If not more cherry then black. But then you have to have some black elsewhere in the adjoining space so it all ties together.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting I don't like that very dark stuff either! I want to see the grain in cherry and its natural warm tone as it darkens. I have natural--clear finish--cherry in my current kitchen and it has naturally darkened beautifully, with all the grain visible. That's what I'm talking about. As far as the island, the problem is wood doors are very expensive, and painted doors are a lot less expensive right now. I doubt that it's in my budget to do the whole thing in wood. Plus there is so much wood in the room to begin with that it seems good to introduce a complementary accent color. But I get what you mean!

If you are looking to pull in an accent cabinet color I would consider pulling a color from your stone, or a darker version of that color. Perhaps a dark warm gray that works well with the tone of the cherry. Try putting all 3 together in the same space before making a decision if possible.

natural cherry cabs

these are all great colors w/natural cherry

wait on the island color until you get some of the cabinets made. then you can bring them into the home to see them in your light w/your flooring. have some paint samples ready

soft blues, bluegrays, sages, ivory, soft whites, blacks and warm grays, all look great w/this wood

Green is a great color with cherry. Have you considered doing the perimeter in painted and the island in the cherry? I'm surprised that the painted cabinets are less expensive than the cherry cabinets.

I really like natural cherry and have that in my existing house - great room built ins and butlers pantry. It's aged gracefully and looks warm still.

I'd try to warm up a blue, consider a green tone, LOVE that "succulent" that Beth H posted above.

Your stone is really warm and rusty and if you are bringing it inside the house - a blue is going to have to be "perfect" whereas a green will give you more wiggle room.

I am also not sure I'd have it on the hood. the change is a little jarring in the rendering if there is that much contrast.

I'd have it match. You know, all cherry. Painted islands are great if you're going for that "I decided to add an island later" look, except that it's not that great a look.

Cherry wood naturally has a wide range of color, which can be seen in Beth's first image. Be prepared.

A warm green or a warm blue. Either would work great with cherry. BTW: I love natural cherry and had it in my condo.

I would do the hood in the cherry.

Cherry is not one thing. I think it all depends on the actual wood you are using. That said, I like the Texas Leather from @Beth H. : comment.

Thank you all for the suggestions; I think you're right about finding something with a green tone or a gray that works. That also will help reflect the setting of the house, since it's at the edge of a meadow with lots of those rocks that will be in the house (that's where they're coming from!). That will also make it easier to choose a soapstone, since a lot of them are greenish grays.

I was also surprised to learn that the painted cabs are less expensive. Apparently some species of wood are still very pricey even though the cost of lumber has dropped.

@Beth H. : thank you for all the pics and color samples! So helpful! Unfortunately I have to order the cabs all at once. At most I'll have door samples to look at in the space.

@Mark Bischak, Architect, I have natural cherry in my current kitchen so I'm very familiar with the variation-- I like it! When I looked at the rift white oak sample next to it, of course they're both attractive, but I know that in the long run I'll prefer the interesting grain of the cherry.

We are doing natural cherry as well in our house. We had it in our last house and love it. We are doing a “coffee bar” cabinet in dark gray adjacent to the kitchen. Our countertops will be a gray granite as well. We will also have black accents in the space.

You should be able to get door samples before you order. If not, find another company. :)

@cpartist oh yes absolutely! I have a rift oak sample already, which is what clinched my decision to switch to cherry. I looked at the oak door next to my current natural cherry cabs and just wasn't drawn to it as much.

I now have to narrow down this paint color decision and order samples. This is hard for me! I looked at a lot of greens and blue-greens and I really still prefer blues.

Here's a pic of a cherry door (aged) with a light soapstone sample (I don't know what I'll choose yet), and for fun a quartz rock I found at the site, which looks good with cherry and is making me rethink the soapstone (sigh).

Stone from the site will be used for the FP and the entryway to the kitchen, and it has a mix of tones:

So--here are some colors I like--thoughts on whether any of these work for the island? I'm not sure I'm hitting the right shades.

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/1665/mozart-blue

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/1679/bedford-blue

https://www.farrow-ball.com/archived-paint/sloe-blue

https://www.farrow-ball.com/paint-colours/Selvedge

https://www.farrow-ball.com/paint-colours/de-nimes (more of a gray, imo)

https://www.dunnedwards.com/colors/browser/de5881/

You know, colors may look different on different computer screens.

I would definitely go with cherry and soapstone--beautiful combination!

If you are set on a painted island, then use a greenish blue rather than a more purple blue. The Dunn Edwards looks much too purple to me. The FB colors look a bit too light, although De Nimes is pretty. The BM colors look almost the same but not enough green.

At the end of the day, you need to see the colors in your space with your light. As Mark stated, the colors we see on our screens will not look true due to different calibrations.

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC thank you; I'm sure you're right. I'll look at colors more on the green-blue spectrum. I would consider doing all the cabs in cherry, but it would be more expensive, and there will be a lot of wood in the great room-- floors, dinner table, sideboard, and doors. Maybe the latter doesn't matter as much because accent colors can be introduced in other ways (backsplash, textiles).

The KD changed the colors in the 3D rendering so I could get a sense of cherry with different shades. I realize it's only an approximation, but this gray one is, I think, too gray. The F&B de Nimes color I prefer is a little warmer with more blue--but I don't have a sample of it yet. In general, though, I was thinking of using a much darker color, and now that I see this, a lighter color seems good in that it allows the cherry to stand out rather than having an accent color take over.

Also I'm still not sure if I want to paint the hood. KD is pushing for that to tie it into the island, but I wonder if I'd like a wood hood instead, box-shaped and not angled.

de Nimes: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1b/11/2b/1b112b90d6b00b46bfd699f4f43bb552.jpg

Natural cherry is gorgeous, but do take into account it will darken over time.

@Sherry Brighton that's one of the things I like about it. I have it in my current kitchen, now more than 15 years old.

I love cherry too, but the red becomes more predominate as it darkens so any paint color will need to take that in account. Navy pairs well with cherry.

I was trying to find blues early on, and the KD rejected most of the ones I proposed, but I may not have picked a navy. Good idea.

A lot of them seem to have violet undertones, which would be bad. What do you think of these two? (I know, colors can look different on different screens...)

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/2063-10/old-navy

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/2060-10/symphony-blue

Oak is rift cut to overcome the dark open grain of that species, quercus alba. You can use a different species, q. robur, European Oak flat cut with grain pattern and tone variation. It's denser with less open grain. DOCA Link. uses that wood. Ikea Vedhamn uses it. Link.

@dan1888 I switched from rift white oak to natural cherry because I like the warmth of cherry as it darkens, and the grain.

I like both the old navy and the de nimms.

Fun to see your kitchen coming along. I tried my hand at switching up the colors. I do like blues with the cherry, but not the de nimms.

Old navy

Symphony

Edit: I do feel symphony is too rich and competes with the cherry

You need to get paint samples of the colors you want to try and hold them up NEXT to a cherry door sample IN YOUR SPACE. That is the only way to see if the color works. Asking us here on the internet where we can't see your space, your cabinet or the actual color is folly since everyone's screen is formated differently.

I like Diana's pick of Newburg Green

Buy a quart of the paint color(s) you are considering. Paint a piece of white paper or a scrap of (primed) sheetrock. I’ve even used leftover vinyl wallpaper. (You need something a lot bigger than a paint chip.) Look at the sample(s) with your cherry sample to assess how well the pairing works. You’ll want to do this throughout the day and evening, and in the different kinds of lighting you will be using in your new home. Fun project you have there!

You have a kitchen designer, no? Ask her or him to order several large samples of the colors you're considering. Professionals can get them for zero cost, and that's what she or he should have been doing to help you select the best color. Renderings don't show the true color, but BMoore's samples are spot on because they're made using actual paint. When I have a client (or myself) that needs to decide on a paint color, we sometimes order LOTS of color samples (30, 50, 60!)

Then, yes, tape them up on the walls in the space, with your lighting. View them during the day and the evening with both natural and artificial light.

Buying a quart of paint could cost you a lot of $$$$, especially if you are considering more than one or two colors. And it's a lot more work than using the manufacturer's samples. I've been doing this for over 20 years and have never gone wrong with Ben Moore's samples.

Diana, Even better idea! (The things I learn here.)

Thanks, Otter Play!

Unfortunately, I can't look at colors in the light of the actual space yet, because it's a new build and we're still in the framing stage. The best I can do is look at it in daylight at the site, and then look at it under LEDs of different temps/brightness off-site.

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC thank you for the advice. I like the Newburg Green, too; in fact I had a swatch of that but in my office it looks much more gray than it does in the image you shared, which I guess is not surprising. I asked the KD if she could order some samples for me. She responded that I could order them directly and gave me the link. I guess she doesn't get them for free.

Sure you can order them directly and pay for them, but all she has to do is set up an account to get them free. Isn't that part of her services?

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC, guess not!

@2rickies does the person doing the work have a preferred paint company? Mine do. In my area, all the contractors prefer Sherwin Williams so there's no point in me looking at any other brand. The Sherwin Williams store gave me a paint fan, just gave it to me! Maybe you can get one too. I think your practice of putting the cherry, soapstone and rock together with the different paint chips in the fan will help you get to the next step of choosing larger sheet samples. 

Can the KD provide a rendering with the hood in cherry? I like the hood painted, but maybe a rendering with it in cherry will help you decide what YOU want. 

Are the appliances all stainless steel? I like the soapstone. That's exactly what I would want for my kitchen. Except I saw someone else's kitchen with a honed marble in colors you would expect from a melted caramel sundae. I thought it looked really beautiful. So I understand. But if you move away from soapstone, then what do you do about the appliances? They're still stainless. And what metals for your hardware at the sink and the drawer pulls?Coordinating everything is exasperating! Hopefully your KD has it all coordinated.

So you like blues but not with purple undertones and not greys. I was going to suggest SW Naval, which I found to be too green, because I prefer the blues with purple undertones like cobalt, very natural to me. I also was going to suggest SW Krypton, but you might find it too grey. 

OK, here are couple thoughts you didn't ask for and so please feel free to ignore completely. Try to get at why you don't like the painted hood. Is it because in your mind it may not age well? If so, how do you feel about a metal hood? Perhaps stainless steel? If you are having trouble finding a blue island, how do you feel about just simplifying to a cherry island? That way it's not as permanent. You can have different wall and ceiling paints that you change over time as the cherry ages. Speaking of ceiling, if you like different blues in the room, consider multiple blues in the same sheet on the paint fan. Your kitchen has many more natural stopping points than usual and would allow several paint colors. Look at the area around the stove. That could be a separate dark blue. And that little square next to the big window on the right could be any color. Then there is your soffit, and your ceiling. You could gradually go lighter as you go up the walls to the ceiling. Make a strong break between soffit and ceiling or make the room cozier by painting soffit and ceiling the same and breaking below soffit. The point is that you don't have to stick to the current trend of a painted island if it's too trendy for you. Ok...ignore at will. ☺️

Thank you for all the suggestions, @K L! The painter uses Benjamin Moore, but I can use any brand for the island, because the cab company will match the paint company's formula. At the moment, I'm leaning toward F&B de Nimes or BM Newburg Green. (All the other samples I got feel too dark to me with everything else that will be in the room.) I'm planning to paint the wall above the cabinets the same color as the ceiling, to bring the ceiling down a little (it's 13ft). (It's not that I don't like violet blues, it's that I think anything purply will eventually clash with the cherry as it darkens.)

Yes, the appliances are stainless, and I think of that as neutral, so if I did change my mind about soapstone and got marble instead, I think it would be fine. Right now I have a more traditional style kitchen, but I have stainless with natural cherry and a wavy granite. I used pewter-looking cab hardware, and I might do something similar in the new place, but in a more modern style, since it's a more modern house.

Interesting about using different paint colors in different places. I've been reluctant to do that because it's in a great room, so it's one big room, but that gives me food for thought. I appreciate the creative ideas!

found some other options

I think these all work well next to the stone colors (which you said would also go w/your cherry) I love the darker charcoal colors w/the warmer red/golden tones.

These would also work w/the cherry:

Have you looked at Knoxville Gray? Newburg Green is pretty but it will be dark. this is a lighter shade

How about theSW Succulent Shade? looks nice in the pic w/the rocks.

found some other options

I think these all work well next to the stone colors (which you said would also go w/your cherry) I love the darker charcoal colors w/the warmer red/golden tones.

These would also work w/the cherry:

Have you looked at Knoxville Gray? Newburg Green is pretty but it will be dark. this is a lighter shade

Olive Green

@Beth H. : good to see you back!!!

@Beth H. :wow, thank you for all of these options!! (Sorry it took me a while to get a chance to reply.) I went to Farrow & Ball, and picked up samples of Down Pipe, Stiffkey Blue, and Beverly which is a deep green. I also picked up de Nimes, but seeing it in person and then in different lights, it seemed like it would be too light. I took some samples to the site so I could see them in daylight with the stone. I don't have indoor lighting at the house yet (still in framing), so I still need that data.

There are interesting colors in your suggestions, and it looks like I will be making another trip to the paint store to look around!

Here are some pics with the stone in daylight. The first two are in lower light, and the next two are same color in bright light. (The stone will be used in parts of the great room in addition to the exterior, but there will be less of the orange than is shown in these particular photos.)

hmm,,, it seems like the blue and green are a little to 'bright' looking? maybe it's just the lighting.

you mentioned DownPipe, which I do like. (I also like BM Cheating Heart.) This one looks like it has the slightest bit of green tinge to it.

is this bottom one Stiffkey?

hague Blue might be a more muted blue

@Beth H. : yes the blue is Stiffkey. I like Hague blue. When I saw it in the store, I thought it was going to be too dark, so I didn't take a sample. I think part of the issue may be the very bright sunlight. When I look at them under indoor lighting, they're much more somber with more gray tones.

Here are de Nimes and Downpipe in that bright sun:

DownPipe:

de Nimes:

And in a "shady" spot (I think in this next photos I had "rich contrast" turned on in my photo app by mistake, and that made all the colors look browner and deeper):

Of these I really like the Stiffkey.

I like the downpipe

I think there are a few grays that go very well with the combination of colors and would look great on the island. But whatever color I use on the island will also be used as an accent in other parts of the great room. I think that's one reason I've been leaning away from the grays and toward a blue or green with some gray tones. They feel a little livelier as an accent.

Really like the succulent green by SW.

in this light, I think it looks nice