There isn't really such a thing as a period Greek Revival kitchen, since they were cooking in a fireplace or some kind of range and behive arrangement put into the fireplace, and use probably one work table and a series of storage cabinet furniture and separate rooms for storate of different things. So, I wouldn't worry *too much, really.

I think the white painted perimeter is good: the Greek Revivals around here had all the woodwork painted in the public areas of the houses. (Since the kitchens here were in the basesments or back wings, there was not much in the way of millwork).

I think the introduction of another color will make it look more like furniture, and I don't think the detail will be lost, just because it's a dark color. It *is a look that is popular right now, so there will be some indication that it was done in 20xx, but it will also be house appropriate, so I think that you will be fine.

Palimpsest,

Totally agree about not being able to recreate original kitchen...it was actually in an out building separate from the house so as not to burn the place down! Just don't want the kitchen to look too "mod" or contemporary. Also, hope it will be as timeless as possible. Thx for the input!

Seems like you are starting with your cab style, tweaking it for the island, then wondering whether it will fit the house.

Another way to proceed is to start with the house, and the furniture that would have been in it. Google for images of Greek Revival, American Empire and neoclassical furniture, as well as things like rustic work table for date X (sort of 1820-1850, something in there). Now, most of those pieces will be way, way too formal for a kitchen. However, you might spot a few details that you could incorporate into an island to give it a furniture-like feel. I'm thinking of round, large wooden drawer handles, or that particular curvy "crown" trim under the top.

You could also consider a mahogany stain color rather than black. That would be very appropriate to the period.

I don't think the black won't work--I think it would look very nice, actually--but distressed black is a look that may or may not wear well over time. At least give yourself the opportunity to explore a different direction, even if you come back to this one.

If you do a black island, I'd skip the distressing. My idea of a kitchen in that old a house is one that evolved over time. Having the island look newer would not be a problem.

I agree that a dark mahogany stain might be nice too.

I don't have an island in my 1850's Greek Revival but I did part of the cabinets in greenish/black milk paint and they blend very well with the overall feel of the house. The flat sheen & slight streakyness of the paint convey age much better than distressing, IMO. I admit that I used a very tiny amount of barn red to highlight what would be wear areas but compared to most professionally distressed pieces, it's nothing. The pantry cabinets are (or will be if I ever finish painting)semi-gloss white.

I had planned on all white cabs but we discovered that the baseboards & much of the trim had been black (or very dark) when the house was built so I had no problem with the appropriateness of using a dark color.

Needless to say, I think a black island is a great idea & look forward to seeing your kitchen regardless of what you choose.

In my 1845/50 Greek Revival house the still-extant parts of the kitchen/pantry areas have paint that is dark olive, very dark browny red, and a lugubrious medium neutral grey (on the most mundane trim and cupboard innards.) In other parts of the house there is still-visible light ocher, robin's egg blue, pale greenish grey and very light slightly green-toned grey/off white for the trim. Some of these may have altered in the ensuing 175 years. If you did black I wouldn't distress it, but I might choose a very, very dark charcoal with a warmish cast to it instead. In 1840 people would have been proud of their new furniture and found deliberately hand-worn edges and faux fly-specks hilarious, or bewildering. I don't think there would have been much creamy white/off-white cabinetry however - too high maintenance for period kitchens and period paint formulations. I think. Though there's no reason you can't have it as an allusion to a later period when paint chemistry had improved and hired girls were more common, say around the turn of the 19th/20th c.

L

White paint was too expensive except for the best parts of the house. The inventories for the neighborhood houses (1830s-40s) list a (cheaper) trim color called stone or buff, that was probably a warm light grey, and this is supported by some of the lowest layers of paint on my woodwork. (On the third floor)

The hidden portion of my pocket shutters was an ochery light gold kind of color, and it appeared to be a single layer of paint. However, since this surface was hidden when open and faced out when covering the windows it lends credence to the theory that they may have been white and this is how the 170 year old paint oxidized.

I did pick a dark charcoal grey as one of my cabinet colors, but more to match the black&gold marble fireplaces than to be "period". So while I do agree that a second color may be good for the unfitted look, maybe not something as strong as black necessarily.

As far as the baseboards go, a paint analysis of Lemon Hill, a Federal house here, indicated that there was a dark brown band painted around the entire perimeter of the room corresponding with the lower portion of the baseboard, the doors and their surrounds and the mantlepieces, as if a level line had been painted around the entire room without regard to what detail it was going on.

This was apparently done because the floors were mopped or swept with sand and the dark band camouflaged spatter.

Thanks to everyone for your input and insight into similar historic homes...fascinating! So far we haven't found any paint colors other than white on the trim, but I'm sure if we kept digging, we would. I'm going to consider a dark brown island color and seriously rethink the distressed look. Thanks!

To me, I agree with the dark brown or mahogany island, but I would be seriously re-thinking the butcher block top for it. Actually, that was the only part that to me seemed to stick out as not being "right" in the kitchen. My interior designer told me that if you do perimeter cabs and an island in different colors to keep the countertops the same, and vice versa (if you do different tops, keep all of the cabinetry the same.) Now...who knows where she came up with this tidbit, and of course rules are meant to be broken...but butcher block doesn't seem to "fit" a Greek Revival home to me. I would do the same AB on the island, or *gulp* marble (and hey, yes, I do love marble...but I also really DO think it would look nice and appropriate in this era home!) :)

Nini804--interesting thought about marble....would look lovely!! I may have to reconsider BB....

I would disagree that BB is inappropriate for a Greek Revival kitchen. Wood is about as basic as it gets & would have been more likely to have been in a kitchen than stone - unless maybe the house was very close to a quarry.

The theme of Greek Revival (so I've read) was 'Simple yet Bold'. Even if your home was built with gorgeous marble mantelpieces & exquisite woodwork on the 'formal' floor(s), I suspect the kitchen, whether basement or outside, would have been a great deal plainer.

I think the AB is a good choice but I wouldn't discount the BB because it doesn't blend.

Just my 2 cents.