I think Walnut is a timeless stain choice on cabinets......we just purchase 20 Diamond cabinets in Walnut Stained Maple.

Thank you Wamot for your quick response to my plea for help. You kitchen sounds lovely and I hope you post a reveal when it's finished.

Perhaps my post wasn't clear: I am pretty sure we are selecting walnut wood for the cabinets (not walnut stain). The question is which stain will enhance this wood? A little more clarification: we want to see the natural grain and shade of the walnut, but perhaps not ALL its imperfections. Just something to even out any heartwood and give it a richness.

Oh Hollysprings, I just had a good laugh when I read your advice! I love your conviction and if I didn't know better I'd say you've been talking to my DH. I agree that in a quality piece of wood, staining obscures it's beauty. I'm just not naïve enough to think that Dynasty is going to hand select first quality lumber. Nonetheless, I value your advice and will definitely order a sample door in natural.

Just one quick question: can I expect walnut to lighten over the years or develop a greenish hue?

thanks so much. I feel better already.

Which door are you considering? They offer veneered slab doors and solid raised panel doors. The wood IS hand selected for color match on all orders of any wood with Dynasty or Omega. They just won't do bookmatched grain unless you're in Omega, so they can charge appropriately for waste and extra time.

I'm a natural walnut fan and don't feel that staining walnut enhances it at all. You either love that grain and color, or you don't. If you don't, there are woods that are much less expensive that still have a pretty grain, like cherry.

Live_wire_oak: thank you for your post. To answer your question, we are looking at a shaker door with reversed raised panel. I am splurging on the kitchen cabinets and don't want to spend the extra $$ to grain match the bathroom cabinets. However, I am glad to hear that Dynasty matches the wood within an order. That gives me relief. And thank you for weighing in on the stain/no stain question. I am very happy to have your input.

Hollysprings and LWO: This has probably been the toughest decision of our build. DH is a natural wood fan with all imperfections and beauty exposed for the world to enjoy and I am a little more conservative. I've made most of the finish decisions and this is the only area he's expressed a strong opinion so I really didn't want to overrule him. I know we can both be happy with natural walnut. Thank you both!

Honu - I have Dynasty/Omega. I ordered a sample door in the ginger stain, although it was Cherry wood. I found it to be pretty orange, so I was very happy that I ordered a sample first. I would order a current sample in any wood/finish you are considering to ensure you know what your're getting and the finish is current before making a final decision.

Hi Mgoblue - Yes, thanks for the warning, I plan to order a sample door. I need to get new pricing, first though. I am curious, what stain did you end up with for your Dynasty Cherry cabs? Our second running is Cherry with sage stain. If the Walnut is too $$ we may go back to cherry so would love to hear what stain you ended up selecting. Thanks.

Walnut is only a 20% premium in Dynasty. A pretty simple vanity, Plainfield doorstyle, 78" in length, (3 boxes) with an applied door end to one of it, toekick, and a touch up kit is around $2300. Cherry would be about $2100. Not a big difference.

This post was edited by live_wire_oak on Tue, May 6, 14 at 17:34

Oh wow! That pricing sounds doable. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. We have three vanities so I hope we can keep it reasonable. I've emailed my salesperson with a request for re pricing.

honu3421 - If you haven't already, you may want to visit this web page and scroll down to Dynasty Finishes on Walnut.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dynasty Finishes and Glazes

Honu - sorry for the delayed response. I selected sable with a coffee glaze.

Mgoblue85 - no problem on the delayed follow up. Sometimes life gets in the way of GW! We've ordered a sample walnut door in natural finish. Fingers crossed that it meets with DH's approval. If it doesn't, we go to cherry so your info is helpful. Thanks again.

Just wanted you all to know that I just ordered my vanity based on information from this thread. (So thanks, all!) I ordered natural walnut from the new frameless line. - the door style is Torin. The cabinet place had a sample so I was able to see exactly what it was going to look like. The vanity will be two attached cabinets - drawers on the left and doors on the right, no toekick, and I got a 4" x 4" tall leg which will be cut to make feet! Unfortunately I had to wait 6-8 weeks, but I am excited! I am thiinking it will look really sharp with Pure White Caesarstone!

jerzeegirl - wow, your vanity sounds like it is going to be beautiful. Please be sure to post a picture when it comes in. Can't wait to see it!

Hi jerzeegirl, how did the vanity turn out? I'm also considering natural walnut in the Torin door with a white quartz, so I'd be intrigued to hear how it went!