Dark Walnut vs Jacobean
Both are deep, cool-neutral browns used for the modern-farmhouse cabinet and floor look, but Jacobean goes noticeably darker, almost to black, while Dark Walnut stays a clear dark brown.
Pick Dark Walnut when you want the darkest-common cabinet or floor color that still reads as brown rather than near-black.
Pick Jacobean when the goal is the darkest non-black option, the color behind most "matte black-ish" cabinet trends of the last several years.
How close are they?
Delta-E (perceptual color distance) between Dark Walnut and Jacobean is 8.0 (a clearly distinguishable difference once you see them next to each other).
Side by side
| Dark Walnut | Jacobean | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand and line | Minwax Wood Finish | Minwax Wood Finish |
| Color code | 2716 | 2750 |
| Stain type | oil | oil |
| Hex (approx.) | #402A20 | #2E241D |
| Lightness (L*) | 19 | 15 |
| Undertone | deep cool-neutral brown | very dark cool-neutral brown, nearly black |
Dark Walnut is the lighter of the two by about 4 points of lightness on a 0 to 100 scale, so Jacobean will hide more of the wood's own grain and color on the same board. Hex values are on-screen approximations of each published swatch; confirm on a test board of your own wood before committing.
How each behaves on pine, oak, maple and cabinets
Pine
Dark Walnut: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Dark Walnut (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Jacobean: Pine's grain runs soft and uneven in density, so Jacobean (a thin, deep-penetrating oil stain) is prone to blotching here unless the wood gets a pre-stain conditioner first.
Oak
Dark Walnut: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Dark Walnut unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Jacobean: Oak's large, open pores soak up an oil stain like Jacobean unevenly in a good way: it settles into the grain and makes the natural texture pop rather than looking flat.
Maple
Dark Walnut: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Dark Walnut blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Jacobean: Maple is dense and tight-grained with almost no texture to hide unevenness, so Jacobean blotches badly here without a conditioner or a test board first. This is the wood oil stains struggle with most.
Cabinets
Dark Walnut: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Dark Walnut can lap-mark where one panel overlaps the next during application; wipe fast and work one door at a time to keep the color even.
Jacobean: On cabinet doors, an oil stain like Jacobean can lap-mark where one panel overlaps the next during application; wipe fast and work one door at a time to keep the color even.