Wooden table tops

Oak or walnut: the difference

Both woods are solid and 40 mm thick. The difference lies in colour, grain and how the top responds to light.

• Oak: honey to golden brown tones and a pronounced open grain. You choose the stain colour, or leave the top untreated. Oak takes on a deeper, warmer colour over the years.
• Walnut: deep chocolate brown with purple undertones. Lighter than oak, but dimensionally stable. Long exposure to direct sunlight can lighten walnut slightly; UV blockers in the lacquer limit this.

Want to match the colour to your floor or cabinets? Choose oak table tops. Want the colour of the wood itself? Choose walnut table tops.

Size: 40 mm solid wood

An oak table top is up to 3000 × 1200 mm, a walnut top up to 2600 × 1200 mm. Within those limits you set the size to the millimetre. Wood is a natural product: colour and grain differ from top to top.

Finish: lacquered or untreated

Oak tops are stained in the colour you choose and finished with two coats of clear matt lacquer. If you choose Untreated, the top stays bare, with no stain and no lacquer, and you finish it yourself.

Knots and filling

Knots are filled with a two-component filler. On oak the colour of the filler follows the stain: light stains get a light filler, dark stains a dark one, and the Black stain a black one. On an untreated oak top you choose the filler yourself.

In walnut, knots are always filled in black, also on an untreated top.

Can a wooden table top go outside?

No. Oak and walnut are not suitable for outdoor use. For a top in the garden or on the terrace, choose ceramic: it is frost resistant and UV resistant.

Wood or ceramic?

Wood brings warmth and a grain you can feel. On the other hand, a lacquered top is not as hard as ceramic; use a trivet under a hot pan. Ceramic resists heat, scratches and stains, but it is heavy and sensitive to a hard knock on the edge.

On your own base

Measure the support area, the fixing points and the overhang you want, and leave room for knees and chairs. Send photos of the base and the top size you want for advice. A new base, welded in Maasbree, is available under table bases.