The Best Paint Colors For Kitchens With Honey Oak Cabinets (and Trim)

Best Kitchen Paint Colors That Go With Honey Oak Cabinets

I really wish I had a post like this 10 years ago when we first moved into our first home. We had honey oak cabinets in our kitchen and I lived with them for years before I painted them.

I know painting your wood cabinets isn’t for everyone. It wasn’t a terribly hard process either but it was time consuming.

And it doesn’t matter what color you paint your oak cabinets or how much you sand those suckers, you will always see the wood grain of the oak through the paint.

That didn’t bother me so much but I know it bothers some.

(I painted the vanity in my kids bathroom if you want to see that process)

10 years ago I painted my kitchen red to go with my honey oak cabinets because back then everybody had a red kitchen. Am I right? I’m not sure if I would paint it red again but like I said, that was 10 years ago.

If I had to do it all over again, here would be some of my suggestions. Honey oak cabinets should not scare anyone. I know many people that love the look of warm oak in their kitchen.

And yes, you can give your oak cabinets a modern look with just a can of paint…on the walls…not on the cabinets.

But first things first….we need to do some homework. Like with all wood tones and the most important thing is that you need to look at the undertones. Honey oak will likely have yellow undertones in them and possibly some orange ones as well. You can either work with or against these undertones.

If you want to work with your undertones in your cabinets, look for a wall color with similar undertones. Look for neutral colors with warm hues to them. Paint colors with earth tones work great here.

If you want to work against your undertones, looks for wall colors with cooler undertones. You will ideally want to find a wall color with purple undertones or even green undertones to minimize the yellow undertones in your cabinets. I am not suggesting you paint your walls purple but you will want to find a paint color with a hint of those undertones. Warm grays with bronze undertones would work well in this situation.

Let’s do some visuals with a color scheme because who doesn’t like a good visual?

(Any of these paint colors would also be good colors that would go with honey oak wood trim and honey oak floors. Because if you have honey oak cabinets, chances are that you have honey oak trim as well)

Best colors for your kitchen walls that work with your cabinet undertones (warm colors):

Benjamin Moore Delaware Putty

Delaware Putty isn’t a very common paint color you hear about often but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth mentioning. It’s a perfect beige paint color with yellow undertones. You can also carry this paint color into your living room as it’s a pretty neutral color. This color looks great with oak furniture as well.

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Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan

Manchester Tan is another great light color and very similar to Delaware Putty. It’s a warm neutral paint color that will look great with oak cabinets

A great way to add in another earthy color into your kitchen is with an area rug.

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Best paint colors if you want to work against your cabinet undertones:

Benjamin Moore October Mist

I went straight to Benjamin Moore’s color of the year for this one. Green is trending hard right now…very hard. I am not surprised October Mist is color of the year and it is becoming a very popular color. It’s a sage green with gray undertones and a great choice for your kitchen.

And while this color is trending hard right now, it is also a timeless color and one that will stick around for a while.

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Benjamin Moore Hale Navy

The best navy blue paint color out there. This is a true navy paint color and will look great with honey oak cabinets. If your kitchen does not get a ton of natural light, this paint color might too much of a dark color for you, unless you want that dark moody look in your kitchen. That, too, is pretty trendy right now.

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Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray

Shall we talk about a very popular gray paint color by the name of Agreeable Gray? This is a great paint color if you want gray walls but you don’t want gray walls. Does that make sense?

Agreeable Gray has a touch of bronze undertones that pairs nicely with the yellow undertones in your cabinets.

( I wrote a whole blog post just about Agreeable Gray)

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If this blog post teaches you anything it should be that you can work with anything in your home. Anything is possible!

Need some painting tips?

Grab your swatches and bring home samples

Bring home some swatches and ideally some sample paints if you feel extra ambitious. Use large foam boards from the dollar store and paint sample boards. Test them in every room. Remember each room gets different natural light. See how they look in the morning and at night.

If you want to see the undertone of color, look at the darkest color on the paint color strip. If you love a paint color but fear it can be too dark, ask them to cut it with 25% or 50% white.

DIY Painting Supplies

I listed out some of my favorite items I use when painting…

(This post contains affiliate links.You can see my disclosure policy here)

Benjamin Moore Classic Colors Fan Deck: Just in case you want to be even more overwhelmed you can order all of the Benjamin Moore classic paint colors

Same goes for Sherwin Williams Paint Deck

Paint brushes: I love all of Wooster’s paint brushes but this one is hands down my favorite one to use. It makes cutting in so much easier.

Paint Roller Cover

Painter’s tape: I hate taping and I really try to avoid it but when I can’t I make sure I use a good tape

Drop Cloths: Yes, you need them and you need many. I have used trash bags and old shower liners before too.

Cleaning Cloths: These are amazing every day cloths for cleaning but work great for baseboards and walls before painting.

Paint Cup: This paint cup is brilliant and has a magnetic strip so your paint brush stays safe from falling in your paint.

Multi Position Paint Brush tool: The best tool you will ever use if you have tall ceilings or just in general. I used something similar to this to paint my 15 foot ceilings in my family room and it was a life saver.

Paint Edger: This might get a bad rap but if you do it right, it has been a nice helper for me. Especially when trimming around windows and along baseboards.

Touch up cup: Nothing is worse than having to pull out the whole can of paint for a little touch up.

Step Ladder

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