What is walnut wood?
The Wood Guide · The wood register
Broadleaf wood · referenceWalnut
Chocolate brown with a wavy figure that makes no two boards alike. The darkest furniture wood that grows in Europe — and one of the most expensive.
- Juglans regia · nigra
- ±650 kg/m³
- Class 3 — indoor wood
Black walnutJuglans nigra
Walnut
Chocolate brown with a wavy figure that makes no two boards alike. The darkest furniture wood that grows in Europe — and one of the most expensive.
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Walnut in brief
The walnut tree gives us two things: nuts, and one of the most prized furniture woods in the world.
Walnut is exceptional among European woods because it is naturally dark. Where oak, beech and ash all sit in the light to mid-brown range, walnut gives a deep chocolate brown — sometimes with purplish or grey streaks running through it. No stain comes close.
On top of that, it is pleasant to work for its hardness, polishes beautifully and takes on a deep lustre once finished. That exact combination has made it the wood for cabinets, tabletops and gunstocks for centuries.
- Botanical
- Juglans regia (European), J. nigra (American)
- Colour
- chocolate brown, sometimes with purple or grey streaks
- Density
- ±650 kg/m³
- Durability
- class 3 — moderately durable
- Strength in
- workability and appearance
- Price range
- investment
To be fair: walnut fades in direct sunlight — the one dark wood that gets lighter rather than darker. A tabletop by a window colours unevenly over the years.
European and American walnut
Juglans regia
The common walnut, also found in gardens and along roadsides in our part of the world.
- More lively figure, with more colour variation
- Often lighter, with a greyer undertone
- Rarer as timber — the trees usually stand on their own
- Highly sought after for veneer
Juglans nigra
Black walnut, from eastern North America and the standard in the trade.
- More even and a deeper chocolate brown
- More widely available in usable sizes
- Slightly harder than the European species
- The walnut you see in a furniture shop
What walnut is used for
Anywhere indoors where the wood is meant to be seen — and that is exactly the point.
Furniture
Cabinets, tabletops and seating at the upper end of the market; the classic wood of 1950s and 1960s design furniture.
Veneer
Because of its price, walnut is often used as a thin veneer on a stable core rather than as solid wood.
Gunstocks
A centuries-old use: strong enough for the recoil, beautiful enough to show off.
Musical instruments
Guitar backs and sides, for a warm tone with plenty of midrange.
Carving
Hard enough for detail, soft enough to be a pleasure to work.
At durability class 3, walnut can’t cope outdoors, and its price makes that a waste anyway. For garden furniture, look at teak, acacia or pressure-treated softwood — see the wood register.
Frequently asked questions about walnut
Why does walnut fade in the sun?
It is a quirk of this species: where most woods darken under UV light, walnut actually becomes lighter and greyer. Keep furniture out of full sun, or turn it now and then so it colours evenly.
What is the difference between European and American walnut?
European walnut (Juglans regia) has a livelier figure with more colour variation; American walnut (Juglans nigra) is more even and a deeper chocolate brown, and more widely available in usable sizes.
Can walnut go outdoors?
Why is walnut so expensive?
Because usable logs are scarce. Walnut trees are often planted singly for their nuts rather than in forests for their timber, and it takes decades for a trunk to grow wide enough for furniture boards.
Walnut in perspective
Walnut is a reference species in our register — wood we don’t use, but do know well.
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Juglans regia — Martin Lorenz, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Juglans regia — Vogg123, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Juglans nigra — R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0