Jen what you are describing is what I love! If I had room for a built in island in my small kitchen I adore different colors between the cabs and island. And I think anything in a blue/gray/green would be fantastic!

Also hoping to see some pics!

Amanda

Not doing white, but the Oyster Heirloom from Medallion, which is more of a cream. Island is going to be a distressed dusty turquoise. Hoping others will post. Starting to get a little nervous regarding this decision. I do think this colored island look would be easier for you, with white cabs and cleaner lines. French blue would look lovely:)

I also love that look and am considering the same thing so I'll be anxious to see what you find out.

"The lettered cottage" blog has a picture somewhere on there of a kitchen with greenish/grey on the bottom cabinets, white on the top. It might give you an idea of how the combination of a painted island would blend with white cabinets.

Also "two ellie" blog has a kitchen posted with white uppers and a grey on the bottom. (When you get to that blog scroll down to click on the "kitchen" category.)
It's not exactly a white kitchen with a painted island but at least gives you some visual.

And then would you do the same countertop on island and perimeter, or something different?

Jen- I think that you have a great idea, painting the cabinets a different color than the island. I've seen this in many photos and it's very pretty :)

Here are some of Blondie's pictures on another thread. Notice the white kitchen with the blue island (lots of pictures) and also blue lower with white uppers and white island.

Boxerpups and others will probably be able to find even more examples for you. Do you know what you would like to do for countertops? Do you want those all the same or different for the island?

Looking forward to more details...and hope these pictures give you a good start :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Blondie's kitchen

Hi!

This is near and dear to me since I recently did white, shaker inset cabs in White Dove on my perimeter and the island. We have a new kitchen in our future & I'm leaning toward the same, except with a differing island. Here are a few from my inspiration file, just for color ideas. I'll be anxious to see what you go with! And check out theresse's bottom cabs (Fieldstone Grey-great color).

Good luck,
Katie

Amanda: I do hope people have done it and post. Not being able to "see" it in advance is so nervewracking! This is the downside of custom kitchens I suppose.

tinycastles: I love french blue and french provincial look kitchen, but I am not going for that look. It's more vintage victorian/colonial and I wonder if French blue might not be quite right.

cmm6797: I have seen some of those mixed cabinets pics and they do help a little, but I'm not great at visualizing.

lavender lass: The pics in Blondie's kitchens were so lovely! I love the snow white kitchen aesthetic! I saw an aqua blue among the pics that I thought would work, but I wonder how "vintage" that would look! Would it look out of place? I also got another idea from those photos. I could leave all cabinets/island white and use beadboard as the backsplash and paint that and the walls pale blue. It would be inexpensive (I think) and easy to paint or change out if I got tired of it. However, it does raise the question of durability of beadboard behind the sink and range in my mind. And does it make my kitchen look too cottagey, which again is not the look I am intending??

I plan on doing this...white on the surround and a taupey gray/warm gray on the island with light countertops. I love the Fieldstone Grey shade by BM. I have also saved segbrown's kitchen as inspiration. She did that using BM's Taos Taupe on the island but used dark perimeter countertops and marble on the island:

{{gwi:1594899}}

I'm leaning this way also. White perimeter cabinets with a blue/gray/green island. I also want to incorporate a third finish in a stained wood but haven't decided which part of the kitchen the stained wood would look best.

We did gray and white (BM Sea Haze and Acadia White) on two runs of counters. I like having two colors, although we made a mistake in not going dark enough with our gray cabinets. Hopefully once counters are on they will read a little darker, but generally I'd say go a shade darker than you think you need to if you want contrast.

Thank you so much to everyone who has posted!

The pics have been great. You all have given me two additional design schemes: I like the white cabs/corian rain cloud (faux marble) and green island/wood top OR white cabs/black countertops and gray island/marble top.

But keep the photos and ideas coming! I really appreciate the actual paint colors you have noted. I will have to run out and get those chips.

I'm planning on a creamy white with a turquoise island. For the white, I'm still deciding on an actual color as the light in my room is funny. Just when I think I have the perfect shade, it looks "off" at night. The island color I'm going with is called Turquoise Bay by Ace Hardware Paint. I've seen several kitchens in magazines recently with this combo. Here's a few pics from my inspiration file:

Forgive me for not posting credits and sources. DH has been asking for coffee for the past half hour, so I've got to keep it short LOL!

Kathe

I have an F&B French Gray island with Farrow's Cream on the fridge section. Other pieces in the kitchen are stained, but you can see the FG with the FC.

My pieces have a glazed over them, so if left unglazed they will be different.

Here is a link that might be useful: my kitchen

Looove that last photo! Beautiful!

Kathe: Torquoise is such a whimsical and happy color. I'm not brave enough to go so bold, but I look forward to seeing your kitchen! As it is, I'm breaking out in hives (kidding) trying to pick out a more muted color :) I think the one that looks most like the kitchen cabs/island I envision is the third to last. I am leaning toward a grayish green, maybe pale aqua color.

BTW, seems to me (based on the pics so far) adding a stained wood top causes the base color to appear darker, while a marble top does the reverse.

I love white kitchens and have one myself. I do not have
room for an island. If I did I would do one like
the one below called Zinc.
~boxer

This is from Brooke Giannetti

Hancock Kitchen

Oliver

AP 30 Ebeniste Las Vegas

Chadds Ford Blue Bell

This Old House
href="http://s620.photobucket.com/albums/tt283/boxerpups22/White%20kitchens/?action=viewät=Thisoldhouse-4.jpg"; target="_blank">

Zinc Reclaimed

Chris Kaufman Kitchens

Fox kitchens

Hula- The fifth picture, with the turquoise islands, is a lovely shade of blue...would that work in your Victorian kitchen?

Boxerpups- Gorgeous photos...as always! The pale yellow cabinets that match the range is very nice...and of course, I love the blue and white tiles (very french) with the blue island :)

Kathec, have you seen this turquoise kitchen?

Pretty kitchens, boxerpups.

Here is a link that might be useful: Turquoise Harlequin Kitchen

Hula you might want to do a search for milk paint. They often feature historic paint colors. You may get some ideas because they also show examples of distressing and glazing.

I am also in the two tone boat and would love paint names to search out!

Here is a link that might be useful: General Finishes

Here is another turquoise island for Katec..sorry I forgot how to copy and paste pictures..:(

Here is a link that might be useful: blog.myperfectcolor.com

Pt Loma residence on this site has white cabs with bluish charcoal island. http://www.studiostratton.com/gallery.html

Our reno is just getting underway (again) so I can't show you any pics yet, but our kitchen will be similar to what you're after. I waffled like crazy on whether to paint the island differently from the white perimeter cabs, but in the end what we decided to do was a dark wood island. I still wanted another color, though - partly because I like color and partly because although I love the white inset cab/marble/soapstone look, I wanted something to make it "mine." Our pantry cabinetry and one kitchen hutch (looks free-standing, but isn't) will be BM Woodlawn Blue (HC-147). It's a pale blue with a hint of grey and green. I really like it.

My house is a little newer than yours (1910), but I think it has a nice vintage feel. This is my inspiration photo, in case it's helpful to you.

My house is from 1873 and we also wanted a somewhat vintage feel. Our cabinet maker uses milk paint and mixed all of our colors (three of them) custom. We have an off-white, a dark sage green, and a grayish blue. My island is an antique worktable, so the colors are spread throughout the whole room:

I love the look of mixed colors! Best of luck to you. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: blog with more pictures if you are interested

Boxerpups, I love the 'Reclaimed zinc' photo. I used a similar color milk paint on the inside of my cabs, some of which will be white if I ever finish painting.

Sorry, I don't have an island!

Not sure if anyone posted this link but I saved mfhoop's kitchen as one of my inspiration photos.

I am doing a cream perimeter with a super dark stained cherry island, I think the contrast is fabulous. Go for it!

Here is a link that might be useful: mfhoop's kitchen

Oh I just love your idea! On the current This Old House the kitchen is white perimeter with a lime green island and can I just say I am in love? I know lime green is not the right direction for your period-sensitive home, but it's the same idea.

Our kitchen has a white perimeter and a black island -- my husband had actually wanted a pretty sage green but now I cannot recall how we ended up with black. Hmm.

All the pictures posted above are lovely, and I could see a few of them working in your home. Go for it!

Thanks Allison0704, I do have that harlequin kitchen in my inspiration files. It's gorgeous. I think what I like most is all the natural light. I wish my east/mostly north facing kitchen got that much light.

HulaGalJ - have you seen the February 2011 of House Beautiful? I have a subscription, so I'm not sure if it's out yet. They do a color section, this month's is Kitchen Cabinets. There are some great blues. I've checked the website, but I'm not having much luck there. I'm not the most saavy, it took me months to figure out how to post pictures LOL! Here's a list of those blues:

Benjamin Moore Riviera Azure 822 - A French blue, almost periwinkle

Benjamin Moore Van Courtland Blue HC-145 - A foggy grayish blue

Sherwin Williams Bewitching Blue SW6960 - A lighter Sweedish blue

Farrow & Ball Teresa's Green 236 - It's actually a green, but a soft, grayish green with a hint of blue

You are all wonderful for posting pics and giving advice, which I am very open to! I have not finished clicking on all the links, but I am now leaning toward a muted blue-green-gray (#4 pic provided by kathec) that I hope will maintain the vintage feel but like worldmom said, make it mine.

I just met with the custom cabinetmaker and I tentatively picked BM warm dove (?) and bm mills springs blue OR covington blue. But perhaps I should do a similar color but in milk paint?

Honeychurch: Thanks! I will definitely check out milk paint. Is it expensive relative to standard Benjamin Moore paints? Is there a mfr or website you recommend?

Really glad (and relieved) to see so many pics of blue/green islands paired with white/cream perimeters! Yay!!! Now I feel even more reassured about my decision. The people who contribute on this forum totally rock:) Kathec-your pics were saved in my inspiration file immediately. Thanks for sharing!

Island leg

I have pale yellow cabinets with a blue island. I still have to take better pictures, but I hope this helps:

I'm having my cabinets painted white and my island painted BM Tate Olve next week! It was a big decision; I figure that I can always paint the island, white if I don't like it. Had granite installed in green buterfly.

I don't think this one was mentioned, and it's beautiful. It belongs to GWer mfhoop.

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished! White (with blue island), soapstone, etc. (pic heavy)

Ooohhh, those all look so pretty! One thing that my designer told me when I was picking out my cabinets and finishes was that if you use two different finishes for your perimeter and your island, it is usually a good idea to keep the countertops the same. She said it can get a little "busy" in some cases. Can't wait to see your kitchen finished...sounds beautiful!

Really I have just been drooling over all the pics!

Gonna go out and collect all the paint chips mentioned.

rmkitchen: Thanks for the vote of confidence! My SIL has passed along older TOH mags, but I'll have to pick up the latest edition.

Kathec: I will check out House Beautiful. Thanks for the tip!

Tinycastles: That kitchen leg looks exactly like the one in homechef's kitchen! How neat that you can see how your island might look.

Thank you all again for chiming in and offering paint colors, chips, and so many photos.

Jen

I don't normally like this look, only because I think in ten years it's going to be really easy to date a kitchen from about 2003 to 2010 by the colored island contrasting the cabs.....but in a period home I feel totally different about it, especially for islands because they didn't exist when the home was built.

In a local home here (about 1870) they have done three different paint colors on their cabs in milk paint, and it has a very unfitted look for a basically fitted kitchen because they have used multiple cabinet styles. The main style is a simple shaker but mixed in are a couple of hutch looking areas done in fancier cabs so they look like they migrated to the kitchen over time (both are different) then there is their fabulous island which they did in quarter sawn oak, built in a mission style like a large bureau. It workls perfectly to enhance the feel of their period home, which they are restoring very true to it's original feel.

The hutch cabs have reclaimed marble tops from other pieces long gone and they are about an inch below the main counter. The other counters are wood aside from the zinc in the butlers pantry and the island is soapstone.

I love the way they were inspired by a period look but made it functional and expect to be doing something similar in my 1889 home. I'm expecting to paint one island and do the other in wood to resemble an old store counter (likely in oak) but will be doing the sink in a different style with distressed paint (to look like a dry sink) and the hutch will be in antique pine.

It sounds busy if you think of your kitchen in a 2000 way, but in a turn of the previous century way that's exactly what a kitchen looked like.

So my vote is...yes to the painted island, but if you really want to enhance the period feel consider changing a few more things and maybe add another color in as well. :).

tinycastles, what color is your island going to be? That leg is beautiful.

igloochic, you might be right about the island color dating the kitchen. However, it is a safer bet going neutral with the perimeter and bolder on the island. If you ever get tired of the color, you can always paint to match. Painting the island is so much easier than doing the whole kitchen, a lot easier to reach too. Can you tell I've argued this with DH?

Hula,
Here's another one I found while looking through an older inspiration file:

Yes, ever the planner, I do worry about dating the kitchen and more importantly hating it in 10 years. That's why I'm only painting the island. I'm hoping simple white shaker cabinets will have timeless appeal, but the truth is white kitchens were O-U-T not long ago. To some extent, you might as well make choices that appeal to you unless you're selling in 3-5 yrs, don't you think?

I'm with kathec. Easy enough to paint the island someday or worst case, replace it altogether.

As I look at the last picture I posted, I notice the backsplash, which immediately screams DATED!!! to me. Less so, the paint color. Honestly I can't remember where I picked up the picture. The only thing I know is I saved it to my computer in early 2008 when we were shopping for our current house. Based on how the camera seems to be trained on the granite, maybe it was an advert for counters.

If I had that kitchen today, I'd still love the paint colors, but would be planning to replace the backsplash. What a pain.

Hi kathec-
I had to go with a different manufacturer for my island in order to get the blue I wanted. I ordered the Oasis w/Heirlooming/Distressing by Shrock. I do love the color...Can't say I love how the glazing looks on the drawer front cabinet:(

Luckily I have only 1 drawer base cabinet for the island. The other cabs include a book case, oven base, sink base, and door fronts/false door fronts where the stools will be. The glazing looks better on the doors.

I know this question has probably been posted many times before, but I am having such a hard time deciding what color white to paint our oak cabinets.

I am planning on repainting my cabs on this Friday, but not sure about BM White Dove or white which my decorator suggested for them.

BM white is a pretty bright white, and my appliances are all already white. I was worried about white overload. I am also probably too scared to paint my cabs any color other than white for fear I'll get tired of it.

which white I can go for? Please let me have your suggestion.

ellesports,
I know! which BM white has been posted frequently, but I am still looking for help too. Why are whites so HARD? And, if white kitchens are OUT, what is the new IN? And, why are so many design magazines still featuring white? It is soooo confusing. I had originally picked White Dove, but now am worried it is too gray, so am leaning toward Simply White (however, I am a tiny bit worried that is too 'stark'. Argh - I wish I knew what the perfect white was!

And now, more ON-TOPIC - I love the turquoise, blue-green paint colours! I would be too afraid to use them on my cabinetry though, and would probably choose one for a wall.

Beth

I used Simply White as our cabinet and trim color in a farmhouse style house remodel. It is not a stark white compared to Super White, White and Decorators white which to my eye have a cooler cast. Compared to those, Simply white is warmer. I love Simply White!
I'm now working on another house remodel for a client who loves gray, and I agree that White Dove has a bit of gray and would be perfect for this new project.