For example, if we have a light oak piece or finish we want to contrast, we'll likely pair it with a dark wood like walnut or stained maple. Designer note: If the wood tones in your space seem overwhelming, try balancing them out with a neutral-stained wood piece in black, white, or even light grey.
Combining mixed wood types – such as oak, walnut, ash – has become increasingly popular over the last few years thanks to the laid-back, 'lived-in' trend sweeping the interior world.
White Oak and Walnut
Oak is a popular wood species in furniture and flooring. A highly durable material, white oak tends to have a light beige through brown appearance with an open grain. When paired with dark brown walnut, you can guarantee you'll have an exciting pairing that you and others can appreciate.
Dark walnut stain is a warm, medium-dark brown color. It is one of the most popular stains for red oak and other hardwood floors, as it adds a rich, classic look to any room.
Other species of oak, such as American White Oak, have a light-to-tan brown colour with a straight grain. Walnut, on the other hand, can have a characteristically sleek cream-to-chocolate brown colour — often with an alluring tinge of purple.
Good pairings
white oak and walnut. cherry and maple. red oak and white ash. mahogony and cherry.
For those who like their furniture to stand out, consider choosing an opaque colour to go with your oak furniture. Natural textures look beautiful against a backdrop of darker shades such as aubergine, navy or forest green.
Oak has a light to middle brown colour with some reddish hues, complimented by a straight and tight grain pattern. Walnut can range anywhere from a light brown to a deep, dark chocolate hue. Though its grain is very open and more coarse than maple, walnut still has a beautiful, uniform surface.
Use Contrast to Call Attention
Dark finishes, such as mahogany, walnut, or cherry, stand out in sharp relief against light colors, such as a pale green or blue or a hue from the sunny side of the color wheel. In the same way, light wood shows up boldly against dark or strong color on the walls.
Dark Walnut stains look great with other dark colors, like plums, blues, greens, and dark reds. Alternatively, lighter colors like off-white, light grays, and other neutral shades can pleasantly contrast the eyes. Don't be afraid to mix different shades of stained wood and different types of wood in a room.
Wax Finishes: Wax finishes provide a natural-looking finish without adding much gloss or shine to the wood. 4. Shellac Finish: Shellac is a versatile natural finish that enhances the beauty of walnut with its warm amber hue.
Top 5 Pairings
Although people enjoy a mix of sweet and savory flavors with walnuts, a sweet combination is most liked by all: (1) Dark Chocolate, (2) Sesame Cayenne, (3) Vanilla, (4) Sea Salt Caramel, (5) Coffee.
Warm tones will appear as yellow, orange, or red. You'll find them in most unstained woods like walnut, white oak, red oak, and maple.
Walnut is rated at a 1010 on the Janka Hardness Scale. European Oak is a 1360 on the same scale. This means that Oak is more durable than Walnut and will stand up better against constant use and daily wear and tear.
In general, woods with a warm tone don't have a stain that changes their natural color — think natural birch, walnut, oak, maple, cherry, or even mahogany. Woods with a stain, particularly those finished in grey or black washes, tend to have cool undertones.
Walnut wood offers rich, brown colors that range from light to dark brown. The sapwood (outer part of the tree log) is pale yellow to white and the heartwood (center of the tree log) has brown shades that vary from light brown to dark chocolate brown with some dark brown streaks.
Regardless of what option you may choose, real or look-a-like, walnut wood is becoming a more and more requested item. Although walnut has been around for a while, we think this “trend” is here to stay. Walnut is recognizable, it's beautiful, and it's a rich-looking material for any kitchen space.
Walnut wood can change color depending on the way it's dried or its age. The heartwood usually is a dark brown color and the sapwood is a light yellow color. When the wood is left out in the elements, such as the sun, the lighter wood will turn darker and the darker wood will turn lighter.
Walnut has a wider, open grain and a generally soft surface, while oak has a tight, slightly raised wood grain that results in a rougher, coarser texture. It's important to remember that hardwood products are natural products—just like the trees themselves, no two cabinet doors are exactly alike.
Oak is one of the most affordable hardwoods and is readily available, making it generally less expensive than Walnut. Because Walnut is rare and more difficult to source, the cost of a Walnut floor will tend to be higher.
Complementary Color Palette
The color on the opposite side of orange is blue, across from yellow is purple. Any bright blue color will strongly contrast with orange in the honey oak, thus intensifying the color effect.
However, those dated, honey oak cabinets you have from the 1980's and 90's are not coming back into fashion… sorry. Today's wood cabinets have clean, modern lines and more muted tones. They are also used in combination with other cabinet colors, like creamy whites, off-blacks, sage greens, and smoky blues.
One outdated trend that many of us are all too familiar with is golden oak. In the '80s and '90s, this honey-toned wood finish was all the rage, and people put it evvverywhere. Flooring, railings, doors, trim, baseboards, cabinets… you name it.