Paint it satin black -- add silver knobs to the doors -- put lots of photos (old and new) under the glass for the top ....

Teacats must not like pictures on her fridge. ;)

I do like her idea, but would just clean the wood and tung oil. Sand the scratched ends a bit, but nothing major.

The natural wood adds warmth to an otherwise cool color kitchen.

I would either gel stain the base or paint it. And I would start looking on CL for a piece of marble that would fit it. Just be patient and keep looking. You will probably find something (even if you have to take an ugly base too) that will already be finished along the edge and is the right size and right price. I bought a "desk" for my daughter's room, it included a piece of carrera that is about 22x 52, for $50. Ogee edge and all.

You can usually find marble remnants at stone yards. You probably want honed, and in my experience old tops on CL are shiny ....

Love your kitchen, but the surfaces are cool. The island brings so much natural warmth. I would not paint it or put marble on it. Just clean and tung oil.

I like the wood, but you could also paint it to pick up the accent blue color on your light fixture and maybe add a rubbed glaze. Adding a marble top is a great idea, but I think I would rather have something requiring less maintenance since this will probably be a work surface...either quartz or soapstone.

I'm in agreement with Allison :). It looks like it "belongs" as is.

I would do a deep color on the base with some distressing. (I am fond of almost black/navy...but depending on your color scheme.)
On the top check stone yards.
Another idea I like is vintage yard sticks attached to top and then covered with glass.

I agree that I would try to keep the wood tone, perhaps just a bit darker, with a satin or matte finish. Rather than a marble top, I would think about having a stainless steel top fabricated, and have a swirl pattern brushed in, maybe in a wave pattern in homage to the beach location.

I'd do a rolled zinc top and chalk paint on the bottom in an accent color.

I like the wood tone of the base. I'd investigate getting a black top to coordinate with the counter rather than a light one in marble. I'd also see if it could be cut a little larger on the back side (maybe it would have to be anchored to the floor) in maybe an arc or a rectangle to leave an overhang for comfort for those who sit on the stools.

I might try to put an overhang on the top to provide more comfortable seating. If you want to paint, maybe you could do a cool sea blue/green color? I do like the wood tone, so I think you could also leave it as is and just add a top. What is your backsplash material?

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm keeping a list for this summer when I'm down there for several weeks. Oh, FYI, no one really ever sits at the island, only maybe occasionally one of the kids. You can't see it in the pic, but there is another side to the kitchen where we have a table that seats 6. The table is pine (similar to the island, but unstained) and the kitchen chairs are black. Depending on what we do with the top, though, maybe we should consider making an overhang.

prickly, the backsplash is carrera marble in a herringbone mosaic.

Paint it to match the turquoise in the light over the sink and add a butcherblock top. No marble for a beach house. You need some color, but the wood will keep the "warm" in the kitchen.

I think it's perfect as is and agree that the warm wood keeps the kitchen from being "cold". Darker wood won't have *quite* the same effect, IMO. I'd just use a little scratch cover, furniture polish or oil. Maybe sand & re-poly/oil if it's really that bad.

Oh!! :)

I DO like the photos on the fridge! I swear on A Sacred Pitcher of Martinis! :) (grin ........)

But I do still vote for painting the island in black .....!!!! :)

...grin .....

There are lots of pieces of Carerra marble on e-bay right now that were taken out of an old school house built in 1908. The large pieces look fantastic and are about $150. They are not full slab size but might be perfect for your island. I posted about it on another thread so sorry for the x-post but it was such a great deal and if they were just a little bigger I would buy a couple of them. They look nice and white with nice big gray veining and look original~ mined and finished in Italy as opposed to how they are doing now with mining in Italy but shipping to China to finish. The slabs done in China come back looking all grey and with only blurry spidery veins instead of the broad brush stroke type. Good luck! I would paint the island either the same color as your cabinets or another color black, slate, russet, teal with coffee glaze or whatever fits your need. Then either leave the top wood or do the marble. Be sure to come back and let us see it when you get it finished. Fun project!

Not knowing what else color-wise is going on in the rest of the area and since I have a yen to paint something in a deep, mysterious green, that's my vote!

I vote for darkening the island, a darker wood tone, find a nice stone top, then paint the stools legs white to match the cabinets, or turquoise as suggested above. Lovely space!

For the base, if you keep the wood tone, I would clean it up and stain it a bit darker. If you're inclined to paint and stay with the cooler tones, I think a pale grayish blue or green would be perfect with the marble counter.

I prefer the island counter to contrast with the black cabinet counters. Carrera marble counters would work well with either the painted or stained wood. A butcher block counter with a painted base would keep the warmth of wood in the kitchen area. I may be thinking of Allison's island?

An overhang is always nice and invites more seating. Everyone crowds around my kitchen counter :-)

Hm, butcher block top with a black painted base could work. I think if I keep the wood tone (versus painted), I wouldn't want the wood any darker. This is a beach house with a lot of pastels, light or painted wood, etc. Basically the opposite of my IRL house!

This is the other side of the room. So the island kinda matches the kitchen table.

Looking at your dining room and floors, I agree with not staining the wood darker.