Painting a Kitchen Island

We recently painted our kitchen island Aegean Teal by Benjamin Moore and I absolutely love it. If you are thinking of painting a kitchen island, DO IT!! After painting our ceiling, I knew this had to be our next project. It makes SUCH a difference int he vibe of the house! It adds so much warmth, hominess and character to our home.

When we were looking for houses, there was one we toured, and I was absolutely smitten with the island. I knew I had to bring that color into whatever house we bought and it is stunning.

It’s hard to convey in a picture what a complex color it is. It’s definitely teal, but it looks equally blue, gray and green in different light. Aegean is the perfect name for it. It’s so rich and has so much depth. I love the description from the website.

“Take a moment to reflect and reset. Intriguing, balanced, and deeply soothing, the Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2021, Aegean Teal 2136-40, creates natural harmony” .

Benjamin Moore Website

As with every project in our new build, it feels weird to change something brand new. But it was soooo worth is x1000!

Here’s what the island looked like when we moved in. It was just a generic dark, fake wood, builder quality island. Nice, but nothing unique or homey.

Prep

The first thing I did was sand off the sealed finish so the paint had something to stick to. Ours was sealed with something super plasticy, so this was really important. If your island is already unsealed, you can choose to skip this step. I also painted a coat of primer so the color would have a good base.

Painting trim

The next step was painting the trim. We went with Chantilly White by Benjamin Moore. As you can see, it is VERY white, and in retrospect I might have chosen something a little more toned down. However, I think it really helps the paint color pop.

Taping and painting

The next super annoying step was to tape off all the trim work. They we were ready to paint!

I used a high quality brush and dipped it right into the paint can. We used about half a quart on our 57x35x26″ island. One coat actually covered really well. I just went over some messy brush strokes after with another coat in a few spots

We used semigloss for the durability, but it did show brushstrokes a little more than flat. So learn from my mistakes and be super neat from the get go! I liked the look of vertical strokes best, then horizontal on the cabinet horizontal portions. You can see what I mean in the picture below.

Personalize hardware

I was planning from the beginning to update the hardware, but when I finished I saw just how much the silver no longer went with the new color! We could have painted the knobs, but since there were so few I just bought some. Now the only problem is I want to replace all the knobs in my kitchen! I used these adorable black farmhouse knobs.

Style

I styled the island with some fresh sunflowers and a beautiful farmhemian rug from target. Next week it might be styled with dirty dishes, but I will still love this new color in my home!

Our next project will be adding a backsplash to our kitchen wall! I think we have decided on the pattern, so come back for the easy tutorial!

Have you tried painting a kitchen island before? What was your experience? Let me know in the comments!

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