Explaining color and grain variations in between and within different kitchen cabinet components.
As a natural product, wood is influenced by varying soil and weather conditions, which impacts the lumber grain patterns and colors. These differences contribute to the unique beauty of real wood, showcasing an endless array of grain, texture, and hue.
Thus, color and grain variations should be expected in cabinetry parts, from toe kicks to fillers, end gables to cabinet doors.
This is particularly the case for walnut. In this document, we will provide ample information and help answer questions such as:
“Why are there dark brown, red, and whiter parts in my walnut kitchen?”
“Why are there color differences between end panels, cabinet door frames, and their center panels?”
“Why are there varying grain patterns in the plywood in my kitchen?”
More importantly, this article will highlight what reasonable expectations are for solid walnut and veneered walnut.
“Why are there dark brown, white, and reddish colors in my walnut kitchen?"
The short answer is heartwood vs. sapwood. Heartwood gives the tree strength. It helps resist decay. Heartwood is not living.
Sapwood forms around the heartwood. It is lighter in color. Sapwood is alive and growing. It transports water and nutrients. This keeps the tree healthy. Sapwood turns into heartwood over time.
The heartwood of walnut is typically a rich, dark brown, while the sapwood is lighter, often a creamy white or pale yellow.
When optimizing a log, sawmills may use different types of sawing methods; the most common is plain sawn:
A walnut tree, by nature, will therefore yield smaller boards with contorted grain and color variations:
“Defects” and smaller boards are just the nature of walnut. The tree just grows this way with many branches and a lot of twisted and contorted grain. With the stark contrast between sapwood and heartwood, more attention is paid to removing it, yet the sap layer can be quite large in walnut1.
This will result in planks with lots of color and grain variations as such:
As you may see from the above pictures, trying to satisfy customers asking for “black only” walnut components will become tricky. Although it is theoretically possible to select only the darker parts in boards, in manufacturing, the process is avoided. If lumber suppliers, component suppliers, and cabinet makers all have to pick the above-grade dark only, the whole remaining pack becomes devalued. Pricing would need to cover the cost of rejecting the white, making the cost of “dark only” unreasonably high.
Here is a good resume from Woodworker’s Source
“Walnut Trees represent less than 1% of North American hardwood forests... all this affects what you can expect when you buy and work with the wood... Walnut comes with some trade-offs; it comes the way it grows, and its limited supply...even in the best walnut that money can possibly buy, you’re still going to have to be prepared to deal with some amount of sapwood2.
Factory vs. Home Lighting.
Factories that sort lumber, produce walnut components, and build the cabinets will have controlled and standardized lighting. This is to ensure consistency in evaluating all types of woods for their color and quality. Manufacturers will utilize light sources with specific colors, temperatures, and illumination levels to showcase characteristics of wood in ways that may differ from how it appears in a home setting.
Home lighting is much more variable than factory lighting, with a mix of natural and artificial lighting, different color temperatures, and varying intensities. This may result in a wide range of color variations when the cabinets are installed versus when they were manufactured.
As far as age and exposure, you may expect walnut to even out as it is exposed to light and UV rays. Freshly cut walnut may appear darker, but it can develop a honey-like hue as it ages3.
“Why are there differences between end panels and cabinet doors?”
The color differences between hardwood and plywood stem from their structural makeup, variations in grain, and production methods. Note: This applies to almost every other wood species, such as oak and maple.
Cabinet doors can be made with a solid wood frame and a plywood center, resulting in color variations within the component.
Solid walnut, thanks to its more open grain pattern, tends to absorb stain uniformly, creating a richer and more intense color.
Plywood is a manufactured product made by applying a thin layer (0.6 mm) of sliced walnut (called veneer) on top of particleboard or MDF substrate. The veneer may be manufactured thinner to cut costs, which affects its stain absorption capabilities.
Additionally, the adhesives used in plywood can sometimes inhibit the stain from penetrating as effectively as it would in solid walnut. The result will almost always be a lighter color than solid wood.It is essential to remember that, just as no trees are identical, the color of solid wood can differ from one part to another, as seen on the frame of the cabinet doors in the above picture.
Due to their structural differences, it is normal to expect color variations between solid wood and veneer. The center panel of the doors may be made of plywood, which also takes the stain differently and adds to the overall visual effect. Moreover, these variations are typically noticeable only after the application of stain and can be enhanced by different lighting conditions. It is, therefore, unrealistic to anticipate a perfect color match among cabinet parts after installation.
“Why are there varying grain patterns in the plywood components in my kitchen?”
As for varying grain patterns between parts of the kitchen, the reason is the same as varying colors in solid wood: The walnut tree inherently comes with many branches and contorted grain, and this will show in the veneer. Indeed, the grain pattern of the walnut wood used to make the veneer significantly affects the appearance of the plywood. Because walnut trees have such a variety of grain patterns, walnut plywood veneer will also have a lot of variation in the grain. This natural variation is part of what makes walnut veneer so appealing4.
The grain pattern may even vary within a single plywood sheet. Small cabinet parts may be taken from the same sheet and still present different grain patterns. Grain sequencing may be available to ensure that walnut parts next to each other have a similar grain. But this comes at a hefty premium: a lot more planning of resources is necessary, and if a part is damaged and needs replacement, the whole sequence needs to be replaced.
It is important to recognize that at every stage of the manufacturing process—from the sawmill to the plywood manufacturer, followed by the cabinet door manufacturer, and finally the cabinet maker—a careful selection of the finest walnut pieces was undertaken. Despite all efforts, color and grain variations will be present in the final result.
It is imperative to be aware of the different characteristics of walnut, as well as the possible color variations between parts of the kitchen and within the same components.
To that effect, we strongly recommend having on hand several walnut sample doors in different cuts and finishes. All the while, it is important to remember that samples cannot show every possible color and grain variation that may come with a full set of kitchen components.
Color and grain variations should be embraced as an inherent feature of high-quality cabinetry, as well as a testament to a kitchen’s uniqueness. These variations are highly valued by wood connoisseurs, as they epitomize the essence of nature and the quality of natural wood products.
References
1 -https://www.mcilvain.com/news/walnut-grades-explained/
2 -What is the Difference between Heartwood And Sapwood: Key Insights – Woodworking Advisor
3 -www.tyfinefurniture.com/blogs/blog/know-your-walnut-wood-color-grain-and-other-traits
4 -Walnut Plywood for Wall Panels - https://woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Walnut_Plywood_for_Wall_Panels.html
