Our new luxurious doors in a walnut wood finish are compatible with IKEA's Besta and Sektion storage frames. This collection, and the white oak collection we launched earlier this year, are made of locally sourced wood and finished by hand by our artisans in Kentucky. Their technique highlights the natural grain and inherent rich beauty of the wood. As our founder always says: "You can't beat the nature of nature!"

Our Scandinavian-looking doors in walnut and white oak wood finishes are unmatched, and it allows you to bring the feel of nature into your home. As we introduce these refined wood collections, we want to tell more about the details of our artisan process. 

Walnut doors, top, and side panels on two Sektion frames (item 902.654.68) from IKEA mounted on the wall with Cornelia matte black pulls. 

 

Letting oak be oak and walnut be walnut

We keep all our wood natural. Walnut is beloved for its durability and rich color, and white oak is prized for its beauty and timelessness. When developing our wood collections, we decided that we didn’t want to altercate/modify wood, making it look like a different wood by staining it. Staining, or chemically altering, is a risk because when you stain wood, the tree is more or less porous, which sucks up the stain differently and can make it blotchy. This is why we determined to let oak be oak and walnut be walnut.

Walnut doors, top, and side panels on a Besta frame (item 702.998.79) from IKEA with Sara brass legs, Ilse brass legs, and Agnes brass pulls. 

We use natural wood veneer on an MDF core to be as sustainable as possible with our material. We only use MDF wood that is SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) certified, which assures sustainable forestry sourcing. SFI Certified Sourcing is a certificate granted by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. This North American organization aims to promote sustainable forest management in North America and responsible procurement of forest products worldwide.

 

From artisan hands to your homes

The process for crafting the white oak and walnut wood collections is genuinely clever. After the white oak and walnut wood have been cut, they are edge-banded in a matching veneer.

Edge-banding machine that glues veneer onto the edges of the doors and panels with precision for a flawless finish every time.  

Once edge-banded, each piece is sanded. They are carefully smoothed from all angles before getting two layers of a protective coating of clear lacquer that bring out the rich color in the woods.

Our artisan woodworkers sand everything by hand with care, like this white oak door before being sprayed. 

We hand-spray each door, and they are laid to dry before being inspected for quality assurance. The process for both types of wood is the same, allowing our artisan woodworkers to perfect their craft so your custom pieces look as beautiful as possible.

This is a white oak wood door being sprayed by hand by our artisan woodworkers.

This is a side-by-side photo of a walnut door before (left) and after (right) two layers of the clear lacquer to bring out the rich wood's colors.  

 

The environment will thank you 

We go the extra mile with our products because we want them to last you a long time. Each year, Americans throw out more than 12 million tons of furniture and furnishings, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Part of our mission is to reduce our carbon footprint by upcycling and expanding the furniture's lifespan in our nation.

White oak double doors, top, and side panels on small Besta frames (item 602.458.44) from IKEA mounted on the wall with Cornelia matte black pulls. 

 

Retrofitting an IKEA system with Norse means you upcycle durable, inexpensive foundations to create personalized furniture that's stunning, sustainable, and just plain smart. Why mess with mother nature? These doors offer great style made with material designed to last.

If you want to take a closer look at these new additions, we suggest starting with our sample kit, containing walnut and white oak wood. If you have any questions while shopping our new wood collection, for IKEA's Besta and Sektion series, don't hesitate to reach out to us via email or book a phone consultation with a design advisor. 

 

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Follow @norseinteriors on Instagram to see more BTS footage from our wood shop. 

If you liked this post, you might be interested in How cane doors for IKEA furniture are made.