The One Spot to Paint If You Want a Kitchen Refresh for Less

If your kitchen is a sea of brown, but you don’t want to paint over stained wood cabinetry, consider giving just the island a fresh lick of paint for a quick, colorful update. You’ll create a custom feel while instantly refreshing the space for far less money than a complete makeover.

“A painted island instantly makes the kitchen feel more layered and collected,” says interior designer Sara Malek Barney of BANDD/DESIGN, who painted this island (and lower cabinetry) with Farrow & Ball De Nimes.

It’s a tactic that Stephanie Pierce, director of design and trends at MasterBrand Cabinets, sees as a tried-and-true method, noting in a recent trend report that two-tone kitchens have become mainstream. “We’re seeing homeowners use the island as a bit of a design playground. Pairing a painted island with stained wood cabinets allows for a high-impact focal point without overwhelming the space,” she says. “It’s a way to experiment with color and personality while keeping the rest of the kitchen grounded in timeless, neutral wood tones.”

How to Choose the Right Color for Your Island

“The kitchen is a complex palette of walls, floors, cabinets, countertops, and the accenting decor,” notes Pierce. Choosing the right paint color for your island means taking these surfaces into account. 

1. Let the Color of Your Wood Cabinets Guide You

“Pay attention to your wood’s undertones first—that’s your secret decoder ring,” says Barney. The easiest way to do this is to assess whether your kitchen cabinets are warm (with red, yellow, or orange undertones), like cherry, oak, hickory, and pine; or cool (with gray undertones), like white oak, ash, maple, or birch cabinetry. 

Then choose a paint color that will complement this tone. “Maintaining either all warm tones or all cool tones throughout your cabinetry will help unify the space and enhance its overall coherence,” says kitchen designer Caren Rideau of Kitchen Design Group.

That doesn’t mean you can’t pair warm wood cabinets with a contrasting blue island, though. Just look for a warm blue, like teal, rather than a cool one, to ensure the contrast is harmonious. 

2. Cross-Reference Your Countertop

“The countertop is the peacekeeper—it ties your island and perimeter cabinets together,” says Barney. If your stone has veining, she suggests pulling one of those subtle hues out for the color of the island, “so the whole palette feels like it was meant to be together.”

Bre Bertolini of Brepurposed painted her 9-foot kitchen island Sherwin-Williams Balanced Beige to bridge the white maple plywood cabinets (stained dark walnut) and the Sea Pearl quartzite countertops. "I think the Balanced Beige paint color helps to brighten the space and open it up," she explains in a blog post about the renovation.

Trusted Color Combos

Think of the color wheel as your pocket decorator. Simply find your wood's undertone on the wheel and look across for its opposite. That’s the color to choose if you want to create contrast in a pleasing way. From there, you can riff on how light or dark—subtle or strong—to make the shift. For Pierce, subtle contrast and tonal mimicry “create a balanced look that is classic and often has the most longevity,” she says. Consider these color pairings: 

• “Warm wood tones play beautifully with deep greens, rich navy, or creamy neutrals,” says Barney. Try Dunn-Edwards Greener Pastures, Benjamin Moore Hale Navy, or Farrow & Ball Slipper Satin.
• Mid-tone browns are the most flexible. “If the wood tones are organic, with taupes or nutty browns, most colors will complement nicely,” notes Pierce. Try Sherwin-Williams Contented, Farrow & Ball Parma Gray, or Dunn-Edwards Sky Glass.
• “Cooler woods work best with slate blues, charcoals, or crisp whites,” adds Barney. Try Benjamin Moore Knoxville Gray, Valspar Almost Charcoal, or Behr Polar Bear.