Hale Navy island with walnut counter?

last year

Hi everyone- I hope you can help me with my dilemma. Ordered custom cabinetry in Designer White for our perimeter, with a white quartz with some blueish/ goldish veins (Calacatta miraggio cielo). We won't really have upper cabinets- it will be all windows, then a paneled fridge next to a floor to ceiling pantry. On the one side wall we will have our range and vent hood, and there will be 2 upper cabinets there (also Designer White).

Question is really about our island- I ordered Hale Navy because this was the only deep blue/ navy color that these cabinets came in (Woodharbor custom cabinetry). The counter on the island will be walnut, and I know there can be such variation in the color etc of walnut counter. I'm worried that the Hale Navy and the walnut will end up looking too dark, like a man's study, as opposed to a cheerful kitchen.

The kitchen will have plenty of light- three large west facing windows into our large/private backyard, and then in the dining area (which will be open to the kitchen, with the island separating it) has a giant north facing bay window and two large east facing windows. From what I can see online, having plenty of natural light (we will have a lot of recessed lighting as well) will make the Hale Navy look rich and deep but definitely blue, not black. And that the walnut counter top should lighten with all of that sunlight. Can anyone give real feedback or show me real pictures (not touched up ones from pintrest) of what a Hale Navy island with walnut counter would look like? Am I doomed to repaint the cabinets and try and fail to lighten the counter, in 6 months when I'm unhappy with them?

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Comments (7)

eam44
last year
last modified: last year
When you say walnut, do you mean stained walnut, clear coated, butcher block, black walnut - can you be more specific?

These are your finishes

What I notice right away is that these are very cool colors, no warmth at all, and the walnut whatever it ends up being, will be the only warm element in the space.

How large is the island?
kitchen
Original Author
last year
The walnut sample i saw looked pretty much just like that. I'm not 100% sure about the other aspects of it - I'm using a kitchen designer and he picked it out when I said I wanted a wood counter top for the blue island. The island is 90 inches long and 48 inches wide. The hardware will be a brushed brass.

I was wrong about the white actually- it's Cascade White. And yeah, things to seem to trend cooler. . I haven't picked a backsplash yet, and was thinking of some zellige tiles in... a shade of green? Or possibly some ceramic delft tiles? (Probably just with the corners done, no design in the center). Do you have any suggestions to make sure things stay bright and welcoming?
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eam44
last year
I corrected the white above.

You know, you might have chosen warmer colors throughout, but you are going to have a huge island top that will be wonderfully warm, and brass hardware. You’ll have no problem with brightness. It’ll be lovely.

I am a well documented (and I’m completely alone on this so feel free to ignore me) zellige nay sayer. If your home has a Spanish or Moroccan vibe, go for it. If it is anything else this tile looks ridiculous to me. It’s like Bo Derek in corn rows, cute, but you only need to see that image once. My sister has a delft tile backsplash and it is stunning, certainly in your color story (green, not so much). The best thing to do is to wait until your counters go in, then bring home tile samples so you can see them in your space, in your light.
kitchen
Original Author
last year
Thank you! I guess I can absolutely wait on the tile until the other materials come in and I can see them in my space and lighting you're right. And yes, I also wondered about the trendiness in general of the zellige tiles, my house is definitely more transitional style decor, it is a 1930s colonial... definitely not a moroccan feel, haha. I have always loved Delft, but worried that the images on them would make my backsplash too busy, and almost a little too.... grandma-like? The plain tiles with just the traditional corner design (I like ox tail) seem like they'd be gorgeous though, maybe i'll stick with that. I'm going to try to post a link to my inspo picture that I showed the kitchen designer. Blue and white kitchen inspiration

Still hoping that someone here can shed light on how the Hale Navy island will look in a bright, well lit space!
chispa
last year
Not your exact colors, but similar look ...
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eam44
last year
This is the OP inspiration image. @kitchen, if you want to learn to post images, check out the New to Kitchens thread 😊
kitchen thanked eam44
kitchen
Original Author
last year
Thanks @chispa ! I like the color combo in the first one you posted (and in my inspo picture) but dislike the one in the last picture you posted, and i'm worried that's what my island will end up looking like. Just too dark (for me). But I guess I will just have to wait and see how it really looks with my own lighting and adjust as necessary.