First of all - I love seeing how sweet all of you are in trying to help each other. Warms my lil heart :)

I think the cheapest thing would also be the best thing here. Just change the wall color. You want to keep that great blue. I'm sure at some point you picked it because you loved it.

My general rule is pick one big color statement (in your case, blue), and then do little pops of the other bright color. Try a neutral on the walls and let the blue do most of the talking. Part of the problem is you have big areas of both bold colors and they are competing instead of complementing.

This pic shows a bold color island with a greenISH wall. But if you have a greenish wall you won't want light green accent pieces because then the two greens aren't working together. I'd just do the natural/beige wall and allow the accent pieces to be where your green is exclusively. Let your blue be the star.

So, pick a star in your kitchen - then let the other, non star color be a vase and a throw pillow!

ps. I know you just painted - bummer! But despite the yuckiness of painting again, you will certainly save money doing that over replacing the other elements. And it seems like you are less interested in changing out the other items - so after you get over the heartache of having to repaint, you'll save money and be happy!

I think if you change the wall color and add the right accessories to tie it all together you can make it work with the existing elements. Add some blue accents to the other room as well to tie that in. Here's the room again with some blue and white accessories and flowers and with beige walls and a pale bluish gray ones. Just plant some hydrangea bushes around the house :-).

My vote is for painting your walls beige-ish. I see nothing wrong with your granite and trust that your island is indeed more navy than is showing in your photos. It would be a shame, not to mention $$$, to tear out the granite or repaint your island.

Sophie--what is your actual blue island color? Is it BM?

Wow so much food for thought. I thought i should respond with more info and my current thinking.

Here are the BM colors from website if that's a help.

marine blue

dunsmore cream (a great color - goes with everything)

dill pickle

i painted kitchen walls this color at first - did not like:

I also sampled one lighter version of this on the walls (several places around the room) and no one liked it so I gave up on blues at that time.

Repainting the walls is an option that i will look further into but i have it a beige before (hepplewhite and really did not like that either. So while I agree that painting it another color might be the answer, i'm not convinced it will make me like the island better. I now see who the fabric doesn't work with the granite which is a bummer. The fabric does have that color blue and the dill pickle color in it. I think if i toned down the island (and pantry) i would start to throw everything off. So i'm thinking of finding something else for the island top. A cream color perhaps matching the bone color of the BS tile? Or wood. or marble? Would that just make the kitchen just look even more wacky?

This is a another view of what i really don't like:

It just doesn't match. I know it could be the blue overall but i'm not ready to admit defeat on that.

Either the cream cabinets need to be white or the blue needs to be more gray.

On my monitor the granite looks way too pink to go with your other choices.

Some fun inspiration pics of blue kitchens with wood countertops. I'm a big fan. Get the kitchen you want!

{{!gwi}}

Oh dear, that last blue kitchen gives me chills, but not in a good way.

blue cabinets, wood floor, white counter:

Here is a link that might be useful: dark blue cabinets

I am not sure.... Is the granite on the island the same as the granite on the perimeter? If so, it just seems way too expensive to rip out all the counters to better match a cushion and a wall color. I like the mock-ups blondelle did with the tan wall color. If you don't like the function of the island counter that is a different story.

Wood counter on island still my vote. The granite reads quite pink on my screen too.

I just thought of something. Briwax makes a tinted wax that can be applied over an existing finish without any prep work such as sanding or otherwise roughing up the finish. You can apply as many coats as you want, and one color removes the other. It might be worthwhile to order a small sample door or other small piece in that blue and experiment with the wax. It comes in an ebony color and a rusty color on blue will make the blue more gray, being opposite the blue on the color wheel. That shouldn't hurt the finish, and it buffs to a shine. It enhances the color, it doesn't cover it up. It's like a glaze.

Sophie, in the last pic you posted, that blue is so stunning. I really love it. The granite is too pink/orange to work with it. Which would YOU rather lose--the blue/green palette, which you seem very fond of, or the granite?

I just really noticed the light fixtures for the first time, and the faucet. They are both very modern and the rest of the look of your kitchen isn't. A modern chrome fixture hung on top of a wood table with country, ladderback, rush seated chairs doesn't work. I would change out the chairs to a more modern look. Your other light fixture is really lovely, but again very modern. I really don't mind the granite with the blue, but the style of the kitchen has to be more consistent. There's a disconnect in styles here. Eclectic is fine, but it needs to work together with the main elements in unity.

I can't stop following this tread.

My input into the very nice visuals/mockups that Blondelle posted:
1) don't like the light blue wall, a little too cool feeling.
2) Like the lighter green type wall idea, it adds a bit of warmth to the space.
3) beige isn't my cup of tea either. Not strong enough to go with that nice dark blue. Dark Marine blue is a favorite color of mine. I've had several cars that color and it is such a pretty color.

If that counter does indeed read the wrong tones then I'd be at a loss to make recommendations as to which direction you go, change the wall color, change the blue of the cabinets, or change the counters.

Why I don't like blue and white, if you care: 1) I feel like I've been thrown in a snow bank on a bright sunny day and not in a nice homey warm kitchen. 2) Years ago I went to a local restaurant that everyone raved about. Their specialty was pancakes. I hated the joint. It was a cold blue and white combination. I couldn't wait to get out of there. Interestingly it was a surgeon that suggested it. He probably liked the surgical suite look:) And of course it didn't help that the cook/owner yelled at his help, his wife and daughter, while I was there. Sad. Oh, and the pancakes where just pancakes.

Sophie,

You've tried several paints and like the green wall, you like your fabric and you like your navy island (not to mention it is better not to mess with factory finish and you have it on the fridge run, too).

If all of the above are in fact givens, then people should respond with those as givens.

My vote:
#1 butcher block wood counter, maybe ikea, so you dont feel so bad about doing it twice! There are copious threads about why not to fear wood which you can google. Let's just say that I, like others, have wood around my sink, with runnels, as does more than half of Europe.
#2 A bit tricker, since you have to consider the granite elsewhere, but a solid surface. Maybe Rain Cloud Corian, or maybe somethign with zero movement (my vote).

Since the granite is throughout the kitchen, I think it is better to make it work than to rip out some of it and not all of it.
If toning down the island is not an option, then try to paint the walls with a stronger green that would stand up to the marine blue in brightness. I think the only strong color is the island and that makes it jarring. If you added a green with more punch, it would help balance each other out.
Btw - my monitor shows the granite as having some pale peach to it, not pink. It really is not so bad.

Wow...what a thread. I love the blue island and the blue cabinetry. That is stunning. The granite is also beautiful. The fabric is gorgeous... I can see what you were trying to create, and I think it is just now making it all work out to marry all the elements.

I think that it is all a shade or a tone off. I would start with the wall color...I'd paint it a greyish blueish color... That will, in turn, match the cabinetry, which will tie into the granite, which will then tie into the fabric with the granite.

If not,...then I would agree to go to a wood top island...

I dont know...is it me that the table looks so close to the island? They look like they are on top with each other...does that interfere with the brown wooden top? I'm not sure...

Hope that helps..
my two cents

mrs hanson

I really love the fabric for your cushion back and think it ties the blue and green together nicely. Is that also from cushionsexpress? Can you tell me the pattern name? For what it is worth, since I am new here and lacking the experience/vision others have, I don't like the granite.

I love your kitchen. You need to tweak a bit with colors
but overall it is lovely.
~bp

Beautiful kitchen! So many great things... I see that it is a little off in terms of cohesion but still wonderful.

I think if you just replace the granite on the island you will still have some issues of something being a little 'off' in that the "serious" granite will still be in the room on the other countertops and will still be sharing the space with the other less serious things (the blue cabinets and green walls which have a more fun and cottagey appeal). In addition, now you will have ANOTHER element in the room which I think will make two too many.

To me the green and the blue are too strong to occupy the same space. Since your cabinets are more difficult to paint I would opt to tone down the wall.

I loved Blondelle's photoshop renditions particularly the first with the pale beige wall.

I hope it all pulls together for you. good luck

I went looking for this thread.

I think all the people recommending sophie repaint her walls need to remember the colors aren't rendering correctly on your monitors, nor from her flash.

Sophie, I would still recommend that if you change anything, change the granite.
You've already said a zillion times you like your cabinet colors and the finish is baked on. Why mess with something you LIKE!!! You've also said you just don't like the granite.

I think your kitchen is beautiful (other than the orangey granite) and love the colors you've chosen. Ironically, I would love the darker blue, but I am also enjoying the electric blue your flash makes it! Go figure. The electric is something I'd never choose, but your pics look great.

BTW. I'm all for the wood countertop, too. See my thread, "Butcherblock -- my way!" hahahha.

Christine

Mamadadapaige: I'm curious about one thing--the term "serious" applied to the granite. Not disputing it, just wondering whether this particular type of granite has a serious look, or whether all granite is serious in nature/appearance.

I didn't read everything, but I read most, and I didn't see anyone suggest this. The blue and green put you on a tertiary color scheme. The third color in the triad is orange. You've got peach in the granite (though I don't really see it in most of the pictures). What if instead of taking it out, you put more orange in? It would change the look, but it would be a more balanced look. Maybe change the upholstery to pick up the orange. In any case, look at a color wheel to see if you can dial in the right green for your walls.

Basically, I'm talking about changing the color scheme so that the peach isn't an orphan any more.

I'm not going to comment on changing colors at all - I know when I photograph my kitchen, none of the colors come even close to looking like what they do in real life - I can't imagine I could offer any realistic help. I would suggest that maybe you change your light bulbs out and see if that helps you. Others on the decorating forum have tried this with with success.

You might want to also give it about 30 days before you do anymore changes. It seems like it takes that long for the BM paints to "settle" and the real intensity to be realized. It might also take you that long to love your original picks.

I think your white cabs, granite and backsplash go great together. I think the island blue, fabrics and wall color are okay together. But they seem, to me, to be two completely different color schemes. Unfortunately for the island, the two color schemes collide and seem discordant. Even if you removed all the granite, you'd still have the backsplash. You might have to pick which look you prefer and cut your losses.

I think the green is the problem. I don't think the other colors/elements look bad once the green is out. I made the wall the same color as the window trim and toned down the electric-ness of the blue island. This looks ok to me. It's when I see it against green that I don't like it. Also, I think it looks like the granite is more peachy than it is because the incandescent lights are seen that way by the camera when it is balancing for daylight and/or flash. Turn off the incandescent lights and take a look (or pics) in just daylight. I bet it's not that peachy.

What a lovely kitchen! I am sorry you are unhappy. :^(

The one thing that stands out for me is the granite. It is such a pretty stone, but on my monitor it reads really peachy/pinky and just seems "off" with your other color choices.

I love blue and white together (or I wouldn't have it in my own kitchen ;^) ), but I really believe it is the granite that is throwing everything off. I would try dilly's suggestion--cover the counters with a white/off white sheet to see if it is the c-tops.

I think that changing out the light bulbs is a brilliant idea. And cheap. And should definitely be tried before committing to anything more expensive. Lamps differ in both color temperature (warm vs. cool, measured in kelvin), and in CRI (color rendering index, how accurate do colors look compared to an ideal natural light source). The link below is geeky, but you can see which lamps put out more light on which part of the spectrum. I think you want to minimize reds (incandescents emphasize). Do you like the counters better with just daylight?

In my other post, when I suggested pulling in more orange, I was thinking something like this for upholstery fabric:

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: GE Lighting Spectral Power Distribution Curves

Please do not paint the wood or change the granite. If you change the color of the island, then what happens to the blue cabinets?
Change to another green like the one blondelle suggested. Things might look a bit off because of the peach tones in the granite, and I like the idea of adding orange to tie it together.
But, all in all this is a nice kitchen and I think you can get used to it as is.
You can always change it down the road. But at least by that time you would have gotten use out of the granite or the blue of the island.
Quite honestly, you have a WOW kitchen. When people come in to it for the first time, I do not think they are thinking that the granite is a bit off. They are too busy looking around at all the other amazing features.

I love the color on your island. I think your kitchen is just beautiful. I also really like the black in the granite. Sorry you are unhappy, just live with it for awhile, and don't stress over it too much.

I do understand being unhappy with how it all goes together. I love almost everything about my new kitchen except the granite. I have bianco romano on the perimeter, and blue pearl on the island. They just don't go together at all. The slabs I picked out looked awesome together, and I'm totally convinced I didn't get the bianco romano slab I chose. I'm just learning to live with it, and trying not to stress out about it too much. Easier said than done.

It's too easy to say change the granite. That's lots of money wasted and more to spend. I love the blue. I don't believe everything has to match. I love what blondell did with the blue walls and blue accessories. Go to TJMaxx and get some blue mugs and a blue vase and maybe a blue teapot. I think your kitchen is lovely and the island will be fine.

Post above has compelled me to re-enter the fray.

Adding a bunch of TJ Maxxknacks is NOT going to make the peachy granite work.

Sophie, it looks like your floors and table are roughly the same wood tones. If you do a wood counter in the same wood stain color, you won't be adding yet another element. I agree with you, the perimeter granite seems okay and looks fine with the cream cabs and even with the navy tile detail. Any other counter top option for the island risks MORE design confusion.

My vote is leave everything as-is except that island granite. IKEA WOOD. Easy and inexpensive.

Good luck!

Poor sophie. Everyone's telling you something different! How are you feeling about things now?

You can neutralize the green and it all is a little less "off".

But I don't think this OP is looking for neutral. She REPAINTED to get that green. She likes the blue, she likes the fabric.

I vote w Shanghaimom.

I have no idea why I feel this is so important. This thread is such a great use of GW. So many people with good ideas and well thought our justifications, and many who spend the time to illustrate their ideas! It's very cool. Of course the OP is probably sick to death of all of us and changed her screenname, LOL

I think you're right, poor Sophie is probably deep undercover, fearful of ever revealing her decision to this rowdy opinionated crowd.
(but allow me a third vote for a wood counter for that island).

I saw a really pretty carmel colored room. i think this would look good with both the granite and the dark blue cabinets. I will look for the picture and post.

It truly sounds as though most of your unhappiness with your island is the counter. If that's the case you will never be happy in your kitchen no matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise. If you can afford to change it then that may be what you need to do. You can always reuse the granite somewhere else or perhaps sell it to recoup some of your cost. Sometimes we all make an expensive mistake. I did with my kitchen window....we changed it and I love it.

There are wood countertops that are treated to withstand just about anything. I wrote the name down but have misplaced it (I can find out from my kitchen cabinet lady if you like). This particular company makes wood sinks as well. I'm not saying that you should purchase a wooden sink, but if their finish can hold up to that you shouldn't have a problem with it. Wood would look very nice and be more pleasing to be seated at than cold hard granite. I would have wood countertops but the home we are building is a log home so I'm going with soapstone.

I like the wall version that is mocked up for your kitchen in the softer green. It softens the blue cabinetry a bit more than how the dill pickle is showing up on my screen. However, it sounds like you like your wall color the way it is and in reality it's the granite on your island that's upsetting you. It's what YOU like that counts.

Listen to your gut, and don't feel guilty if you make a change. The kitchen is the most important room in the house, in my opinion.

Your cabinets are lovely and as long as you like them I wouldn't mess with painting them, just for the sake of trying to make a countertop work that you don't like in the first place.

Sandy

Another vote for wood, the Ikea oak butcherblock would look great!
HTH, Petra

I'm checking in here. I'm looking at the ikea counters. I probably will wait until Jan before making a decision on that but i thought it might be good to have a table and counter the same wood top type. I also thinking to change out the chairs (none of the furniture was a "permanent" descions - leftovers or cheap buys). I'm also going to see if i can find a better granite piece. Its rare so that's a difficulty. Putting in white top might get me back to square one and i'm worried it won't work out. I also agree with the orange comment. For t-giving i got some orangish/red flowers and they looked great in the room - so interesting! I do really like the dill pickle green i have on the walls but i see its a bit of a clash - suppose its a personal like or dislike.

Sophie, I wouldn't replace granite with IKEA butcher block. That's what people use who can't afford granite :-). It's like going from a Cadillac to a VW. I think the IKEA butcher block is also about 24" deep and your island is deeper. A rectangular top also won't work with your curved island. I've seen gorgeous wood tops with an ogee edge and cut into curves but I don't associate that with IKEA unless they have changed.

I also wouldn't add another finish to the kitchen. You have 3 or 4 wood finishes already. Wood is also golden when sealed, and your granite is peachy. Might be another clash.

I honestly don't see anything wrong with the granite color on the island with the blue. Heck of a lot better than IKEA bb for heaven's sakes. It can warp and discolor from moisture around the sink. IKEA told me that.

Just repaint the walls, add the right accessories, and that's really all it needs to tie it together.

Wow, blondelle, you really need to educate yourself on what people here have done with Ikea butcherblock countertops before stepping in it like that.

Ikea butcherblock comes in a 39+" wide slab, as well as regular counter width. Installed and maintained it would be totally fine. Of course you can also get a thicker, clearer, more expensive wood countertop (like Boos or similar) with fancy edges if you really want (though I think the plainer would be better in this case)... but I sure do like the wood idea!

(I have waterloxed American cherry with an undermount bar sink and no issues whatsoever.)

She might want a different table, though. Or contrasting wood species at least.

>

Wow, Marcolo, couldn't you have expressed yourself in a less obnoxious way? My post says that "unless things have changed". The width was a small part of my post. Jeez...some of the people here!!! You still can't place a rectangular top on a shaped island like that or it will ruin the whole look. Lighter wood is also golden when sealed and that doesn't go that well with the peachy granite. Darker wood will go with the granite but will be too dark for the blue island. No matter what IKEA did with their wood tops it still won't work! JMHO!

I was thinking Marcolo's comment was remarkably RESTRAINED.

Seriously, Blondelle--Did you even trouble yourself to read through the OP's original post, not to mention the title of the thread? She doesn't like her island. She doesn't like the current shape of the island. One thing she is considering is changing the island top to wood. She is asking for some "kitchen eyes" on her photos and some advice/thoughts on what to do. Which she got, in spades!

Trashing on the suggestions and saying it looks fine and she should just leave it isn't helpful, at all. Not to mention the comment about IKEA counters being only for people who can't afford granite. How absurd.

sorry to see this thread has gone negative...

I think blondelle tried to give some good advice - maybe not what the OP wants to do, but clearly blondelle did a great job photoshopping the kitchen to show what minimal and less expensive changes could do to make the space more cohesive by keeping the elements that are more difficult and expensive to change and making easier less expensive changes elsewhere. maybe it makes the blue island feel more at home by taking out the other strong color in the room??? too many strong colors competing against each other along with so many other elements like the busy granite.

whatever the case, just posting back in to respond to linelle... re: my comment of the granite looking "serious". I meant that it is less in keeping of the whimsy of the blue island and green walls than some other choices that could have been made, such as butcherblock, or a solid casesarstone, or even soap stone. This particular granite does seem sort of formal to me for the other choices that were made. From my trips to the granite yards, I haven't seen many lighter granites that I would consider to be on the informal side (just my opinion :-)

Restrained? A nasty comment for not knowing IKEA butcher block came in wider widths? If she doesn't like the current shape of the island, putting a rectangular top on it isn't going to help! I've posted so many photos "kitchen eyes" here to help. Oh wait, you trashed that too! I've not been helpful? I have a right to my opinion to say the granite looks fine as do you.

According to you she should toss her expensive granite in the trash, and repaint her factory finished custom cabinets? Whoa! Now that's REALLY helpful, isn't it?

I will repeat my comment - the people here...Jeez! It's not even worth responding to your nonsense! Just unbelievable!

oh my eating my popcorn......

I think the ladder chairs are not working here. I agree great kitchen just not twicked right yet!