What Color Should I Paint My Kitchen Island?

We see clients struggling with this ever-important debate frequently and often for our clients it becomes a huge dilemma. They often get paralyzed by what to choose.

The kitchen island has historically been that piece of cabinetry where an accent color could make sense. There was a time that black distressed was very popular and it made the kitchen POP, but do we want POP anymore??

Here are my criteria for how to choose the right color:

What size is the island?

This is the first thing that will help determine if a different color from the main cabinets is a good idea, the size of the island. Is it large or small, can your family have a meal there (8’x 5’) or is it just large enough for serving desserts/drinks (4’x 2’)? If it’s on the smaller side, keep with the main cabinet color, you do not want to chop up the space and may not want to draw attention if the island is not as big as you would like.

Where is the Island positioned?

Is it attached to the main cabinets? An L-shape, or stand-alone? Sometimes a bar can be treated as an island, and an accent color can be put there to add some interest. It can be challenging to make a transition when it is connected to the rest of the cabinets. A stand-alone island provides the best opportunity to add another color.

What is the countertop made of?

Is it Granite? Quartz/Quartzite? More and more clients are going with a marble look Carrera or New Venetian Gold. For me, this is a huge driver of what (if any) accent color I choose for the island.

What color are the main cabinets? White, Off-White, Gray, or deeper? This is most definitely is a determining factor if you add color on the island or just continue with the main existing cabinet color. In my opinion, doing the island the same as the cabinets is always going to work, and sometimes when clients are struggling that is what we opt to do. Make the cabinets and island the same. There is no unwritten law that we have to make the island a different color.

If a “Color” is desired how dark?

I rarely use Black anymore, it’s usually a deep charcoal, or medium grey, or navy when I am going dark. If you want a bit of color, but still a contrast to the white/off-White cabinets you can do a grey, or grey-blue, or grey-green. Something neutral that can stand the test of time.