Which of these two beautiful wood finishes will look great in your home

If you’re choosing some new wooden doors for your home, because you love the natural feel they give a room, your next decision is: should you go for oak or walnut? 

Both our oak and walnut ranges are perennially popular with clients but choosing which wood finish is best for your home can be a tricky decision. You might love the way a rich walnut door looks in our brochure – but will it look right with your interior design theme? Equally, you may prefer the lighter look of oak, but it may not go with your bold design palette. 

When it comes to opting between these two beautiful woods, here are our handy tips to help you choose the perfect wooden doors for your home. 

Oak: the versatile choice

Oak is naturally light and can really ‘lift’ an interior, but it has a practical side too. We stock many more designs in our oak range – whether you go for a finished or unfinished door – which gives you a lot more choice when it comes to picking your optimum design. Oak doors are usually more cost-effective than walnut, so they are likely to be kinder on your pocket, too. 

Oak is an easy-going type of wood that tends to go with a wider range of interiors than the darker, more mysterious walnut: that means that the oak doors you choose could have a longer shelf life from a fashion stakes point of view, taking longer before you feel the need to change them. 

One important point to make about both oak and walnut doors is that neither will guarantee a ‘consistent’ look in terms of their finish. The natural grain appearance of all wood means that one oak door may not look quite like another oak door – even in the same design – and the same goes for walnut. This is one of the features of wooden doors that some people find very attractive, since it gives a unique ‘stamp’ to each door, allowing for an appealing, non-factory-made look. Having said that, if you do prefer your doors to look more uniform but you still like the feel of wood, it’s worth considering Laminate doors as they offer some incredibly realistic wood effect finishes.

Walnut: the interior designers’ choice

Dark, bold and luxurious-looking, walnut is a great choice of door if your building or renovation project is interior-design led. You’re more likely to be suited to a walnut door if you’re looking to make a real impact, whether that’s in a contemporary or a classic setting. If you have light-coloured walls, a walnut door makes a striking statement in a room, or it can also give you a stunning look if paired with signature furniture pieces. 

A walnut door will also emphasise the timber graining pattern more than oak will – helping you make a real, sleek statement. 

It goes without saying, that whichever you choose, oak or walnut, you’ll certainly impress visitors to your home.