fwiw, it seems like people generally go with the darker color on the island.

I'm sort of in a similar situation at the moment. I am considering black painted cabs on the perimeter and a natural rift cut oak on the island. Not sure why people would tend to go with the darker color on the island. I'm concerned it will look like a big dark blob in the middle of my floor. Hopefully some others will add to this.

I am doing cherry stained perimeter cabinets and a offwhite painted maple island. You are right, it is usually seen the other way around, but I like this look better (at least in my mind!). I am a week or 2 away from cabinet install, and then the painting/staining will happen, so I'll post pics when I can.

I'm going with the former...white painted perimeter and dark stained island. I think the benefit of doing it this way is the cabs on the wall seem "fitted" or part of the original home, in that white sort of blends in with the walls and the crown moulding on our upper cabs integrate into the room. The stained brown island looks more like an unfitted furniture piece.

I've seen in the other way around, and although I do think it can look really nice, there's something that feels a bit odd about it that I can't quite put my finger on.

I've seen white painted perimeter and blue or red or green painted island, and that looks really good when they're all painted. But something about the stained perimeter and painted island doesn't "do it" for me...

Taste is very subjective though. When in doubt, go with your gut!

FWIW, I have seen a lot more light-perimeter dark-island arrangements. I agree that having the dark island makes it look more furnitureish. I have cherry cabs now and when we're done (which would be sometime after we START, lol) we will have cherry base perimeter, light uppers and a cherry island. We are mostly replacing the island (currently cherry), and I was going to paint it white to match the uppers, but a KD I know said it would just be a big white thing in the middle of the kitchen...of course a stained one would just be a big dark thing, but I see what she means. Darker cabs also show less wear and tear, and I think the island gets banged around the most, esp. if there's seating. HTH

hollylh, what made you decide to do lighter uppers with darker base cabs? I've also considered that as an option for my kitchen, but didn't want to appear TOO indecisive in my original post. . . HA! I have often wondered what prompts someone to do the light uppers and darker base--maybe because the light uppers "disappear" into the walls?

There's a practical aspect to white uppers/dark lowers -- white is harder to keep pristine, better for areas where the toddler and dog can't reach.

I'm doing natural maple perimeter/white island. The island has beadboard, the perimeter cabs don't. I didn't know that it's usually done the other way around; even if I had known, I would have done it my way anyway. :)

Besides personal taste, I think whether or not you have a light or dark island depends on the room size and shape. A dark island in a not so wide room would visually cut the space.

In my kitchen we're doing the light cabinets on the perimeter with a mahogany island because there is no natural light in the kitchen and the KD and contractor both agreed my kitchen was going to be too dark if I did the dark cabs on the perimeter as I initially planned. I like both looks so it's not an issue for me to switch. We are intentionally making the island a very furniture like piece since my kitchen is open to our den area. I was thinking with the many windows in the den that the light from that room would be enough to support dark permiter cabs but no one else agreed on that.

Darker colors tend to retreat visually/jump out less than light, which is another reason why doing the mass in the middle of the room darker so it blends value-wise (light-dark) with the floor works well in many situations. And as Redroze pointed out, you tend to have a similar synergy going on the perimeter when light cabinets blend visually with the walls. A reason to do a light island would be to make it the dominant visual element in a room, which it will usually be.

I'm very confused. I have natural colored oak floors. I am considering black perimeter cabs(no uppers) and a natural rift cut oak island(probably 8-9 ft. long and 42" wide). I keep visualizing the lighter island receding more as it would blend with the floor. My thought for the darker island is that it would seem like a mass in the middle of the room. I guess maybe it depends on floor color and island color. I just don't see how a white island would be seen as more of a mass then a stained island.

HELP!!!

Did anyone make their cabinet paint/stain/style choices before drywall? Do you wish you'd waited until after the drywall was up?

I've got sample links of the doors I'm considering. I would love opinions.
Island choices:
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{{!gwi}}Perimeter/Hutch choices:
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I'd love to use three different colors/shades. So if you can help me visualize what stains would look best on perimeter and hutch area and why, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Here is a link that might be useful: Choices on one page

very interesting. I too am considering 3 different colors/stains and quite a few of your picks are similar to mine. I'm thinking of the black on the perimeter, something similar(but lighter) to the honey on the island and something similar to the cinammon on my snack/message area(which is off to the side of the kitchen). Are you leaning in any direction?

What about door style? Are you doing the same or something different maybe on the hutch?

Sorry my samples didn't show up. I don't know what I'm doing wrong when I post the pics to the body of my message. I'm sure glad I posted the link to the page with all of my color choices!

I'm thinking the honey coffee would look good on the perimeter, black for the island and maybe the toffee coffee or sable coffee for the hutch. The door style you see are the door styles I would use. I wanted something flat panel for the island, but Kabinart doesn't have a flat panel choice in full overlay.

I love black as an accent color. If I use it on my island I'm also thinking of doing the bar side in drywall and painting it to match the kitchen walls. In my mind this would give a visual STOP to the kitchen area and make the hutch stand out a little more. Does that sound right?

If you scroll down a bit on the link you'll see a layout of my kitchen and an inspiration pic.

Mahlgold, if you think about it, surfaces that blend into their surroundings tend to not stand out compared to ones that contrast. Your stained island should blend nicely without demanding visual attention or appearing larger than it is. A white island might not appear more massive (heavy), but the advancing quality of a much paler surface and its contrast with the rest of a darker kitchen would tend to make it dominate visually. It would tend to draw people to it also.

there's a current thread"where have all the cherry cabinets gone" that has pics from lsandler. She has 3 stains in her kitchen. The perimeter is a dark cherry and the island looks like a creamy color. It looks great to me!

i am doing cherry on perimeter/cream glazed island. reasons for my choice are look (see pic below which is one similar to inspiration pic), cost (painted and glazed are more $$ than stained cherry), and cleanliness (i really don't want to be cleaning cabinets all the time)

OHHHH!!!! My drool is dripping into the keyboard. I love this combination. Thanks for sharing.

lol sdionnemoore! this is my real inspiration pic which will be pretty much like kitchen but island bigger. enjoy!

Ohhh. . . You're killing me. Are you doing the same kind of hood? Soapstone, isn't it? Wha a power-wower that piece is. Can I move in and be your scullery maid?

I didn't go with cherry after all, I went with hickory for its beauty and durability. I don't think I'll miss cherry because I've had it in my last two kitchens, besides, the grain of the hickory is subtle yet evident. I like that.

The bang-up marks you see on this door are from me wacking it *hard* with my daughters wheelchair foot plate. :) I'd rather know how a wood will handle her footplates *before* I place my order. This hickory, as you can see, took it quite well, all things considered. :) The Maple didn't survive as nicely, and cherry would have done just as poorly or worse, being that it's the softest of the three choices.

I am coupling this cab door with a black island! Ah! I'm excited about that and glad this decision, at least, hasn't changed. I'll be sure to post pics of the kitchen when it is complete but wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone for helping me as I ping-ponged on cab colors.

And NOW, with switching from cherry to hickory, I'm wondering if I should change floor color. Original pick when I was considering cherry was gunstock (second row far right sample). Do you think that is still a safe choice?

As always, a huge thanks!

congratulations on making a decision!!! what did you decide to do about the hutch?

the door looks like a different color in each of the photos. Does it have more red undertones or brown? I'm not sure I really like that floor color with your new choices. It seems like it may all be really dark, unless that is the look you're going for. Depends on if you want the floor to contrast or blend in more.

I definitely don't like the 2d row, middle -- not enuf red. The 3d row samples are very pretty but you will end up with a very dark room with that cab and a blk island. The gunstock also doesn't have enuf red. I like the 2d row, far left, although it's not perfect IMO. I also like the top choice but I'm so used to seeing lighter cabs/darker wood floors that I'd want some help visualizing it. HTH.

The hutch will have to wait. :( BUT, I have a black bookcase that will fit nicely in that space until I can afford the hutch. I guess corners have to be cut sometimes. *sigh*

The cab door does have red undertones, but I'm not sure if it's better for the floor to contrast or blend. I'd love to hear opinions on that.

The hardwood will be throughout the house. . .maybe wall color will be the big decisive factor in whether things are too dark or not? If I go with a floor a shade lighter than the cabs and do a butter yellow color, or maybe a soft cappucino wall color . . . ??? *sigh* Wall color is a whole different kettle of fish. I'm leaning toward some nice golds, but I could be swayed to something else. I'm open to thoughts on this.

Photos of kitchen area (now drywalled!!)to give you an idea of light. These were taken about 11:00 am

From FR/Breakfast RM looking into kitchen across island:
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From kitchen looking out into FR/Nook