How do you choose a kitchen island color in Rancho Santa Fe?

Last Updated: November 10, 2022

Okay, so you’ve got JUST the right kitchen cab­i­net paint col­or picked out. Maybe it’s styl­ish, but not TOO trendy, eye-catch­ing but doesn’t dom­i­nate the space. You nailed it.

Not to throw a curve­ball, but what about your island itself?

Sure, you can paint your kitchen island to match your cab­i­nets. There’s noth­ing wrong with that. But… is it a missed oppor­tu­ni­ty? The truth is, a lot of folks who are paint­ing cab­i­nets in San Diego (and beyond!) are opt­ing for some­thing more when it comes to the island. It’s a unique space and has the poten­tial to be real­ly stunning.

Let’s run through some of your options. Ready?

Should my kitchen island match my cabinets?

Build­ing on what we men­tioned before, your island CAN match but doesn’t have to. Many home­own­ers are using this valu­able real estate as a way to com­ple­ment their cab­i­net col­or, but not match it per­fect­ly. Besides, islands are a real hub of fam­i­ly life and activ­i­ty — giv­ing them their own per­son­al­i­ty can have a nice effect.

Should my island col­or be lighter or dark­er than my cabinets?

The not-so-help­ful answer? It’s up to you. But typ­i­cal­ly you want it to be an accent, mean­ing that it swings the oppo­site direc­tion from your cab­i­net col­or. If your kitchen cab­i­nets are light (as most are), go with a dark­er, bold­er island col­or. But if your cab­i­nets are dark, you could go with either a lighter island, a com­ple­men­tary dark col­or, or a more nat­ur­al fin­ish like stain. In most cas­es though, a dark­er col­or is the first choice.

What are pop­u­lar kitchen island paint colors?

White and gray are ALWAYS ​ “ in.” But these days blue and green are sneak­ing to the front of the pack. And there are so many vari­eties and options to choose from! If you love bold, go with a dark green, but if you love a more sub­dued, airy palette, soft greens that are root­ed deeply in nature are a home­run. In fact, with all the vari­eties and options at your dis­pos­al, you might want to talk with a pro­fes­sion­al col­or con­sul­tant before paint­ing. They can open your eyes to some fresh options you might nev­er have oth­er­wise considered. 

A real-life exam­ple of kitchen island paint­ing in Ran­cho San­ta Fe

Noth­ing beats see­ing the real thing. Here’s a gor­geous kitchen island our team recent­ly paint­ed, fea­tur­ing a green col­or. And if you peek in the back­ground, you’ll see that the rest of the cab­i­nets are dark as well, but the island still stands out in a sub­tle way. We love the less shiny sheen too — very trendy these days. 

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