Its natural color can vary depending on the species and age of the tree and the part of the tree that the wood comes from. Over time, however, the natural dark color of walnut wood can lighten and fade due to exposure to sunlight and other environmental factors.
New walnut has a consistent dark-brown color but as it gets older, two changes occur. 1: Unlike maple and cherry, it gets lighter. 2: A rich honey color starts to come through the grain.
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.
Many things can change the natural color of walnut wood. For example, the elements will often darken light wood and lighten dark wood, so sun exposure over a period of years will typically cause walnut wood furniture to lighten.
As for the staining, if it's a bad case, you're just going to be stuck with it for a while. “The pigmentation is semi-permanent. It just has to wear off and it can take a long time to fade.”
Walnut is lovely wood, especially when carefully air dried so as to preserve the rich chocolate, purple and black tones in the best of it. HOWEVER, It fades like mad in sunlight. Furniture is touched by sunlight. Therefore, the lovely colors of the walnut go away — and it doesn't take centuries.
The kernel of a young, only torn walnut has a light color, after lying for several days, the kernel it darkens a little. This is a natural and normal process. After drying, the kernel takes on its permanent color.
White walnut has a much lighter color than black walnut wood, but that's not the only difference: This wood is much softer, and it's not as durable against decay as the other types of black walnut wood. It's easy to work with, but because it's soft, it has a fuzzy surface, even after it's been sanded.
Walnut is a fantastic choice for a lot of reasons… first, it's gorgeous but because it has a slight purple undertone to it — walnut can work best with both warm or cool undertones.
“Walnut has a warm undertone; it deepens and becomes richer and darker within the first year,” notes Laura. Walnut is becoming a top choice for several reasons. “So many people love the modern look but don't want it to appear cold.
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.
Both beautiful woods, walnut and brown maple make stunning wood furniture. Walnut has some darker colors, but still looks beautiful au natural with an oiled finish.
The best finish for walnut is a clear one. Several coats of Danish oil provide clarity. For protection, add a compatible clear topcoat.
Special Walnut is a timeless color with a rich and natural feel. It fits in many color schemes, able to stand out elegantly with neutral tones, or sit back as a welcoming accent with bolder tones.
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.
Black walnut timber is very highly prized for its straight, dark, heavy, strong, fine-grained heartwood, which is used to make fine furniture, valuable gunstocks, flooring, oars, and coffins.
Direct exposure to sunlight over a long time will change the coloring chemicals of walnut and cause the reduction of their dark brown color. Also, the level of exposure will increase the speed of the color shift from dark to pale. However, walnut furniture fades like mad in sunlight.
Species such as maple and walnut dry at an intermediate rate, ie a 1” walnut board air dried in the south in the summer time will dry in about 120 days, and species such as oak, mesquite, and hickory dry very slowly (ie 1” per year).
Though walnuts can be eaten as it is by removing the outer shell, the best way to have them is by soaking overnight. Just soak 2-4 walnut pieces overnight in a cup of water and have them first thing in the morning. Soaking walnuts helps in reducing the bad cholesterol levels in the body.
If walnut is not steamed, the sapwood is usually custom stained in finishing to develop uniform color. Such "stained" wood may not be suitable in all cases. As the walnut color darkens slowly over the years, this stained sapwood area does not darken as much.
Reminiscent of dark cocoa and coffee beans, Dark Walnut embraces the shadowy hues of black and brown. Woodgrain appears etched with charcoal, creating a sultry dance where light and dark meet.
Bleached walnut. Sometimes you want to make wood lighter than it is in its raw state. This is common when trying to match the wood to something that already exists. The way to do it is to first bleach out the color of the wood, then apply a stain, if necessary, to achieve the match.