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High-end, timeless, and durable – walnut is simple, yet elegant, with a natural dark color sought after by craftsmen and collectors alike. Its smooth finish and graceful grain pattern make walnut a go-to classic, perfect for a vintage feel or to warm up a more modern space. While the color is more consistent than you would find in oak, a closer look will reveal the various shades of brown in any piece of the wood. The exact tone differs from tree to tree and which part of the tree is used.
While white wood is perfectly suitable, and the first choice of many furniture builders, we always utilize the heartwood — the center cut. Heartwood is where the classic walnut color is found. Not only is it denser and stronger than white wood, but it is also more resistant to decay. White wood, often called sapwood, is the wood located towards the outside of the log and serves as a tree’s nervous system. Due to its function in a living tree, white wood contains a lot of moisture. Not only does this cause shrinkage, which makes accurately cultivating it more difficult, but objects made of white wood are also more susceptible to fungus. Using heartwood ensures our frames are built to last.
Oak is comparable to walnut in quality and durability, but their appearances truly set them apart. In addition to its darker tone, walnut has smoother grain patterns with straighter lines that run the length of the lumber. The wider grains in walnut make the patterns less noticeable and the wood smoother to the touch. Oak exhibits a lighter tone with a more distinct grain pattern, which is often raised and rough. The contrasting tones of oak’s grain are one of the many reasons it’s sought after, but its bold lines aren’t to everyone’s taste.
Missouri is home to more black walnut trees than anywhere else in the world. Most locals know the tree for the nuts it grows as they are the state nut of Missouri. Unlike European varieties, which grow in orchards, the black walnut grows wild across most of the eastern United States. Early Native Americans used the tree for food, medicine, tea, and dye and the first Ozarkers used the leaves to repel insects in their homes. The wood itself was originally used for building houses, barns, and fences. Today, it’s most commonly used for furniture, veneer, and gunstocks.
No matter what shape of frame you’re looking for, walnut is a solid choice. Many of our walnut picture frame shapes have been proven popular with our clients. They include but are not limited to oval, round, half-circle, floating, and round-corner rectangle frames. We offer the walnut variety in any of the shapes and profile molding designs found on our website. All our frames are made to order, and some of our best products were inspired by client requests. If you have something else in mind, please feel free to contact us and we’ll entertain your idea.
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Oak Picture Frames
High-end, timeless, and durable – walnut is simple, yet elegant, with a natural dark color sought after by craftsmen and collectors alike.
EMMA PIOTROWSKI 