If you are considering painting your kitchen walls to compliment your cabinets then you may be wondering what color to choose. Do you want to go with a light color or a dark color? What about a neutral color?
Choosing the right color is even more difficult when you have oak cabinets, but there’s good news. Picking the right paint color to go with your oak cabinets doesn’t have to be so hard. Here are some colors that will give your kitchen the perfect finishing touch.
Choosing the right color is even more difficult when you have oak cabinets, but there’s good news. Picking the right paint color to go with your oak cabinets doesn’t have to be so hard. Here are some colors that will give your kitchen the perfect finishing touch.
13 Kitchen Paint Colors With Oak Cabinets
SHADES OF WHITE
1.) Greek Villa
A great option to paint your kitchen walls and trim if you have oak cabinets. It’s a creamy, off white color with warm undertones that will tie together perfectly with wood cabinets that have a red or orange undertone.
Off whites pair well with a variety of other colors and Greek Villa is no different, so you should have no problem with buying décor pieces to complement it. This is a really nice color and is sure to provide a stunning look that will bring together all the elements of your kitchen.
Off whites pair well with a variety of other colors and Greek Villa is no different, so you should have no problem with buying décor pieces to complement it. This is a really nice color and is sure to provide a stunning look that will bring together all the elements of your kitchen.
Countertop Décor To Use with Greek Villa For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Greek Villa From Amazon
2.) Westhighland White
Is a great option when looking for a white paint color to match with oak cabinets. This color is creamy off white with slight red undertones, providing a simple and crisp feel that pairs nicely with the deeper shades of wood stain like maple, reddish-orange, browns, cherry-brown and more.
Westhighland White will provide a classic look to your kitchen while still keeping it bright and airy. This white in our opinion is one of the best paint colors if you’re looking for the simplicity of a nice plain white. This is a safe choice and is really good at complimenting oak cabinetry and oak trim.
Countertop Décor To Use with Westhighland White For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Westhighland White From Amazon
SHADES OF GRAY
3.) Popular Gray
Is a wonderful shade of gray to use for your oak cabinets. This color has mauve undertones which will bring out the warmth from the wood and tie together the entire space.
Popular Gray is also a versatile color that pairs well with many neutral tones and can be used in contemporary or traditional kitchens alike. It is a great way to add color to your kitchen without taking away from the wood cabinetry.
Popular Gray is also a versatile color that pairs well with many neutral tones and can be used in contemporary or traditional kitchens alike. It is a great way to add color to your kitchen without taking away from the wood cabinetry.
Countertop Décor To Use with Popular Gray For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Popular Gray From Amazon
4.) Modern Gray
Is the perfect color to compliment oak cabinets. This light grayish-brown color has a hint of taupe and provides just enough warmth to accent cabinets and will give your kitchen a classic yet modern look.
Modern Gray is sure to create an eye-catching aesthetic that you’ll love for years to come. The combination of this warm, neutral color with honey oak cabinetry or most lighter color cabinetry will bring together the perfect combination of modern and classic elements.
Modern Gray is sure to create an eye-catching aesthetic that you’ll love for years to come. The combination of this warm, neutral color with honey oak cabinetry or most lighter color cabinetry will bring together the perfect combination of modern and classic elements.
Countertop Décor To Use with Modern Gray For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Modern Gray From Amazon
5.) Worldly Gray
Is a great color to use when complimenting oak cabinets. This is a warm gray and has taupe undertones that will bring out the beauty of the wood cabinetry.
Worldly Gray pairs well with other neutrals and can fit into any style kitchen you decide to create. The combination of this neutral shade along with honey oak cabinets will create a timeless look that you’ll be sure to love.
Worldly Gray pairs well with other neutrals and can fit into any style kitchen you decide to create. The combination of this neutral shade along with honey oak cabinets will create a timeless look that you’ll be sure to love.
Countertop Décor To Use with Worldly Gray From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Worldly Gray For Under $35 From Amazon
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SHADES OF BEIGE
6.) Accessible Beige
A neutral option and one of the top kitchen paint colors with oak cabinets. Accessible Beige is one of the most popular colors that Sherwin Williams has and it has been that way for a long time. It’s hard to go wrong with a color like this. It’s perfect for a more subtle look to your kitchen.
Countertop Décor To Use with Accessible Beige For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Accessible Beige From Amazon
7.) Bungalow Beige
A lesser known color but still a great beige tan color that is dark enough to be considered medium but light enough that it’s not overpowering. Very nice for people who want to take a more traditional route when choosing kitchen paint colors with oak cabinets.
Countertop Décor To Use with Bungalow Beige For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Bungalow Beige From Amazon
8.) Smoky Beige
This color is one of our favorite alternatives to gray. It can be used all over the house but especially looks good when complimenting cabinets that are darker with red/violet undertones.
Countertop Décor To Use with Smoky Beige For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Smoky Beige From Amazon
SHADES OF GREIGE
9.) Perfect Greige
Can be a great choice for toning down honey oak cabinets. This greige has a hint of green undertones that will bring subtlety to the wood and tie together all other elements in your kitchen.
Perfect Greige is also versatile enough to compliment many different colors, making it easy to experiment with other accent pieces. This color provides an inviting atmosphere that will keep your kitchen feeling warm and cozy.
Perfect Greige is also versatile enough to compliment many different colors, making it easy to experiment with other accent pieces. This color provides an inviting atmosphere that will keep your kitchen feeling warm and cozy.
Countertop Décor To Use with Perfect Greige For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Perfect Greige From Amazon
10.) Amazing Gray
One of the more popular kitchen paint colors with oak cabinets that go with pretty much everything and is a great option when complimenting oak cabinets.
This greige has a slight brown undertone and is not too dark, providing the perfect balance to the warm tones of oak wood. The combination of this color and oak kitchen cabinets will result in a stunning atmosphere that you’ll be sure to love.
This greige has a slight brown undertone and is not too dark, providing the perfect balance to the warm tones of oak wood. The combination of this color and oak kitchen cabinets will result in a stunning atmosphere that you’ll be sure to love.
Countertop Décor To Use with Amazing Gray For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Amazing Gray From Amazon
SHADES OF GREEN
11.) Sea Salt
Paint colors with a green hue look great with light oak cabinets and with yellow tones. Especially honey oak.
This soft green-gray is very versatile and will bring out the natural beauty of the wood. If you want to be a little different, this is a great option that won’t overpower your kitchen. The combination of Sea Salt and honey oak wood cabinets will create an inviting atmosphere that is sure to wow your guests.
This soft green-gray is very versatile and will bring out the natural beauty of the wood. If you want to be a little different, this is a great option that won’t overpower your kitchen. The combination of Sea Salt and honey oak wood cabinets will create an inviting atmosphere that is sure to wow your guests.
Countertop Décor To Use with Sea Salt From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Sea Salt For Under $35 From Amazon
12.) Contented
Contented is a great way to add color to your kitchen while still being one of the nicest complementing colors with golden oak cabinets. This green-gray has a bit more color than Sea Salt and is sure to bring out the warm tones of the wood.
Contented pairs well with honey oak cabinets or cabinets of a darker hue and can be used in contemporary or traditional kitchens alike. With this paint color, you can add a pop of color to your kitchen without taking away from the beauty of the wood.
Contented pairs well with honey oak cabinets or cabinets of a darker hue and can be used in contemporary or traditional kitchens alike. With this paint color, you can add a pop of color to your kitchen without taking away from the beauty of the wood.
Countertop Décor To Use with Contented For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Contented From Amazon
SHADE OF BLUE
13.) Rain
The perfect shade of blue to pair with oak cabinets. This color is a bit lighter of a blue and has a tiny hint of green that creates a unique and eye-catching look that will wow your guests. Rain combines well with the undertones of oak wood and gives a kitchen a different feel.
The combination of this cool color and a warm wood tone will create an inviting atmosphere and one of the nicest alternative kitchen paint colors with oak cabinets that we think you’ll love.
The combination of this cool color and a warm wood tone will create an inviting atmosphere and one of the nicest alternative kitchen paint colors with oak cabinets that we think you’ll love.
Countertop Décor To Use with Rain For Under $35 From Amazon
Countertop Décor To Use with Rain From Amazon
Kitchen Wall Paint Colors That Work Best For My Oak Cabinets
Whites
Off white colors will give a simple and elegant feel to any space. They can be a great choice if you want to brighten up the room. Honey oak kitchen cabinets look great with off whites that have a warmer hue. Off whites that are creamy and whites that have a bit of tan are what we love and will look great with dark oak and honey oak cabinets.
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Grays
Grays are maybe our favorite color family to update and modernize a space. They are super versatile and are used in a ton of different spaces. Grays are a great choice if you want a look that’s warm and laid back, or even if your looking for that “chic” look, grays will have you covered.
Grays that have purple undertones or brown undertones will look great with red oak cabinets and also cabinets that have orange tones.
Grays that have purple undertones or brown undertones will look great with red oak cabinets and also cabinets that have orange tones.
Beige
Beige can offer a really warm “at home” feel to a room. Beiges normally aren’t ideal for oak wood cabinets because they can often be in the same color family as the cabinet color, but there are certain beiges that can give your kitchen a really cozy and inviting feel.
If you choose to go with a beige, consider ones that are more muted. Muted beiges appear grayish-brown.
If you choose to go with a beige, consider ones that are more muted. Muted beiges appear grayish-brown.
Greige
With its earthy tone, greiges are for those who are looking for great complimentary colors. A nice warm greige can give your kitchen cabinets a new life. Greiges are a combination of beige and gray, so they give off that warm feel from the beige color but also have the muted grayish hue from the gray.
Greiges can be a great choice if you want to update your kitchen but don’t want to get a color that’s too bright. Greiges with undertones of brown and taupe give a great look to go with oak cabinets.
Greiges can be a great choice if you want to update your kitchen but don’t want to get a color that’s too bright. Greiges with undertones of brown and taupe give a great look to go with oak cabinets.
Greens
If you’re looking for colors that are a bit more daring or you’re looking for something different from the normal grays and whites, a nice green hue will definitely give your kitchen a whole new look.
Greens with grayish or greige undertones will work great with warm wood tones. Any color combination that mimics the colors that we see in nature will give an instant calming effect to your kitchen walls so don’t be afraid to really go for it.
Greens with grayish or greige undertones will work great with warm wood tones. Any color combination that mimics the colors that we see in nature will give an instant calming effect to your kitchen walls so don’t be afraid to really go for it.
Blue
Blue shades can really give your kitchen an airy and fresh feel. Blues that are more on the lighter side with a hint of violet will give off a very modern and inviting look. Blues come in a variety of shades but we find that blues that have undertones of violet work well in accentuating the undertones of oak woods.
How To Choose The Best Kitchen Wall Paint Color For My Oak Cabinets
Do You Want To Accent Or Tone Down Your Cabinets?
It’s important to consider what kind of effect you would like the paint color to have on your cabinets. Do you want to make them stand out as a feature, or do you want them to blend in and tone down their presence?
Knowing this will help guide your decision when it comes to selecting a paint color.
Knowing this will help guide your decision when it comes to selecting a paint color.
Accenting/Make The Focus
Accenting in the paint color world is a fancy word that simply means to make something stand out. A general rule that we use on this blog that will help you choose a color that will make your oak cabinets stand out are 2 acronyms, LGD & DGL.
LGD: Light Gets Dark
DGL: Dark Gets Light
LGD: Light Gets Dark
DGL: Dark Gets Light
This means that if you have light oak cabinets and want to draw attention to them, you should consider paint colors of a slightly darker hue like greens, purples, greige, browns and gray.
If you have dark oak cabinets and want to draw attention to them then you should consider paint colors of a lighter hue, paint colors like white, light tans, light greens etc..
If you have dark oak cabinets and want to draw attention to them then you should consider paint colors of a lighter hue, paint colors like white, light tans, light greens etc..
Toning Down/Compliment
To tone down oak cabinets you should use softer neutral colors like greige and beige, brown-ish colors, or any color that is close to the color of you cabinets. These colors will draw attention away from the cabinets but will still provide warmth and contrast while complimenting wood floors and countertops.
Another way to tone down oak cabinets is to use an accent wall or backsplash in a bold color or pattern. This will give the room an added spark of interest.
Once you’ve decided on whether you want to accent or tone down your cabinets, you’ll be one step closer to finding the perfect kitchen color that works well with your oak cabinets.
Once you’ve decided on whether you want to accent or tone down your cabinets, you’ll be one step closer to finding the perfect kitchen color that works well with your oak cabinets.
How Lighting Affects Your Paint Color And What To Do Before Committing To Your Paint Colors
Lighting Is Really Important
The first thing that we need to do when choosing a paint color is understand how lighting will affect how the color looks. It’s so frustrating to think that you’ve finally found the perfect color only to realize that it looks COMPLETELY DIFFERENT in your home. This is probably the most difficult part in the process of choosing paint colors to use in your home.
If your kitchen is not well lit with natural sunlight coming from big windows or your kitchen relies on light fixtures that aren’t very bright, a good general tip is to pick out paint colors that are 1 or 2 shades lighter than the one you have your eyes on.
If your kitchen gets tons of natural light and you have light fixtures that are very bright its recommended to go 1 maybe 2 shades darker than the color you originally picked out. This avoids the issue of a color being washed out or not being vivid enough if you are looking for a bold color.
The lighting in your kitchen can highlight yellow undertones, green undertones or red undertones in a paint color and that can ruin what you thought would go great with your oak cabinets. So what do you do?
Use paint samples! We will talk more about samples in the next section.
You Should Be Using Paint Samples. Here’s How To Find Them
Do I really Need Paint Samples
Absolutely Yes! Interior designers and color consultants both use samples of paint to help get an idea of how a paint color will look in natural light vs artificial light. Paint samples can help to expose undertones, create a paint color palette and color scheme planning, which by the way is super important in picking the best paint color for your kitchen, Especially when trying to compliment oak wood cabinets.
There can be a lot to consider when choosing paint colors to go with oak cabinets and samples are really the only way of getting a true feel of a color.
There can be a lot to consider when choosing paint colors to go with oak cabinets and samples are really the only way of getting a true feel of a color.
Your Local Paint Store
One option is your nearest paint store. In this blog post we recommend using colors from Sherwin Williams but all paint stores carry a wide selection of sample paint colors which they usually provide in small quart or pint sized containers. You can take these samples home and try them out on your walls.
Order Online
Another option, and our preferred option, is to order them online from a company called Samplize.com. Samples from this company come in 9in x 14.75in sheets of the paint color or colors of your choice right to your doorstep. We love this option because there is no mess to clean up afterwards and you don’t have to put actual paint on your wall. You just order, stick the sheet on your wall and it’s done. We love when things are easy!
Conclusion
We hope this guide helps you pick the perfect paint color for your kitchen that will look great with those oak cabinets! Whether you’re trying to compliment honey oak, reddish-orange or dark oak color just remember to always take into account the lighting of the room and always make sure you get a sample of the colors before you go all in with painting.
