Natural cherry wood is uniquely distinctive because its color changes so dramatically over time. Fresh cherry lumber with minimal light exposure may start with a light pink or light golden pink color. As it gets more exposed, the color ripens or darkens.
It’s not only cherry that matures to a different color. Other types of wood like maple and mahogany darken with age, but cherry stands out because the variation of colors is truly striking.
So, what is the color of cherry?
Freshly cut cherry tends to have a light pink color. In the first six months of exposure to light, the color of cherry wood may change from light pink to light pinkish brown or deeper. But it may sometimes take years before the color changes into the signature cherry wood color, a gorgeously rich and dark reddish brown.
Many people are actually confused about the color of cherry wood because so many manufacturers are passing off low-grade wood that is finished with an unnatural dark maroon stain as ‘cherry color’, and in some cases, ‘dark cherry color’. But a low-quality stain cannot even compete with the beauty of natural cherry wood.
The cherry wood color palette below can give you an idea of how natural cherry matures over time:
