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is this walnut or what?

Fori
11 years ago

Howdy. It's time to start redoing my kitchen and I don't want to pull the woodwork out of the house to match. I have a cabinet that is marked "walnut" and I'm wondering if that is the stain color or the actual veneer species. It looks good with my amber 1950s mahogany casework. I know this isn't fine furniture, but it's actually not bad, for a stereo (mono?) cabinet:

Any idea on what this is or what would be a similar look? I want something that looks nice with this grubby stuff:

Thanks much!

Comments (6)

  • gregmills_gw
    11 years ago

    The first picture does not look like walnut to me.

    Although i can say for certain the bottom picture is Mahogany.

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    11 years ago

    Yes to the walnut (veneer) yes to the (Philippine) mahogany.
    Casey

  • aidan_m
    11 years ago

    Walnut; Mahogany.

    Walnut lightens over time, finishes amber over time. That is what we are seeing.

  • Fori
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks guys. Any suggestions on achieving a similar tone on new cabinets without waiting for 50 years of ambering and/or lightening? Can walnut be stained to be a touch amber without looking bad? (I can live with the dark parts) or should I be looking for a different wood? Does modern mahogany make a decent cabinet door?

    It's not exactly a trendy look right now so you don't see it in cabinetmaker catalogs. :) Thanks again!

  • bobismyuncle
    11 years ago

    Take a look at butternut, sometimes called "white walnut" It starts out much lighter and you can push the color darker with dyes or pigments. You can't go lighter without bleaching. Butternut has a grain structure similar to walnut, being a related species.

  • Fori
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I'll add that to my list of species to investigate. Thank you Bob's nephew! :)