Off-White Paint & Honey Oak

White paint is rarely just pure white – and that’s how it’s meant to be!

A white with no undertone at all would be stark, flat and harsh. White paints come in every undertone in the rainbow, which makes choosing just one a complex task but gives you plenty of room to find the perfect shade.

Homes with honey oak often face some additional challenges in finding a perfect white that goes well with its golden wood but the work is so worth the reward - white and oak are a beautiful, natural pairing. The trick is finding an off-white with just the right undertones to compliment the oak while giving an updated look to the space.

To help you narrow it down a bit, I’m sharing eight of my favorite off-white paint colors that look amazing with honey oak.

‘I’m just going to paint it a simple white’ is one of the biggest lies in interior design.

Oak tends to be a ‘loud’ presence in the room, with it’s heavy yellow-orange color and bold grain. This is exactly why white walls are such a natural match for oak-filled homes. The honey wood tone is softened when surrounded by crisp, clean white. It’s a classic, timeless look that simplifies the aesthetic in the room, rather than layering on anything else.

Using a near-white can be the perfect solution: it creates a neutral backdrop that does not interfere with the colors already in the space. Off-whites give a clean slate that can be bent to any style with accessories, art, textures, and furniture.

A beautiful, rich off-white can be a perfect pairing with almost anything but when the more permanent features of a home have their own color tone, it can be a challenge to find the right color. You need a paint that not only pairs well with those items but brings a feeling you like to the space as well.

If you’re looking for a bright, neutral off-white to pair with the oak in your home, take a look at my favorites below.

You can download the cheat sheet, complete with the paint codes, for free in the resource library!

This graphic is perfect for saving as a photo on your phone and looking at in the paint store.

Gather some paper samples using the codes shown and take them home. 

Remember that the most critical part of choosing a paint is looking at the samples in your own home, with your own lighting, furniture and décor. Look at the samples at every possible time of day (morning, noon, afternoon, evening and night). 

Once you’ve narrowed it down to just a few, grab some sample pots of paint and paint some foam core sheets or plywood scraps (bigger is better!) and move them all around for a few days before deciding.  Consider the time and money spent in this phase a built-in part of the painting process.  You will be so glad you did!

---

---

Need a little more help with the oak in your home?

Want to Pin to save for later?

Here you go!

The Best Neutral Paints with Honey Oak

This curated collection of 14 perfect neutrals to try with your honey oak might be just what you need to get started.

Neutrals are the timeless foundation of most good home color palettes.

They allow you to create a feeling in the space, give some character, compliment the other features of the rooms (flooring, trim, cabinets, furniture & art), all while still allowing you a blank canvas to bring in more bold accent colors that can be changed out over time.

A good neutral paint can be used throughout your home, especially if the flooring and trim are consistent, making it much easier to just add varying accent colors in each room.

If you are getting ready to sell your home and need to repaint, neutrals are universally appealing and will lighten and freshen up your home immensely.

There’s something simple, clean and earthy about a nice neutral paint.

They tend to be calm & peaceful colors and come in every tone from pale to deep, warm to cool.

What’s not to love, really?

Well, if you have honey oak in your home you might have paused a bit in your search for a lovely neutral, unsure of what will work in a real home where real families live with real orange-toned wood.

To help my friends living with oak (it’s kind of my thing!) I’ve put together a curated collection of 14 beautiful neutrals that each pair well with our favorite honey wood.

Straight to the point, this PDF is available for free, immediate download in my resource library (linked at the bottom) , complete with color names & codes. Save it to your phone and take it with you to the paint store for some narrowed down jumping-off points.

As always, use & enjoy… and remember to get real samples to try in your own home before deciding on the one.

Lighting is the number one factor in whether or not a paint works in each individual room and that can only be seen with real paint in your real house over a few days time.

Here’s my best, most practical paint sampling advice: narrow it down to a few colors, paint some big samples on white boards, put them in the room & move them around a lot over a few days, look at them at all hours of the day & evening, marinate your life in those colors… when you know, you know!

Happy painting!

---

---

Need a little more help with the oak in your home?

Want to Pin to save for later?

Here you go!

Modern Kitchen, Oak Updates

---

Sometimes life comes around in ways you didn’t expect. Maybe I imaged I would be the doting mom to a small 4-pack of little girls with french-braided hair, but what I got was a duo of boys that wrestle and ride dirt bikes. (Which, it turns out, is pretty awesome but I didn’t see it coming.)

Maybe you imagined you would be making green smoothies with a $700 blender in a gleaming white farmhouse kitchen with marble counters, but here you are living the dream making the ‘easiest weeknight casserole’ recipe you could find on Pinterest in an oak kitchen you are trying to make the best of. (Which, as it also turns out, can be full of style and character and be pretty awesome in it’s own ways as well.)

So here we are again, with me singing from the rooftops (sorry it’s bad, but at least I have heart): your oak-filled house can be stylish! It really can.

I’m happy today to share some design boards I created, showing three ways to style an oak kitchen that will make it look beautiful. By styling what you have in new ways, you can elevate and transform the room without the renovation.

These boards include three very unique modern updates for oak kitchens. They take a good look at some simple styling: some accessories, some new details in the lighting and faucet, maybe some new art and, most importantly, a fresh coat of paint. My hope is that they inspire you to look at your own oak kitchen in a new way - you absolutely can update it without painting the cabinets.

Click to get all the details you need to update your oak kitchen cabinets (without painting them!) in 3 easy-to-follow guides from True Design House . Also features a complete shopping list PDF version for free download! {{ true-design-house.com | #OakKitchenUpdates | #BestPaintWithOak | #OakCabinetMakeover | Interior Design Tips | Oak Kitchen Design Help | Living With Oak }}

---

---

Need a bit more help working with your oak home?

Want to Pin to save for later?

Here you go!

The Best Hardware to Update Oak Cabinets

---

In a house filled with golden oak, it can be a challenge to update things in a way that is both stylish and doesn’t cost a frightening amount.  This is especially true when it comes to an outdated oak kitchen.

After all, most people are thinking ‘if I’m going to spend so much money to make this oak work, I’m going to just wait to completely renovate the kitchen.’  There is little point to investing in stone counter tops, new flooring and the rest of it, if you are just waiting it out until you can deal with the cabinets.

So, is there such a thing as a quick & simple update for an oak kitchen?  Absolutely!

There are a few ways you can make it work (right now and on a reasonable budget).  As a bonus, these are also things that can be done, by you, in a few hours.  One of the biggest impacts:   just change the cabinet hardware!

---

>> ps. I have written so much about restyling around honey oak and you can catch up on every article in the Oak HQ or for a complete step-by-step guide, check out my ebook Living With Oak. <<

---

Hardware makes an enormous difference in the bones of the cabinetry and the style of the room.  If I was designing an kitchen with existing oak cabinets, here’s what I would do: 

• Paint it a great color

• Clear the counters

• Lay down a great, eye-catching rug

• Add some interest (probably a big framed print and a huge plant in a nice planter)

• Change out the hardware

• That’s it!

You can do this, too! Then, since it looks so much better and you are at peace with it, you can move on to planning out that full kitchen reno you are still working towards. 

Or, maybe you will be so happy with the small changes you made that you can cross that idea right off the list and move on to dreaming about making other areas of your home just right.

---

Wondering if the hardware on your oak cabinets is outdated? 

Here’s some signs:

• Full plastic

• Overly ornate / ‘fancy’

• Embellished

• Brass or bright gold look

• Ceramic inserts, especially painted with flowers or fruit

• Wood center on pulls

What should you look for to get a hardware update right?

Details that will update oak cabinets:

• Option 1 - historic - think luxurious historic mansions, libraries or craftsman styles like Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture

• Option 2 - modern - simple lines, single material, bold design

• Respect the integrity and style of your home’s architecture

• Consider the style of other elements in the room when choosing hardware: general style, colors, counters, sink & faucet, appliances and accessories. You want the new hardware to enhance or create more of that mood or style in the room. (If you are updating other things, think about the final look of how to room once you are done.)

• Contrasting colors will make the new hardware stand out and give some visual breaks in the monotony of overwhelming golden oak (this is the magic power of distraction) - black, dark oil-rubbed bronze and bright chrome offer the best contrast.

• Watch current trends - gold hardware on oak? At first glance, and solely in terms of color, brass or gold just aren’t a natural fit for oak cabinets… but, I have to say that my stance on this one has evolved as gold hardware has risen in popularity. I don’t normally base design decisions on trends, but when something is popular, it tends to have a lot of options on the market and some of these options (colors or styles) actually work very well to update oak cabinets… so this one is an ‘it depends’ for me. If you love gold or brass and can find one that has some contrast to the particular color of your cabinets, it can work very well!

Here’s my top 25 suggestions for updating oak cabinets with fresh hardware! 

ONE   |   TWO   |  THREE   |  FOUR   |   FIVE

ONE   |   TWO   |  THREE   |  FOUR   |   FIVE

ONE   |   TWO   |  THREE   |  FOUR   |   FIVE

ONE   |   TWO   |  THREE   |  FOUR   |   FIVE

ONE   |   TWO   |  THREE   |  FOUR   |   FIVE

---

Need a little more help with your oak home?

Looking to Pin to save for later?

Here you go!

Make Your Oak Kitchen a Pinterest Stunner (in one weekend, without a major reno!)

---

When you are not ready, willing or able to do a complete renovation of your oak kitchen, the next best thing to do is transform it with pure style.  Yes, it can look absolutely amazing!  

If you can paint the walls, add a rug or two and accessorize until your heart explodes, your kitchen can go from 'Sad & Outdated' to 'Pinterest Stunner' in a weekend!

---

Level one:

Clear away all the clutter, banish accessories that are too beige or orange, and give yourself a clean slate.  

Choose one or two accent colors and choose accessories in several shades of that color.  In the example below, I went with a rich turquoise.  Blues and greens are great shades to work with honey oak as they both neutralize the orange tones in the wood really well.  At the most basic level, even just adding lots of eye-catching accessories will take the focus off of the oak.   

Rugs are a great investment in an oak kitchen, especially if the flooring is dated or isn’t the style you are aiming for.  

Level two: 

If you can paint the walls, it creates a gorgeous backdrop that downplays the oak and pulls everything together.  Please, please do this if you can!  Have time and inclination to paint baseboards and trim, maybe even the table or other furniture?  A creamy, neutral white will take things up a notch. 

Major bang for your buck: changing out the door and drawer hardware for a dark oil-rubbed bronze pull in a smooth look that is big enough to make a statement.  This is so easy to do and makes an incredible difference in the style of your kitchen.  

Also within the ‘DIY category’ of changes:  updating the lighting fixtures to something sleek and stylish, something without too much detail, is a huge style-maker as well.

Level three:

Ready for some minor renos that you can totally tackle yourself or have done in a few days by a pro?  

Replacing the counter top with a deep charcoal or graphite colored laminate and adding a gorgeous hexagon marble backsplash will transform your kitchen completely.  These items are a bit more of an investment, but not out of range if you are going to be making do with your oak kitchen for a few more years.  

The 'wow factor' of these larger ticket items make them well worth it.  They are absolute game changers for the feel of your kitchen as they take up so much visual real estate.

---

What not to do:

In general, I wouldn't waste your resources or precious renovation energy on replacing flooring or adding stone countertops to an oak kitchen.  

Why not?  Well, chances are when the time comes to replace or refinish the entire kitchen cabinetry, you are going to want to change those things at that time to either coordinate with the new cabinets or because styles have changed and they will need updating also.

You also don't like want to get 'out of your league' when it comes to return on investment with the kitchen cabinets as-is.  If you sell your home before renovating any further, sinking big bucks into major items in an outdated kitchen is not always a wise investment.

---

Getting started:

I had a lot of fun putting together a look that you can actually shop!

View fullsize

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information please click on the 'policies' tab at the bottom of this page.

ONE -- TWO -- THREE -- FOUR -- FIVE -- SIX -- SEVEN -- EIGHT -- NINE -- TEN -- ELEVEN -- TWELVE -- THIRTEEN -- FOURTEEN -- FIFTEEN -- SIXTEEN -- SEVENTEEN -- EIGHTEEN -- NINETEEN -- TWENTY -- TWENTY-ONE -- TWENTY-TWO -- TWENTY-THREE -- TWENTY-FOUR

Looking for the summer 2021 update?

Need a bit more in-depth help updating your oak kitchen?

Looking to Pin for later?

Here you go!