Learn how to choose colors that complement your oak cabinets, plus I’ll share my favorite wall paint colors that go with oak cabinets.
Updating an oak kitchen doesn’t have to mean you paint your cabinets!
Take a dated kitchen and turn it into a showpiece with an inexpensive refresh by painting your walls, not your cabinetry.
What can you do when your kitchen is outdated, yet your dream kitchen is nowhere in sight? Maybe for you, a partial makeover is possible – paint the cabinets white, install a beadboard or subway tile backsplash, and update the countertops.
Or maybe those updates aren’t an option. Perhaps they aren’t in your budget or you don’t have the time. Maybe you’re renting and not allowed to make permanent changes to your space.
That’s where I found myself several years ago. After a stressful summer of renovations, we had decided to wait on doing a major kitchen overhaul. Still, I knew I wanted to make some changes without committing to painting our orange oak cabinets.
Paint Colors that Go with Oak Cabinets
My goal was to make simple, inexpensive changes that would help me embrace our imperfect kitchen until we were ready to remodel. I had to find simple and creative ways to update the space. Luckily for me, I love to get creative!
I set out to find wall paint colors that go with oak cabinets, that would compliment the orange undertones instead of compete with them.
Kitchen Before
But first, here are some before photos of our kitchen. It was functional and served us well in many ways. Yet it was outdated and not quite what I wanted it to be. I knew I could improve it with some simple changes.
Our kitchen was like many others from its time. It was filled with 1980s oak veneer cabinets, a dark green soffit overhead that made the room feel heavier and smaller, light brown countertops that blended into the cabinets, and only one small window over the sink.
The kitchen did have some things going in its favor. The cabinets were in good condition, for one. And even though the countertop was a bit drab, it didn’t compete with the cabinets or the floor. It was a start!
Where to Start
First, I knew I had to paint the walls. The existing colors – dark green and red – didn’t compete with the orange oak cabinets, but they were dark and heavy in an already dark space. I wanted to lighten things up.
Paint is one of my go-to tricks to add light to a room. There is nothing like a can of paint to brighten a dark room and make it feel clean and fresh! Plus, painting is budget friendly, easy, and quick – you can paint your kitchen as a weekend project!
I love a beautiful warm white or soft cream on my walls and trim. Sometimes I even paint the walls and trim the same color, to really open up the space and make it feel larger and more cohesive.
In this kitchen, I painted the soffit, walls, and ceiling a lovely soft cream. It matched the creamy tones of the tile backsplash as well. The dark green soffit had made the kitchen feel heavy, plus it had made the space feel choppy.
Painting the soffit a creamy white instantly made the kitchen feel more open, light, and airy – it was amazing! The soffit blended in with the ceiling and almost disappeared, making the ceilings appear taller.
Since it was closer to the color of the backsplash, the whole room looked less choppy, making it feel so much larger and brighter!
I also painted the trim white for the perfect finish. Fresh white baseboard and trim around the doorways and window showcased the creamy walls and highlighted their lovely soft color. The whole effect was a clean, fresh, light, and airy kitchen!
Downplaying the Orange Tones
Oak cabinets can pose a bit of a challenge, because they are just so – orange. You don’t have to paint your cabinets to have a beautiful kitchen! But you do have to listen to your home and embrace it for what it is.
The trouble comes when so many homeowners, loving cool tones, ignore their homes and paint their oak kitchens in colors like gray or blue.
Or maybe they think they’ll play it safe and paint the walls white – only to choose a stark white with cool undertones.
Pairing cool tones with warm oak cabinets actually accentuates the orange in the wood, making the cabinets look more – not less – orange! Now those cabinets that you didn’t love to begin with just stick out like a sore thumb.
The trick is to paint your walls in a color that will downplay the orange tones in the oak, not exaggerate it.
It may seem counterintuitive, but you should choose colors with warm undertones. The warmth in the wall color will complement – not compete – with the cabinetry, making it feel more cohesive and less orange.
Favorite Paint Colors that Work with Oak
Here are some of my favorite go-to warm whites. I’ve used all of these in my own home:
- Benjamin Moore White Dove – a warm, soft white with a hint of greige undertone
- Benjamin Moore Navajo White – more yellow undertone than most whites, so it can be quite warm in some lights
- Simply White
- Swiss Coffee
- Farrow & Ball Clunch – a warm, soft white with the slightest “muddy” undertone (retired from the color chart but available in the archive collection)
- Sherwin Williams Everyday White – a perfect creamy white
- Sherwin Williams Zurich White – this warm white is almost more like a neutral because it’s not too warm or too cool, with a slight grey/greige undertone.
More Paint Options
Here are some of the neutral colors in my home, that have more color to them than white. All of them are paint colors that go with oak cabinets:
- Sherwin Williams Realist Beige – warmer and richer than cream and off-white
- Benjamin Moore Soft Chamois – a soft, subtle cream
- Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige – warm and soft, perfect as a transition between beige and grey
- Sherwin Williams Creamy – a warm, soft cream
And if you’re really wanting color, why not try a natural color like Sherwin Williams Rosemary or Pewter? After all, green is on trend right now.
I know, in my small kitchen I painted over my dark green soffit. But if your space is more open concept, a warm olive-toned green may be the perfect combination with your oak cabinets.
Tips
- Mushroom paint colors are especially popular right now! Consider these colors as a warm, cozy wall color to complement your oak cabinets.
- Remember, paint colors darken as they dry.
- Learn about Light Reflectance Value in my comprehensive guide: What is LRV?
- Samples – Use paint samples! As you try different shades, you’ll begin to recognize a pattern in the colors that feel good in your home. In fact, you should check samples on different walls throughout the day.
- Keep all light sources in mind, as this can also change the way the color feels- read up on light bulbs, too.
Frequently Asked Questions
To downplay the orange or yellow tones in honey oak or maple, choose a calm, fresh neutral color that is warm enough to balance and yet soft enough to distract.
While I would argue that good quality wood cabinets are always in fashion, it’s true that the orangey-yellow finish of oak 80’s cabinetry is not particularly en vogue these days! Downplay the finish by choosing a paint color that calms the color!
Shop This Post
Antique Brass Cup Pulls
While our brass cup pulls are no longer sold, this one is very similar in style and finish.
What do you think? Would painting your kitchen walls the right color help you embrace your oak cabinets for a bit longer?
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I’m so happy to have found this post! ย I have these exact cabinets and back splash! ย The main floor in my house is painted bm elephants tusk. All the trim is sw incredible white. I am ready to paint my kitchen Zurich white. It is currently a light butterscotch color. Similar to the one pioneer woman used in her lodge. My question is regarding my dining room. It is only visible to my kitchen through a small doorway, but it is open to my entry way by a larger opening. Should I go with Zurich white in the dining room or pick a third color? ย What would coordinate with the elephants tusk? Thank you for your blog! ย I appreciate your style and simple approach to decorating.ย
A fellow kansascitian!
Hi Regina! You don’t have to paint your dining room the same color, but I do love keeping our home to a limited color palette, especially adjacent rooms. Something in the same “family” would work, too. Thank you for your kind words, neighbor!
Love!! I have the same oak cabinets as you. They’re in such good shape, so it is hard to want to paint them. They also match with the custom oak staircase that was put in not too long ago. I really like your wall color. The previous owners of our house painted the kitchen slate blue, and the cabinets pop, but not in a good way. Our countertops we’re forest green, but I bought some granite contact paper off Amazon a few months ago and covered them. Temporary fix, but what a change.
So smart! Little changes can make a huge impact. I love that you’re embracing your home and making it yours without feeling the need to do a major remodel!
Hi Julie! Your posts have helped me so much to feel better about not rushing to paint our oak cabinets. We are getting ready to paint our first floor in one color and I am struggling to pick one to compliment the cabinets. I like Zurich white but am concerned with it showing every little mark with children over the years. What are your thoughts on accessible beige with the oak cabinets? ย Ours are definitely lean toward orange.ย
I originally left our orange cabinets with Zurich White (as shown). It works. I think Accessible Beige May make them look more dated, personally. You can always try a sample for $6 to see what you think!
Hi there, I’m considering keeping our oak cabinets and trying to modernize them as well but I’m having a really hard time figuring out what flooring will compliment the oak… I would prefer a wood looking floor that goes all throughout the house but I’m open to the tile look as well. Any advice is much appreciated ๐
I wish I had a great answer for this! You can see here what wood floors looked like with the oak kitchen in our St. Louis home. I personally don’t love tile, but maybe it’s because I’m always barefoot and clumsy? I cannot tell you how much I love having wood throughout our home.
Hi I also love your kitchen especially the color of your cabinets and would like to achieve this to update my 80’s basic builder yellowish ones. Any idea what it might have been called. My hubby does not want painted cabinets and we want to keep it light but not white, live in a log home in a rural area that is dusty. We have a U shaped kitchen with nice glass in the 2 upper corner cabinets also have round brass knobs on all doors and drawers, which I don’t mind. Any suggestions?
I’m not sure, but Minwax makes a product where you can update the color of your cabinets by rubbing their product on which would tone it down, or you can lime it with Bri Wax, so pretty! http://www.nominimalisthere.com/2014/08/my-new-favorite-furniture-waxbefore.html