I am having that issue too! I was thinking a light green or blue though? I am not a fan of oak at all, and would love to stain or paint them, but not in our budget right now. So, would love to see what responses you get too! Good luck on choosing the paint color!

I know some think is getting to be "old school" but I personally think greens look better with the golden and red tones of oak than ANY other color. My cabinets are a golden toned birch and I used BM Flowering Herb which I love. I will probably always have green somewhere in my home.

I also like the lighter, buttery yellows for an analgous look to embrace the golden tones. I painted my DR a soft yellow (Valspar Homestead Resort Sunwash) and it looks really nice with the golden/reddish oak floors.

You are right - the current color is not working. On my monitor it looks like a beige with pink undertones. I made that same mistake in my LR, thinking I was going with a neutral beige, but I see pink. It look TERRIBLE with my natural red oak floors. I am in the process of trying to find a good neutral to replace that with.

There are a lot of popular "new blues" being used that would probably work also, but I don't know enought about color to suggest one. Wythe Blue, Palladian Blue, Rainwash, etc have been very popular on here - just now sure how they play with the golden oak looks.

You also need to consider what is in the adjoining rooms, i.e. other paint colors, furniture, rugs, fabric etc.

I bet Funcolors can help you out!

I am drawing a blank on the poster's name......but somone did a beautiful stained wood kitchen that seems, if my little memory serves , like it would work in your space. She has a large family, maybe a dairy farmer, lived in the basement or family room during reno, did a really great mudroom laundry room, also.....

Sorry I can't be more help!

Your cabinets are really pretty. A few cosmetics are all you need, IMO.

Nancy

check out this thread. A few pictures may be gone, but there were some great ideas for kitchens with golden oak cabinets. I particularly like Mudhouse's post-not-a-chick-magnet kitchen and Circuspeanuts' green kitchen and Anna Chosak's with the patchwork type tile. And Pal's dark blue with the oak is, to my mind, a surprising success.

Here is a link that might be useful: Design around this thread...golden oak

I agree about green. When my cabs were golden oak, I had soft sage walls and they play well together. Think nature, wood colors and green foliage.

I still have golden oak vanities in my bathroom with gray tile floors, which also tames the gold. Whatever you do, steer clear of yellow and/or peach. JMHO.

I am drawing a blank on the poster's name......but somone did a beautiful stained wood kitchen that seems, if my little memory serves , like it would work in your space. She has a large family, maybe a dairy farmer, lived in the basement or family room during reno, did a really great mudroom laundry room, also.....

Sounds like abctate. Cannot find finished kitchen, but here is her laundry room:

Here is a link that might be useful: abctate's laundry

Definately a green! I agree with the other posters. The green will tone down any orange or gold from the oak. Your cabinets appear to be sturdy and in good shape. I also like your tile floor. I don't mind oak cabinets. Some are very pretty. I have had them in 2 houses and they were both happy kitchens with lots of laughter and good food shared with family and friends. Best wishes to you in your new home.

One of my favorites on that thread was Marclo's caramel kitchen with the darker tan/brown walls.

Love some of the kitchens on the linked thread, especially mudhouse and many of the green and coppery combos!

Can you describe the counter top and maybe show a close up of what you are dealing with there? It seems like the color needs to not only coordinate with the cabinets, but the floors.

If you want the oak to stand out, a green will do it as it is complementary. However, shades of gold/tan/caramel/brown/yellow will help the oak kinda blend so it doesn't stand out so much, otherwise known as "pop" instead of fade/blend in.

I just keep looking at that counter and wondering how that is going to play with the overall scheme.

The counter looks beautiful to me. Would love a closeup too. I have maple cabinets with the darn yellowing. Had considered painting, but keep thinking the painted cabinet is going to be yesterday's decor. Unless originals are done so, then I would take on a green wood. Am trying very hard to live with them as is, they are in great shape.

I painted my walls a brick red, other colors tended to bring out the yellow. There isn't a lot of wall, so the red is more of a decor addition and love how it turned out. Am a bright color person, so suggestion from this side are totally different from the norm. My next one would be a teal blue/green.

If you paint the walls, I suggest a very small trim around the ceiling, the same color as the walls or ceiling. Something seems unfinished when I see wall to ceiling in different colors.

I have golden oak, and sunset gold granite. I went with a taupe-y beige wall, and it does tone down the colour. Also, getting rid of my white appliances and replacing them with stainless made a huge difference. With your greyish counter and black appliances, amy a greyish wall colour?

I would also suggest updating your hardware- maybe an ORB or black. That will help a lot.

I replaced the formica in my oak kitchen last year with a dark charcoal gray formica, and it made them look much better. For wall paint I have 2 colors, a green and a taupe color. The green is below:

And here is the taupe:

WHen I bought the place, it had cream on the taupe wall and a horrible yellow on the green wall. Ugh.

Hope that's useful to you.

Love the idea of green. I have seen flowering herb and agree that it would like nice with your cabinets and it's not a dark green at all. Very pretty!