Posting photos will get you more advice

Can you post photos?

PIctures would be helpful.

You can attach them to either your original post, or in the comments as a reply. Please do not start a new post, though. That confuses some of us, and irritates others. (HA HA!).

ETA: Looks like a couple of people type faster than me!

Sorry but what prompted the choice of a white island with what you have.? I think better lighting is how you brighten a space not slapping a discordant white island in a nice space .Change all your bulbs to LED 4000K then see if you need anything to brighten th space . Yes photos are helpful, posted here in a comment and I do keep reapeting DO NOT start another post it is confusing for both you and us. BTW galaxy black granite trumps any fake plastic quartz always.

Thank you everyone. I did put photos in the post, I don't know where they went. I edited it and added them again. Also, please note it is an old 1780's post and beam. The kitchen has a vaulted ceiling and gets light from two big glass doors, a clerestory window, and a window over the sink. I have 300 year old maple trees around the house that makes it very dark in the summer. I do have 4 recessed 4000k LEDs in the vaulted ceiling.

A lighter green like Costa Smerelda for the perimeter cabinets would look great with a green island. The fact that your wood top matches the cabinets allows you to introduce one more color.

@DeWayne unfortunately, Costa Esmerelda in that green shade has been mined out. If you can even find Costa Esmerelda today, it’s more brownish. I do agree that the OP’s goal of lightening the kitchen can best be done by removing the black counters and replacing them with a lightter stone.

Hey everybody, she is not looking to replace the black counters, just trying to decide what to put on the island counter.

I love a cherry butcher block with you cherry cabinets and black counters, however, not so much with a white island. Any chance of painting your island grey and using the cherry top, or is that ridiculous since it is a new piece? I know that you are trying to lighten up your room but not sure that the contrast between dark and white is going to serve you all that well on your island.

Stunning floors by the way. Incredible that you have 300 year old trees.

Honestly the best way to get a lighter kitchen is more light. 4 can lights in a kitchen that size is way under lighted. i have 5 in my tiny 8x11 kitchen in addition to other layers of light.

Gorgeous floors & beams! I don't think your kitchen looks dark, you seem to have good natural light. If it were my kitchen, I'd paint the island black to tie in with the countertops, and then get a white/light countertop for the island. Marble would be really pretty and would tie in with your backsplash.

I think the cherry counter is pretty, but it will add another wood surface, which goes against what I think you'd like to achieve.

Adding more lighting in the ceiling is not feasible due to the post and beam structure. I would need to remove the plaster and drill through the timbers which is more expense/work than I want to do. @kandrewspa comment about the backsplash made me realize that the 4" backsplash doesn't make sense (originally there was no tile backsplash) and it also makes the black more present. I think removing that might keep the eye from being drawn there. It's definitely an option to paint the island, I had considered a sagey green but changed my mind.

Paint the island black, leave the wood or make it butcher block top. Painting it white really had no purpose other than you threw some money at the paint store.

Then.....ask yourself what you really want and take the guilt out of the equation. A slightly soft white on the perimeter ? Re do the splash with riser removed and complement the "white" of the cabinets. It will be a brightener. If you need under cabinet lights on in the full foliage of summer? Well.........then you DO. : )

Paint the island light light green (sagey if that's what goes), cherry top. Or even better, maple top. It's lighter and neutral.

It's a beautiful space and it's not cookie cutter as you know. That means you can do things like swag a light fixture to where you need lighting and it'll be totally okay. I'm thinking classy billiard fixture (not a stained glass Lucky Beer one) dangled over the island or something. If you actually need more lights.

I vote for sage island and wood top. Introducing another kind of counter material is going to make your kitchen look very busy. I'm trying to think more creatively about your lighting because I understand well that installing more lights in the ceiling of an old home is no small task.

1.) Do you have really good under counter lighting with at least 3000K?

2.) Can you get a ceiling fan with some lighting in it? I know most are ugly but there might be some that work.

3.) I wonder what kind of lighting you could install on top of your cabinets that would not be visible and would bounce light up on to your ceiling.

4.) Can you post a pic of the other walls in your kitchen? I wonder if there is some kind of architectural wall sconce that you could use. Are all of your walls plaster or are any drywall? (We just installed some architectural sconces and the lighting is incredible. But we paid a fortune to route out the plaster for electrical. No small job.)

I think your kitchen is lovely, and only seems dark to me under the upper cabinets, which cast shade from your ceiling lights. Can you bring some lighting down to chest height, even a temporary mockup to see if you like the result? A small lamp on the counter under the dishes, a light clamped above the window above the sink will let you know if adding undercounter lighting or a sconce or two above the sink window will lighten the space without changing the finishes. I'm thinking of your kitchen like a living room - light down low is much more desirable to me than ceiling light for seeing what my hands are doing.

I think this grey color island with a marble or grey/white quartzite countertop would be pretty on your island. It could mix in well enough with your backsplash to where you could leave that as is. They used black countertops which you already have on your perimeter.

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"...unfortunately, Costa Esmerelda in that green shade has been mined out. If you can even find Costa Esmerelda today, it’s more brownish."

@M Miller -- I am curious where you got that information. I have Costa Esmeralda in that green shade, and I got it about 3 years ago. No question this granite varies wildly in color, but that doesn't mean it's mined out. To my knowledge, the true Costa comes from Iran and comes to us by way of Italy; this is what I was told by a well-known, very reputable stone dealer. Which might explain why it's not easy to find.

I think the picture posted above by Shasta is beautiful. It’s exactly what I had envisioned for your kitchen.