I think by the time you eliminate all of the warmth of those wood cabinets from the room, you are going to have a rather cold feel and will be desperately trying to inject some warmth back into it. Leave the island alone for now if you are committed to painting. But, I'll also repeat what has been said already about the lighting. That is the FIRST thing to address before you start down the unalterable road of painting wood cabinets. With the lighting addressed properly, you may actually feel quite differently about what's there. It really isn't so bad. It works well together color wise, and depending on what the rest of the home looks like, it may even work better with the rest of the home than a white kitchen would. If you "just need a change", then I think simply addressing the island itself while leaving the perimeter cabinets alone could do that for you. A terra cotta island with the warm wood cabinets is a really great look. Either way, make sure that the cabinets are painted properly, whether you DIY or have them done. Here is how I would expect a pro to spray paint kitchen cabinets. A brush painted job would differ slightly in that you wouldn't hang the doors to paint. You'd place them on a work table or easel instead. It's time intensive work, and should take 7-14 days to accomplish completely and cost between 3K-7K depending on kitchen size and amount of detail in cabinets. Remove doors and drawer fronts. Remove hinges and hardware. Clean with TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) Rinse and let dry. Scrape any loose finish. Fill any damaged spots or hardware holes that won't be reused. Sand fill smooth. Scuff sand the rest. Tack off dust. Hang in dust free paint booth with wires through hardware points. Tack off dust again. Spray with alkyd based primer. Scuff sand again. Tack off dust. Spray with second coat of primer. Spray with first finish coat of latex enamel. Spray with second coat of latex. If glazing is to occur, that is next. Spray with conversion varnish. (If being brush painted, this step is typically skipped.) Add more molding or decorative details to boxes, filling nail holes and sanding smooth. Repeat prep process with face frames and exposed cabinet sides using plastic to create a spray booth on site. If interiors are to be done, they are done before face frames and sides. Interiors are difficult, and add both time and expense to the job. Allow everything to fully cure. Clean hinges and hardware and clear coat if you're keeping the old hardware. Install new (or old) hinges and hardware. Re-install doors and drawers and adjust for proper clearances. If you are receiving a job without this amount of effort, then you are not receiving a quality professional job.

i really love you guys. it's great to pop in and find still more opinions/suggestions. i think you're right, francoise47. i do cook so this isn't a show kitchen and marble behind the cooktop is not such a great idea. i've actually been wondering if i should do stainless or ceramic or glass -or anything that isn't natural stone. although, the back splash in my old kitchen was tumbled marble and i managed to keep that looking good. i don't know. we are still not in so i'm not in that much of a hurry. i'm afraid i'm suffering a bit of depression from the problems caused by our GC, but that's another post. i do somehow welcome the lag time, since i don't want to make a huge mistake. i'm very happy with the way the kitchen has turned out so far and the back splash is one of those make it or break it things ...so you understand my hesitancy in making a final choice. the one thing i seem to have my heart set on, is whatever it is, i want it to cover the entire wall, up to ceiling. but i'll wait and see how it goes. 2LittleFishies: uh, yeah! i'm guessing the pics you posted are from monmouth street tile, am i right? so we are neighbors! i had an appt. with them before Christmas but the salesperson got sick and cancelled on me. i was planning on going in the next week or two though. have we seen pics of your kitchen yet, or have you just started? thank you again. i promise you will know when our house is done. and when that happens i will make it my life's work to put our GC out of business forever. xxo

I don't rule out specific colors or shades altogether, but there are colors that I would never use on certain materials, if that makes sense. Some materials have colors that are naturally associated with the material and that's fine. So I would have a terra cotta floor or tile roof in the natural color, but I would think a bathroom painted in terra cotta semi-gloss would be awful. I would have a black leather sofa or black walls even, but I would probably not want black bathroom fixtures. I like cherry and mahogany furniture, but I really dislike the red-burgundy tone of a very popular prefinished floor in new construction here. I would probably buy a beige rug, but I really dislike the beige porcelain variegated tile that is ubiquitous in bathrooms here.

Mindset, thanks for sharing your thoughts. It's good to know you think we're on the right track and your color comments make sense. You're right, Pottery Wheel is fairly bold. As for polling the owners of all 76 units, we (the HOA Board) considered it, but decided not to for fear that would open a huge can of worms. Color preferences are so subjective and personal that inevitably, some people - maybe a lot - would be unhappy with the final decisions. Our by-laws do not require an owners' vote to change exterior colors, so we are going to do our best to honor the trust owners placed in us and make the most carefully reasoned decision we can. I hope other Houzzers will jump in here and give us their perspectives like you did. Thanks!