Beauty of Natural Walnut

Natural walnut kitchen cabinets from Sollera, designed by MTKC.

Late in 2011, Sollera added walnut as part of their product offerings, and it has been very well received.  Walnut can be very versatile for designs.  Back when we had a showroom, we would receive many compliments on our walnut two tone display.  Walnut on its own though, has its own elegance, and here we did a kitchen in a simple, natural walnut finish across the board.

Folks who like walnut tend to enjoy the wide variance of color within the natural wood, hence most of the orders I see are for natural finish (without any stains, just a clear top coat).  In this picture, you can see that walnut is mostly medium brown, with strands of white and light brown.  The grain and mineral deposits are in the darker brown tones, with some as dark as black.

When planning with darker color materials, keep in mind of the lighting in the room.  Do you have enough natural lights?  If not, you may consider adding windows, or skylights to bring in more natural light for the room.  If those options are not available, you can always add some recessed lights in the ceiling, or pendants over your peninsula/island.  Keep in mind that the other elements can help even out the tones, so a lighter color countertop like these folks have done here would be a great way to start.  We went as far as putting in a nicely designed tile back splash to the ceiling, with decorative accents and trim at the focal point behind the stove.  I suggest home owners to work with tile design specialists for their decorative needs here as they are the most aware of the various materials and color schemes are available in the latest manufacturers’ offering.

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