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Hello everyone, I'm the Wood Curator, who professionally talks about wood grain and occasionally discusses design.
When talking about the best-selling wood on the market, black walnut is a must-mention. Since the "walnut age" in the 16th century, black walnut has been popular for five centuries and is a timeless classic. If you use black walnut for your home decoration, you don't have to worry about it going out of style for many years to come.
(Black walnut tree)
(Black walnut logs)
Black walnut is frequently seen in furniture, decoration projects, and handicrafts. It is not only a favorite among consumers but also a favorite wood species among designers.
For example, Japanese designer Shuhei Aoyama, who became well-known through the variety show "Dream Home Makeover," has used black walnut elements in many of his design projects, presenting a series of excellent works with different styles.
Designers are meticulous about details to achieve their desired results, and master designers are even more demanding when it comes to choosing materials. So why do these discerning designers unanimously choose black walnut? And why has it won over so many consumers, who have loved black walnut for centuries?
What is the allure of black walnuts? Today, Curator Mu will discuss this with you.
Why are black walnuts so popular?
First, black is a timeless classic, and among black woods, black walnut offers the best value for money.
In home decoration, black is a timeless classic color. Black can express elegance and sophistication, as well as a sense of calm and power. It can be luxurious or minimalist; against a black background, any quality furniture can stand out. Black is also a versatile color; paired with different colors, it can create different visual experiences.
(Black walnut wood)
Therefore, black walnut ranges from purplish-brown to dark brown, with a calm and sophisticated color. The wood has a fine structure, straight or slightly interlocked grain, and fine black stripes. As a black wood, it is highly favored by designers and consumers.
(Black walnut veneer)
Furthermore, with the current trend of light luxury home furnishings, black, as a neutral color, is the main color for creating a light luxury style. Using black walnut can perfectly embody the essence of light luxury style-while creating a low-key atmosphere with dark brown wood color, the natural texture and feel of the wood are also luxurious and exquisite.
Black woods aren't limited to black walnut; there's also ebony. However, compared to ebony, black walnut offers significantly better value for money and has a wider range of applications.
Second, black walnut, known as the "aristocrat of woods," possesses both historical significance and a noble character.
The cultural significance of black walnuts has always attracted many people.
Walnut inlay tables were used in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages; during the European Renaissance, walnut wood reliefs were widely used and became a favorite of the upper class; black walnut wood was extensively used as the main material in the antique furniture of royalty and nobility preserved in palaces such as the Louvre, Versailles, and Buckingham Palace in Europe; and even today, black walnut remains the first choice for many people when decorating and buying furniture.
Black walnut has been nurtured for hundreds of years in the long river of history and the world of nobility. Its composure comes from history, its luxury comes from royalty and nobility, and its texture and color flow with the aristocratic atmosphere of hundreds of years. It is a symbol of status and the aristocracy among woods.
Later varieties like African sapele and eucalyptus lack the historical and cultural heritage of black walnut, the fine grain developed over hundreds of years, and the distinctive quality that makes it instantly recognizable as a premium wood. The noble character of black walnut is truly unique.
(The left is black walnut, and the right is sapele. It can be seen that the texture of black walnut is finer.)
Third, thanks to the vigorous promotion by organizations such as the North American Timber Association.
Black walnut has been popular in Europe and the United States for centuries. Later, thanks to the vigorous promotion by organizations such as the North American Timber Association in my country, black walnut has also become a symbol of luxury in the country. Its extensive application and promotion in the furniture and decoration engineering fields have made even people unfamiliar with the timber industry aware of this precious wood species.
Can't tell the real from the fake? Be sure to keep your eyes open when buying black walnuts!
If you take a stroll through the market, you'll find that many types of wood are now called walnut. Walnut belongs to the genus Juglans (Juglans L.) of the family Juglandaceae. The genus Juglans contains about 15 species of wood, distributed in South America, North America, southeastern Europe, and eastern Asia, such as European black walnut, American black walnut, West Coast walnut, and British black walnut.
(Left: British walnut; Right: West Coast walnut)
However, the most authentic and expensive black walnuts are those from Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and the United States. Black walnuts from Africa and Southeast Asia are newer varieties, and their historical significance is far less than that of European and American black walnuts.
(Left: European black walnut; Right: American black walnut)
However, black walnuts are now an endangered species on the market, and their price has been rising year by year, with the price of each cubic meter of raw material reaching tens of thousands.
The high price of black walnut has presented a business opportunity for merchants. They often misrepresent many woods that do not belong to the walnut genus as "walnut wood," thus confusing consumers. For example, Brazilian walnut, Burmese walnut, and African black walnut are not actually walnut wood; they are greenheart camphor, terminalia wood, and tigerwood, respectively, and are only named as such because they resemble walnut wood.
The left is Brazilian walnut (greenheart camphor wood), and the right is Burmese walnut (terminata wood).
African walnut (Tigerwood)
Some merchants even try to pass off ash wood as black walnut wood.
(Left: Genuine black walnut; Right: Ash wood (imitation black walnut))
Decorative applications of black walnuts