skip to main content

Home Decorating Renovating Design Dilemma

Interior Doors, Walnut vs Oak vs White

6 years ago

The question - should I fit walnut interior doors? I am really leaning towards going for Walnut doors on an interior re-furb, however they are about £30 more expensive than Oak, and I dont know whether its on trend? is Walnut the way to go? I don't really see much on Houzz for Walnut interior doors so am a bit nervous about this! my style is contemporary classic, I like the Georgian style architecture, skirtings and architraves and plaster coving, and want to mix that up with a contemporary kitchen and walnut doors?

Featured Answer

PRO

User

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Agree with Minnie..........i'd go for something more like this in shape and design and paint them.............definitely more Georgian.

If you don't fancy white then the modern twist is for all woodwork to be the same colour as the walls...........I really think it's effective.

We've just started doing this in our own home and are coupling the doors with ebony beehive handles.

Comments (11)

Carolina
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I would rather go for Georgian style, white painted doors that will go with the other architectural details. These particular walnut doors look dated to me already.

A contemporary kitchen and furniture, yes. And contemporary door hardware, okay too, as far as I'm concerned.

Georgian Vicarage · More Info
Darren thanked Carolina
PRO
PWJ Architects Ltd
6 years ago
Good morning Darren,

Walnut has an open grain, in comparison to oak which has a tighter grain. What this means is that the walnut doors will provide greater detail in terms of texture, providing a more 'natural' look. Choosing an oak door would denote a contemporary-modern style, whereas selecting a walnut door would create a contemporary-rustic style.

Georgian architecture is typically grand in design, so using walnut doors may be best suited.

It comes down to your personal preference in styles, not necessarily 'trends' that appear. After all, you'll be living here for the foreseeable future!
Darren thanked PWJ Architects Ltd
Related Discussions
POLL: Dark vs light furniture?
Q
Comments (98)
Our home is a comfort driven election of many types of timber and styles having been donated bits from great grandparents, grandparents, parents and even a friend's old pine kitchen table that had been chewed by her dog! We may be awarded any trophies for our home but it is full of memories of our 50 years of marriage. The only bit of furniture I really do not like and regret buying is a tipple galas shelved TV unit. It is almost impossible to keep clean. Gilly
...See More
Blank Canvas vs Low Funds!
Q
Comments (8)
Hello Lucy8i8, My first thoughts is artwork. This is how I see your room: Thought 1: A large darkish brown wooden framed poster of a musical subject (whatever form that may take) that has splashes or flecks of white, cream and dark brown in it, if possible. If it has more colours, the better. To hang over the fireplace harmonising the colours of the room and the artwork as one. The larger, the better. Thought 2: A wallpaper mural just for the chimney breast wall. A design or photograph that can be whatever you're drawn to that makes you feel part of the image, not just 'looking' at an image. Again, colours are key, but incorporating some primary and secondary colours of the room if possible. Thought 3: If you have a particular subject that's meaningful to you, source artwork incorporating that subject, it will be more sentimental to you. I specialise in creating bespoke artwork to compliment (or contrast) a rooms decor and furnishings. If you like the suggestions, run with it! If you need to find an image or garner ideas of what would look good on your walls, please visit my website for a little more creative thinking, especially the BESPOKE DESIGNS section: http://www.thejonescollection.gallery If you would like to have something specifically created for your room, get in contact and we can develop any ideas further together. All the best with whatever you decide to do.
...See More
Underfloor heating advice tiles vs wood
Q
Comments (1)
Hi Siobhan, There are so many dilemmas when renovating / extending. Floor transitions are notoriously tricky when trying to create a flow within an interior and particularly from old to new.... Engineered wood flooring is warm to the touch (underfoot) and a natural insulator . All of our engineered wooden floors are designed to work over / in conjunction with underfloor heating systems...here are our trending floors for inspiration... Douglas Fir - Saatchi - White Lye & Soap effect stain Douglas fir has been dubbed the world's most beautiful floor and gained in popularity since being installed in the Saatchi gallery.... white wide and very long floorboards really open up a space and used widely in Scandinavian style interiors. This is the only softwood engineered floor we produce however and I would advise against putting it in a high traffic area as it will dent easily. American White Ash - Saatchi - White Stain & Low-Lustre UV Oiled In response to the popularity of white washed Douglas fir (above) we created a very similar floor but in American White Ash - an incredibly hard, hardwood. Our Ash - Saatchi is inherently durable and low-maintenance, produced in equally wide and long floorboards with a permanent white stain and commercial grade low sheen topcoat. Natural Wide Plank Oak Flooring The raw, natural beauty of Oak is enhanced by a natural finish and a fond farewell to the 'honey pine' yellowing that has become synonymous with Oak flooring until recently. Oak is a naturally beautiful shade of grey & beige / greige. A clear oil / lacquer brings out warm tones within Oak and over time + exposure to sunlight this golden patina will deepen. Our Nature Oil finish retains these greige / grey biscuity hues and prevents the honey pine / golden patina . As far as style is concerned, a natural grey is the new neutral within Interior Design themes ...contemporary, coastal, minimalist etc Hope the above helps and if you have any questions or need further advice please give me a shout. Bestest, Charlotte
...See More
Massive renovation project - floor plan dilemma 1 flat vs 2
Q
Comments (71)
Hi Everyone, I hope you are doing well wherever you are but I bet everyone's busy at this time of the year. I have been a busy bee myself and learned how to use Homestyler but I must say it's a painful and slow process. I have been obsessed with the floor plan of the small flat for the past week as the time has come to finalize it with the new team. We'll be around 2 months behind the plan which is fine. So I made the decision to not have a loft in the small flat because the floorplan I chose seems to work well with loads of storage. Please excuse some of the furniture such as the kitchen and the colour of the large cabinet, they will be white but Homestyler is quite limited so I had to chose from whatever they had in store. Let me know what you think of the floor plan please. I'm happy with it so far. I'll send you links to short panoramic videos Honestlyler created which was a godsend as that'd exactly what I wanted to see, at least approximately how my flat would look like. I really wanted visualise what to expect. The videos are pretty much the same but starting from different angles of the 30sqm flat. Entrance: https://hspano.homestyler.com?m=p&id=twsxPMyMR32r148hAj4AEj Kitchen with closed crittal door: https://hspano.homestyler.com?m=p&id=j6XZ8RxpunFXsWs6B4wWCY Living room with closed crittal door. https://hspano.homestyler.com?m=p&id=qET2nhmJqjuirhSjHjrga6 Bedroom with thc crittal.door opened: https://hspano.homestyler.com?m=p&id=isx9qoEcNs6bh5h4inQeVo Bathroom: https://hspano.homestyler.com?m=p&id=eQMHPghXhakFJKP5xXDApb
...See More
Daisy England
6 years ago
I love both Walnut and oak doors. It's a touch of class in comparison to cheap painted white ones. Walnut is a lovely warm colour. Go for it!
Darren thanked Daisy England
minnie101
6 years ago
Probably my ignorance but this particular door doesn’t shout Georgian to me, I think of 3,5 or the much more common 6 panel door as Georgian. Georgians would have left oak or walnut as unpainted but cheaper woods were always painted so any would fit in. What’s the actual period/style of the house? I absolutely love wood but lots of wood doors can really break up a hall or landing especially if the rooms aren’t overly large so this could be a consideration. Having said that go for what you love rather than what’s on trend atm as it will change quickly anyway!
Darren thanked minnie101
kikiamack
6 years ago
I would echo what Minnie has said. Think about a room, such as the hallway, which has a lot of doorways in fairly close proximity. Also think about the flooring you will be having. What material is the staircase? If you then imagine the doors in the various colours will it be wood overload? Also, if the doors are real wood or veneer, will there be a discrepancy in the colour from door to door? Your supplier should know this. If so, will this annoy you if the doors are in close proximity? I suggest looking at the hallway photos on Houzz and searching for oak or walnut or white doors and see if this helps with your decision. I think you should go with what you like as it would be very expensive to try and keep up with trends for doors.
Darren thanked kikiamack
Sonia
6 years ago
I agree with Carolina, the walnut doors look old fashioned and not in a good way. In a very old cottage I think natural wood, even if it’s a bit rustic, looks great. These doors look so “busy” and an assault to the eyes! I much prefer painted, but of course, the choice is yours.
Darren thanked Sonia
Darren
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for all these really helpful comments, i think its true that it may get a bit wood overload if you think about the hallway, and we plan to have a wood floor too. Walnut is beautiful style but perhaps its too much...
Morello
6 years ago
Contemplating the same thing. I love walnut! I like very clean lines and minimalist architecture so I'll probably go for contemporary walnut doors (and matching architrave) for the added warmth. Also they're lower maintenance as they'd never need painting. (But for a Georgian style, I do believe the panelled, painted doors would probably work best.)
Darren thanked Morello
Jonathan
6 years ago
I think that you are attracted to the walnut because if feels like a more expensive product but if you are going to do Georgian style with deep skirtings and ornate architrave and grand cornice then a painted panel door is best.

In my opinion painted panel doors work with the other features and make a cohesive scheme, but also Georgian coving and architrave is decorative and you don’t want to detract from that.

Also classical grand features work when their proportions all match- for instance the coving should be as deep as the skirting, which should be as high as the bottom rail of the door and the plinth of the fire surround.
The middle rail of the door and the door knob are the height of dado rails and the legs of the fire surround.
The door panels above the middle rail of the door suggest the approximate mantle height and the top of the door suggests one possible height for the picture rail (although in high ceilinged rooms I prefer picture rails to be a skirting board width down from the coving).

As far as putting in modern features such as contemporary kitchens this can also work if you have cabinets that have the right presence for the room. I think extra tall wall cabinets are needed for high ceilings but since the kitchen choice and design is room specific perhaps it deserves its own thread when you are ready to start planning it.
Darren thanked Jonathan
Sven
6 years ago
Georgian style door in Oak - it is lighter wood and that makes spaces look larger. Walnut is OK in small areas but not large areas such as doors.

Sign Up to Comment

Sponsored

More Discussions

complementary white F&B Hague Blue

8

Changing the layout of my house...

12

what goes with red and black quarry tile flooring

10

Stairs in living room - Close off with door

6

How could be best layout our kitchen/diner/hallway?

1

United Kingdom

Tailor my experience with cookies

Houzz uses cookies and similar technologies to personalise my experience, serve me relevant content, and improve Houzz products and services. By clicking ‘Accept’ I agree to this, as further described in the Houzz Cookie Policy. I can reject non-essential cookies by clicking ‘Manage Preferences’.