How to choose the perfect nursery dresser: Walnut, Maple, White Oak
Choosing the perfect nursery dresser is a crucial decision for new parents, as it combines practicality with the opportunity to create a beautiful, safe space for your little one. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to decide which dresser will best suit your needs and style. In this guide, we will explore three popular and highly regarded types of wood for nursery dressers: walnut, oak, and maple. Each wood type offers unique benefits in terms of aesthetics, durability, and functionality. Whether you’re drawn to the rich, warm tones of walnut, the classic appeal of oak, or the sleek finish of maple, this comprehensive guide will help you make an informed choice that complements your nursery and stands the test of time.
Having trouble deciding on a nursery dresser based on cost, design, and color?
Should you choose a natural wood nursery dresser or veneered?
You should always choose natural solid wood over veneered, if you have the option, but maybe we are a little biased. The choice between solid wood or manufactured woods come down to cost vs quality. Basically, this choice comes down to your budget and how long you plan to use the dresser.
Solid Wood
A solid wood dresser will always be more expensive than a veneered plywood, often 2-3X the cost. Pine, Spruce, and other softwoods do make fine solid wood furniture and will be cheaper than hardwoods such as walnut, oak, and maple. The softwoods do have some drawbacks, such as denting much more easily and you are limited to usually some shade of orange/brown. One drawback to solid wood furniture is that it will weigh considerably more than veneered plywood furniture.
A solid wood dresser is built to last for decades and often, much longer. Their durability and resilience are unparalleled as we know from family heirlooms. A solid wood dresser is more likely to endure daily use, the test of time, and the wrath of your little ones.
Veneered MDF, Particle Board, Plywood
Dressers made from veneered plywood and mdf are designed and constructed to reduce shipping, material, and assembly costs at the expense of durability and longevity. Manufactured woods also make it much easier for a company to put out furniture with a very consistent look, where one piece looks nearly identical to the next. When building out of solid wood, each piece is much more unique due to the natural variations between trees and the resulting wood grain.
The construction quality of solid wood furniture is significantly higher than plywood or particle board alternatives if bought from a reputable producer. There are instances where plywood has it benefits, such as the backs of dressers or the bottoms of drawers. Veneered plywood also excels at creating large, sweeping curves. Solid wood allows for unique designs such as rounded edges, sculpting, and other textured elements that can’t be done with veneered plywoods.
Aesthetic and Environmental Benefits
Solid wood furniture offers a superior look and a tangible feel of quality that is unmistakeable. As a furniture maker, I can walk into any home and tell from across the room if a piece of furniture is solid wood or veneered plywood. Solid wood furniture ages beautifully and can be resanded and refinished many times, meaning any dents, dings, or scratches can be repaired bringing the dresser back to like-new condition. The thin veneer on plywood furniture is often only 1/32” thick meaning any ding, scratch, or stain becomes difficult to repair.
A well constructed hardwood dresser is more environmentally friendly as the wood is just cut, dried then sent right to the furniture manufacturer. Wood to build your dresser could be sitting right in your back yard.
Health and Safety
Plywood, mdf, and particle board is manufactured in large facilities that use industrial solvents and glues that can off-gas harmful chemicals into your bedroom or nursery. Advancements are being made to reduce the use of these harmful chemicals such as moving to soy based glues and Greenguard certifications . Certification doesn’t cover all potentially harmful chemicals and the vast majority of these products are still made in overseas factories, so caution is warranted. Greenguard certification is also very expensive for a product line, often $5,000 or more, so you are unlikely to see small or local producers with those certifications, even if their products are less toxic options. It’s best to look into the certifications and talk with the retailers to make sure these products are suitable for your home.
Legacy and Heritage
It is ABUNDANTLY clear to many people that we have taken the easy and shortsighted path in many areas of our society. Whether it be food, environment, medicine, or home goods, we have lowered quality, accepted toxic substitutes, and lost longevity and durability in what we buy. Choosing a solid wood dresser for your room, nursery, or childs room means you are investing in something that carries memories and heritage. A solid wood dresser can be a cherished family heirloom that your child takes with them when they grow and hopefully one day passes down to your grandchildren. Instead of buying multiple low cost and cheap dressers over the years, it might make sense to invest in one high quality, handmade dresser.
Buy choosing a solid wood dresser, you are not just buying a piece of furniture; you are making an investment in your child’s future, your family legacy, and a piece that will be cherished for generations. A beautifully hand crafted nursery dresser isn’t just a place to store clothes and change diapers - its a corner stone of your home, rich with memories and built to last. But like I said, maybe we are just a little bit biased.
Why choose a walnut nursery dresser?
A Walnut nursery dresser is the peak of style for your little babes. Walnut’s brown and amber tones can lend a mid century feel to any room but fits well in any contemporary designed room as well. Walnut is maybe the most prized American hardwood. Walnut wood comes from the same tree we get edible walnuts from, Juglans nigra. Walnut is a common tree that grows all over the United States. There are 2 main types of walnut used for furniture in America: western walnut vs eastern walnut. Western walnut includes varieties like Claro walnut, which can be much darker in color with a much more varied grain pattern. It often includes hints of purple and red. It is much more difficult to match because it is not as uniform as eastern walnut. Eastern walnut is the most commonly used walnut lumber in the US and is often referred to as Black Walnut. It has much more consistent grain patterns and is a uniform medium to darker brown when finished. Walnut wood is considerably harder than a wood like pine, but not as hard as a wood like maple or oak, meaning it can dent a little more easily. But this also means that walnut furniture won’t be as heavy as furniture built from oak or maple.
When you see cheaper furniture labeled “Walnut”, look a little deeper and you will surely find that they are referring to a “walnut stain”. Walnut isn’t just a stain, its an actual dark brown colored wood. The walnut stain color is derived from the more traditional walnut hardwood lumber, but always falls short as a cheap imitation.
We use eastern black walnut in all of our furniture for its color consistency, ability to match existing and future furniture, and overall aesthetic. Walnut is more expensive than other types of hardwoods, usually coming in around $10-$15 a board foot (12” x 12” x 1”), so price can be a contributing factor in your wood choice.
Choose a Walnut Nursery dresser if:
you want a darker, natural color with browns and ambers
you want deep, rich hues and beautiful visual depth
you are willing to spend a little extra money
your family doesn’t hit random furniture with hammers
you like mid century styles
White Oak 3 Drawer Dresser
Why choose an oak nursery dresser?
You should choose an oak nursery dresser if you are looking for a solid wood dresser with a medium golden color tone. Oak is a heavy wood and dense wood, which means your dresser will be heavier than you expect and on a large dresser, may be difficult to move. This density helps prevent dents and deep scratches from forming on the wood, which is why its commonly used for flooring. It’s more affordable than walnut but more expensive than maple. Oak has more texture and prominent grain than either walnut or maple. This means that you can feel and see the grain lines more easily and that it will have more open pours meaning it may be harder to get the crayon marks out of an oak piece (still possible). Oak received an unfair bad reputation of the past 20 years due to the very yellow oak furniture of the 80’s and 90’s. This was mostly due to using very yellow finishes over red oak. Modern finishes and aesthetics have solved this problem by staying more true to oaks brown and golden hues, and now oak furniture is taking its crown once again in contemporary design.
There are 2 types of oak often used in furniture building: Red Oak and White Oak. Red oak has more red and pink tones while white oak is often the color of golden straw or hay. Both red oak and white oak offer excellent durability when it comes to dents and scratches, hence both their ubiquity in flooring. Red oak is cheaper than white oak and has fallen out of style in the last several decades for furniture due to its coloring and not fitting in with contemporary pallets. White oak costs about $7-$9 per board foot (12” x 12”x 1”) and red oak about $4-$6.
Choose a white oak nursery dresser if:
you like nice medium browns with undertones of golden straw
like the look and feel of real wood grain
a little more expense isn’t a problem
a family member occasionally hits furniture with a hammer
you like modern styles with lighter wood accents
Why choose a Maple nursery dresser?
Maple is another beautiful American hardwood that is commonly used in furniture. Maple starts out as light or cream colored, but will develop into a very light cream brown as it is ages. Maple is a dense and hard wood with a very tight grain meaning you will not feel any of the grain lines and it won’t absorb liquids or crayon marks easily.
Maple is one of the most affordable American hardwoods and is a great choice for those who like a light wood and are more budget conscious. The two main types of Maple used for furniture in the US are hard maple and soft maple. Both woods are hard and dense, but hard Maple is just a bit harder. Both will be resistant to dents and liquids and both have a similar color and grain pattern. We often use soft maple for our drawers and hard Maple for our exterior dresser cases.
Maple costs around $4.50-$6 a board foot but offers excellent value in terms of aesthetics and durability. Truly an American classic. Maple is heavier than other woods, so hire some professionals when it comes time to move it.
Choose a Maple Nursery dresser if:
you like light browns and cream tones
you don’t have a fortune to spend, but want heirloom quality
you don’t want to feel grain
your husband occasionally drops a glass on furniture
you like contemporary styles and subtle colors
Choosing a nursery dresser should be a fun, exciting process but we know how quickly it can turn into a chore when life is busy and complicated already. We think we make some of the best nursery and family dressers around, but we understand we aren’t within everyone’s budget. Even if you don’t plan to buy from us, we are happy to help, feel free to reach out to elena@dovesandtails.com or chaz@imagofurniture.com
Interest in learning more about how solid furniture is built? Our more comprehensive post on how a quality dresser is constructed is coming soon. Reach out in the meantime with any questions
Interested in a nursery style guide? Coming soon as well
Looking for our favorite non toxic essential baby products for the first couple of years? Coming very soon
