crotch grain in the wood

A walnut burl comes from protrusions on the tree that resemble large bumps or growths in the trunk, creating a distinct swirled appearance in the wood underneath.

A close up of highly polished walnut burr or burl, and the patterns created in the wood

Colours of Walnut Wood

Did you know that walnut wood colours differ? This is all based on which portion of the tree it originates. The heartwood of any tree is the most innermost part of a tree. In a walnut tree, the heartwood comprises a variety of light browns and dark browns with some greys, reddish greys, purplish and dark streaks often contained within.

Walnut wood dining table and chairs in a store

 

How Walnut Wood Ages

Where some wood darkens over time, walnut wood gets lighter as it ages, often becoming a honey colour. There are many elements that can lighten or darken the wood; however the main reason is typically due to sun exposure.

Walnut wood products are renowned for being long-lasting and investing in higher quality items will ensure you won't have to worry about changing your pieces for 50 years.

A picture containing walnut wood chair, floor, wall

How to tell if it’s Walnut Wood

The best way to tell whether the furniture you have is made from walnut wood is to buy it from a reputable store.

Many types of woods look like walnut wood or might have been altered to mimic it, however authentic walnut wood usually shows colour and grain variations throughout.

A picture of a walnut wood sideboard with two doors open to reveal crockery inside. Cabinet is made from polished walnut wood with sage green doors

Other facts about Walnut Wood

The characteristics of walnut wood that make it so perfect for quality furniture production, are also highly prized in other manufacturing, including walnut wood rifle and shotgun stocks and hardwood flooring.

In addition, the walnut burls and crotch grain pieces are highly prized and are often used as veneers in luxury car interiors.

Walnut wood veneer car dashboard

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