Wall Colors For Oak Cabinets – Whether you’re looking to update your home and need kitchen cabinets or honey oak finishes, a few coats of the right paint will instantly bring your space into the modern era.
Oh honey oak. Wood of choice in 80s and 90s homes. Oak, of course, is not a honey shade, but natural stains and amber over time with the use of polyurethane.
Wall Colors For Oak Cabinets
Unfortunately, honey oak kitchen cabinets, trim, cabinetry, doors, and even floors are not the modern look that most homeowners want these days.
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If you’re on a tight budget or not interested in refurbishing cabinets or your entire home, your oak veneer dream can come true.
Interior wall paint can do wonders for transforming any space, and wood-clad rooms are no different.
First, do you want to bring out the tone of the wood, or blend it in and mask it out a bit?
It is very important to understand that honey oak has a color that can be orange or yellowish orange.
Paint Colors That Go With Honey Oak (cabinets Or Trim) Story
Of course, other woods can be stained and finished in the same orange or yellow, but usually when we see these colors we refer to them as “honey oak”.
Other woods such as maple can also have light yellow tones due to the stain or polyurethane used to finish them.
When looking for a paint color to match honey oak finishes, floors, or even cabinetry, you should always keep in mind the tones of the wood you are working with.
Unfortunately, this won’t happen. Like a lot of things in the 80s and 90s, honey oak had its own birthday and won’t be back anytime soon.
Paint Colors That Go With Oak Cabinets
However, just because honey oak isn’t standard doesn’t mean your home has to be forever stuck in one era.
If your trim, cabinets, or floors are painted a nice yellow-orange hue, here’s what you can do to modernize your home.
In order to know which paint colors go with these wood tones, it is important to first understand the basics of color theory.
Honey oak, known for its orange color and strong texture, should be toned down or just embrace it and use a color that goes well with it.
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To achieve this with paint, you either create a harmonious color palette that uses colors similar to the dominant hue (orange), or you create a contrast palette that includes some complementary or contrasting colors.
Whatever color palette you choose, you need to pay attention to the tone of the wood to determine which paint colors will work best.
There are two main ways to change oak finishes, doors or cabinets by painting the walls:
In this blog post, I’ll share a few warm grays with you, but I usually feel cool grays next to warm honey oak cabinets make for an offbeat look.
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In fact, some of the best colors for honey oak cabinets are colors that embrace the warm tones of the cabinets without trying to fight them.
Warm neutrals like beige and cream can look great and help you see your wardrobe in a new light.
On the other hand, if you really want to tone down the orange tone in your cabinets, look to the other side of the color wheel and choose a blue or slightly purple paint color.
If you must use a gray paint color, use a warm gray such as Sherwin Williams Repose Grey, or a slightly more intense color such as Sherwin Williams Mindful Grey.
The Best Dark Wall Paint Color For Oak Cabinets
Although it seems to have given way to more modern grays and greys, it is still a beautiful warm beige that pairs very well with orange or yellow wood.
It is described as a “warm neutral beige” but also “mushroom”. I agree with both.
Pale Oak (OC-20) is a beautiful soft purple color. This means that the shade pairs very well with honey oak and orange cabinetry.
Not only does it blend in with them for its warm beige character, but purple cabinetry, moldings, or oak flooring help to reduce the orange tones.
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As I mentioned earlier, gray wouldn’t be my first choice to match honey oak cabinetry or trim because it looks ashy and dull.
If you really want to paint your walls gray, you should choose a warm gray color such as SW Repose Gray (SW-7015). This is one of my favorite colors because it works everywhere.
If you want a similar tone but a little lighter, try lightening it by 50%. If you want more saturation, try SW Mindful Grey, the darkest shade on the color chart.
Dove White (OC-17) is the first paint I bought for our first house, which was clad in very old orange oak.
Best Wall Paint Color For Kitchen With Oak Cabinets
It is a creamy, almost off-white color that adds warmth to walls and pairs well with orange wood.
When there is a lot of natural light, the light appears white, but in dark rooms, gray tones seem a little warmer.
This white shade goes well with the oak floor. Pairing it with a crisp white finish really brings warmth.
If you don’t like neutral colors and want to play up the yellow-orange tones of oak or maple wood, choosing a color on the opposite side of the color wheel can help soften orange cabinets, trim, or cabinets.
The 16 Best Paint Colours To Go With Oak (or Wood): Trim, Floor, Cabinets & More (part 4)
Do you know why blondes use blue or purple shampoo? Copper (orange/yellow) in blue/purple hair can help soften the tones. The same principle applies here!
I don’t recommend painting the walls purple. Purple is not and never will be an appropriate color anywhere but in a girl’s bedroom. You
Using colors other than orange or yellow on the color wheel will soften the overall look of your cabinets, moldings, or flooring.
Personally, I find blue-green tones work well with oak, especially in kitchens with lots of orange cabinetry.
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BM Pleasant Valley (696) – cool blue mixed with warm green. This is a great transitional color that pairs well with warm wood tones.
While no paint can stop your wood from looking like it has been painted, it will give it a smooth, balanced look.
Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray (SW 6205), contrary to its name, is actually a light blue-green paint with a gray undertone.
This is a lovely paint color that brings a coastal vibe to any space. Pairs well with oak and other wood tones (even dark mahogany!) with crisp white finishes.
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As you can see how beautiful it looks in the kitchen below, this is the perfect color for a bedroom or bathroom.
Benjamin Moore Salamander (2050-10), not a color I would have chosen, but it stopped me when I first saw this image.
Whether you want to make a statement in the kitchen, bedroom or office, Salamander is sure to make it happen. It’s a very dark green color that makes honey oak look real from what I can tell.
It doesn’t look amazing on the walls, but if you choose to paint these oak cabinets, you get a great cabinet color.
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Since the floors in front of your eyes are not horizontal, but vertical, they do not have much influence on the choice of the color of the walls.
Don’t let oak wood create the home you love. Not everyone has the money, desire or ability to change the kitchen or all the decor in the house, and that’s okay!
Heck, maybe you like these original oak accents and want to know what colors best complement them.
Whatever the reason you are reading this article, I hope you have an idea of what paint colors suit you best.
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Whatever you choose, just memorize the basics of color theory to understand how to work with the orange tones of honey oak.
Remember, no matter what you read or see online, it’s important to check the paint colors in your home before taking any action.
Samplize offers real paint swatches that are easy to move around the house and cheaper than buying a million cans of paint. This is the only way to purchase paint samples.
Jenna is a self-taught decorator and a lover of all things interior design.
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