The thing about using just a colored island is that island can be repainted later. If you want to go spring lilac or sunshine yellow or red lipstick, it's not nearly as much work, and it still makes a huge instant change. It's like having a nice white summer dress that you can dress up with whatever color cotton cardigan that you feel in the mood for by just digging it out of the closet. Add in different knobs and pulls (be sure to use a standard size like 3") and a new wall color, and those small changes give a completely different look to that basic white. So when styles change, you have the ability to change a bit with them without ripping out everything. That's the beauty of paint! And butcher block will never be out of style, because it's a functional choice. If the kitchen has super model bones as in the best most functional layout, whatever clothes it puts on will look fabulous, no matter what style those clothes might be.

Welcome April--nice little house--except for the awful porch. It is totally wrong, should be a shed-type roof with turned columns and some gingerbread. Since the porch isn't raised high, a railing is optional, even for the period. As for colors, the Moss book is a must for advice. Since there are two different patterns of shingles in your gables, you have a choice of painting them all the same color, or different colors for each type. As for the brick, I'd try to paint it a brick color, leaving the trim and gables to give the house it's true expression. When it comes to painting the windows--the proper color for the sashes was normally black or a dark green, with a dark red running a close third--window sashes were meant to look more recessed than the rest of the house, hence the dark colors for them. White trim I don't think would work with that house--in the period you are talking about, dark trim was more common...and by all means stay away from pastels! :)

I looked at Elephant Breath (SW I think), Revere Pewter by BM, and couple others. They looked just great when put on the horizontal surface; the moment I turned the painted samples vertically as kitchen cabinets would ultimately be, they lost their warmth and seemed much cooler and dull, in any light-inside the house and in the full sun outside. I ended up looking at 14(!) samples taking them around the house and checking them in different lights and times of a day. In the end, I went with a custom color that I happened to stumble upon in our carpenter's shop. It was a formula that was mixed by some designer for a very high end kitchen in Malibu..It turned out to be wonderful. The cabinets are installed and make me happy each time I look at them. But it's not gray. I don't even know what I should call this color. I just know I like it lol. Get samples; you never know how a color would behave until you try it. It will be tiresome; but ultimately you will be pleased with your choice.

I would go with a light green on the perimeter and a warm white on the island. Warm white walls not to change the green tone of the cabinets. You need to go to a paint store and get multiple swatches to see what color works in your kitchen with YOUR light, flooring and granite (with the understanding that it won't be a 100% match once painted). If you are not a green person, then I would do a warm white on the perimeter and a blue on the island to break up all of that brown (I would not do almond, you will have brown on brown on brown). Have your painter provide you a sample door of the final color before committing to the whole kitchen.