The light cream spots in your stone would be your cabinet color. Another color from the same paint card will be your wall color, either more saturated (darker) or less (lighter).

Consider SW 6385 Dover White, and SW 9180 Aged White. Both are on card 261. On my device Dover White is a fantastic match for the cream in your stone and would be a great option for your cabinets, and you could use Aged White for your walls.

If you want more contrast between the cabinet and wall color you could choose a lighter shade on that card (SW 7103 Whitetail) on the cabinets with Aged White or a deeper shade on the walls (SW 7555 Patience). Only you can see these colors irl and know what they look like in your space but as a first guess I’d start here: Dover White + Aged White, Whitetail + Aged White, or Dove White + Patience

Dover White

Aged White

Whitetail

Patience

White cabinets with black appliances and dark counters will give you stark contrast which can be hard on your eyes. Instead of “white”, I suggest you select a cream color in your counter for your cabinets and a slightly lighter cream for the walls. When your appliances are replaced in the future, I would switch to stainless steel because it is a less harsh color. You will get a better, smoother finish on the cabinets by having a professional spray job.

Better lighting will really help brighten your kitchen. The single fixture on your fan gives dull light. If you can add recessed lighting in your ceiling, that will spread light more evenly around the room. Replace the glass on the fan light with a less-cloudy cover. Whiter light bulbs may also help.

Your cabinets will look a lot better w near white walls ,more attractive window treatment allowing light in , better lighting plan ,and removing the bulky black fridge. The cabinets really are not that dark but the space as a whole feels dark because of issues that should be dealt w first.

I would not paint the cabinets. Granite is very pretty. Get a counter depth fridge or at least one that fits better and lighter blinds and paint walls. I would also get rid of ceiling fan.

If the granite countertop is staying, start collecting whites and creamy ivories. If you don’t change the lighting first, you will have trouble picking the best colors for the cabinet paint. I also think your nickel hardware won’t go with the stone. Consider oil rubbed bronze or even a soft golden bronze. The stone is warm colors and nickel is too cool. I also think your floor choice is not going to be great with that countertop. If you think you’re going to redo the whole thing (which is why you want that particular flooring) then don’t spend any money now and save for a total redo all at once.

Removing the granite backsplash and the dark brown blinds will make a much bigger impact.

Before you do one more thing get that lighting fixed it is part of the issue with the dark kitchen You need pot lights 4” with LED bulbs in 40000K that will help with true colors when you choose them Some undercabinret light in the LEDs and IMO the stone will look awesone with nickel hardware. The white you choose for the cabinets needs to be a bit warmer to go with the stone as mentioned. Get rid of the black blinds and get a counter depth fridge . This is not a DIY job though unless you have lots of experience painting cabinets. You need a pro that does cabinets not just any old house painter all the doors and drawer fronts need to be taken away and sprayed then the boxes also sprayed on site it is expensive but if you love everything about your kitchen and how it functions then the results can be like having a new kitchen.Is that flooring going everywhere in the house ? IMO that needs to be everyhere not just in the kitchen.I find the flooring quite rustic looking is that the type style you want?

To brighten, i would

-replace dark window treatment

-get a counter-depth stainless fridge

-redo the lighting

-replace the black stools

-paint walls a warm white

-replace granite splash with solid light colored tiles - warm white or maybe a light green

-if I still wanted to paint cabs, maybe just do the uppers, either in the same color as the (new) wall paint or in a light color from the granite. Not sure if two-toned cabs would work in this kitchen though.

I also agree with RedRyder that the proposed flooring won't go with the granite. I'm not a designer so I don't have the words, but that flooring looks too rustic or something. Plus the color not working. :(

Thanks everyone for your suggestions on my kitchen upgrade! I took ideas from each of you and decided that I will get rid of the fan and replace kitchen lighting (both ceiling and under cabinets); remove dark window blinds; when I update appliances, update to counter-depth stainless steel; cabinets will be a warmer white and professionally painted; and nickel pulls and knobs will do :-) I still need to decide on flooring, but I'm sure I'll find something. I've attached a pic of my anticipated upgrade :-)

You are painting your countertops? Or you meant cabinets?

I like the current floors with your countertops

I meant the wood floors in the picture above.

please heed the advice about lighting (yes to recessed lights) and the pro painter. When you have very dark granite and cabinets, good lighting is paramount. your only window is covered by dark blinds. (those would need to go as well)

do you use the desk area or do you need more storage? since you're painting, now is the time to do any modifications you may want. with mine I got rid of the micro over my stove top and had them move it under my wall oven. I did a custom vent hood. I had two large drawers put into my island. for the two I lost. worked out great. You could easily have to large drawers made to go in that open desk space if you don't need it.

So make sure you go over you layout for things your may want.

for instance, you could put the micro over in the desk area, and give yourself a nice vent hood.

And yes, you need a counter depth fridge. that one you have sits too far out.

I just had my cabinets painted. (but I also did new doors drawer fronts because it wasn't that much more and my doors were solid wood on the panels. MDF panels hold up to paint better) Please make sure you get a pro. they took everything back to their shop and did a spray lacquer. all of my cabs were sanded primed, and sanded again.

I used a shade brighter than Simply white.

Make sure your painter paints you a sample so you can place it against your granite.

Your granite actually has a lot of white tones to it, so I don't think going white is a bad choice.

I don't think I'd do a very creamy white, but I wouldn't do a super bright blue-white either.

Look at Alabaster or White Dove, have him paint you a sample and bring it in your kitchen AFTER you get new lighting.

That ceiling fan you have for light is horrible. If you can't do recessed lights, then try a black semi flush mount light something like this

I'd also lose the Dark wood blinds.

bring in some black w/faucet, hardware and a few black pendant lights over the peninsula. this way you won't have such a gap from the black to white contrast.

I think your wood floor coloring is good, but maybe look for a less rustic pattern?? since your granite movement is so prominent, you want your flooring to be a little less rustic so as not to compete w/the movement of the granite. make sense?

IMO the layout isn't great - You need a counter depth fridge, and the sink should be under the window. The black appliances are contributing to the darkness but sorry to say but so is the stone. Before I invested in painting out the cabinets, I'd address some other issues, or maybe wait until I could do a total redo. I'm also not a fan of LVF

@Beth H. : Your kitchen is phenomenal! What a transformation! This is great advice...I never thought about a vent and love the idea! We spent a nice penny on our granite and don’t plan on removing it no time soon, so your suggestions to enhance and build on the existing granite is soooo appreciated! When you said “bring in some black w/faucet, hardware and a few black pendant lights over the peninsula” are you talking about over the sink? Also, the microwave will replace one of the cabinets over the desk area and we can have more storage drawers built into the open desk space right? Just making sure I understand correctly :-)

@Beth H. : Okay...I see. This is great! If you don’t mind me asking...What color is your walls in the pic above? I love how the boarder make the color stand out.

I used BM Light Pewter. white trim is Simply White. I'm going to erase these pics now. don't want to hog your thread. \

your kitchen will look really nice when it's all finished.

your lighting should be priority. then just decide the changes to your layout you want before they start painting.

let your windows bring in some light.

think about 2 pendants over the peninsula.

Will do! Thanks for all of the advice Beth!

You have such magnificent and bold countertops/backsplash combo! For cabinets, I would choose one of the shades in your countertop (preferably the lightest). Good luck with your project! I'm sure your kitchen will look even more amazing.

@eam44 Thanks sooo much for the color scheme choices!!!...I'm going with the Dover white for the counter tops and one of you other colors for the walls, maybe the darker shade. I'll do a sample run.

Oh that’s great! I’m glad it was helpful. It looks like a good option from the images you posted. Don't worry at all if it’s less impressive irl, we’ll figure something else out.

Curious how this turned out - Caprini, do you have any updated pictures?

Kat… unfortunately I don’t… We decided to get new flooring throughout our first level instead. We kept our current color scheme for the kitchen for now until we save enough money to totally update.

I think since then all we did was update the appliances