By "a peek," do you mean that literally? I was sure that my cabinets were much darker than I had chosen, when I opened the corner of one of the crates to peek. And when they went up, I liked them, but I thought they should be redder. Then I held up the sample. It was exactly the same. I love them; but I had a few surprised moments there.

If your cabinets were cherry then it would be pretty normal for them to be lighter than your sample. But for maple I owuld think not.

I thought my cabinets looked *better* than the sample.

The original sample I got from Home Depot was obviously quite old. I could tell because it was all dull and had a few scratches on it. I told the KD, that I wasn't comfortable selecting my color based on it. She ordered me my very own sample, same door style and everything, but shrunk down. When I got it (took quite awhile, I think maybe 3 weeks?), I compared it to the "old" sample, and sure enough - it was different. Not a TON different, but certainly different. I ended up ordering that color anyway - but that wasn't the point! hehe We got our cabinets, and they are exacalacaly the same color as the "new" sample, and I am very pleased. I seem to remember my KD telling me that the old sample had set under flourescent lights for years - so that would make it entirely different than having them in my kitchen (NON-flourescent). My cabinets are cherry. The moral of my story, and my own personal advice, is to insist on having a NEW sample. If they want your biz bad enough, they'll do it. I am sure it's a minimal fee to them compared to what they'll make on your cabinet order - and it saved ME many many sleepless nights wondering just what color my cabinets would be when they got here. :)

We had maple cabinet installed in our last home. They were lighter when new and do turn more golden with time.

I'm a KD. I had a client that called me as her Medallion, alder cabinets were being installed. She said they were darker than my showroom (not a sample, a FULL display). I took a door off the display and drove over. When I walked in, I also thought they were darker! Then we held up the sample door and guess what?? It was an identical match. We realized that it was all lighting. My display got full sun. Hers, not so much. When she got bulbs for her can lights, it didn't look as dark. The kitchen turned out stunning.

However, boxiebabe makes a great point. If a sample looks old (even more than 3 years old), it's probably a good idea to get a new sample. We are recently dealing with this. A homeowner's kitchen was installed. The sample is VERY close to their kitchen, but not exact. The homeowner is holding us to the sample color...they want it exact. I honestly think that 99% of the population would not have noticed that slight difference. The manufacturer remade the doors but they came back the same as the first set. We are very frustrated with the manufacturer. I don't think this is a case of 'it will age to the right color'. The hue is different, although very slight. If you turn off the lights and have only natural light, they look the same. It seems to me the mfg. must've changed the color without telling us. I can't think of any other reason. Our door sample is probably 3-5 years old.

Kompy

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I think the real problem may be that there is a lot of (gray) grain in the doors, which was not in the sample and not expected, given that they are supposed to be maple. Now I'm wondering whether the manufacturer used the correct wood. I'm following up with the KD on this. We still haven't seen the doors in our kitchen yet and maybe the lighting in there will make them look closer to what we were expecting or at least something we can live with (although for what cabinetry cost, it better be gorgeous!).

I was actually surprised by the color of the sample itself!

We chose our cabinet color based on a cabinet door that was sitting in the KD's selection room. Then we asked for a sample so we could take it with us to select granite, etc. The manufacturer shipped a new sample (cherry) that was much lighter than the door we used for selection. The sample had a disclaimer on the back that the color was only good for three years after its manufacture date.

I'm assuming the sample will more closely match the new cabinets than the older selection door would, and I'm not thrilled about it. I DO know that cherry will darken, and the cabinets will eventually be the color I expected, so I need to be patient! Maybe for three years!

Pennylaney

I ordered a sample door for my cabinets, but took home the one in the store until I get it. They are cherry, so I really wanted to be able to see what the color would be after it darkens. I assume the new sample will be lighter.

My cabinet maker gave me a 2+ year old sample door so that I would be making my selections based on what the color would eventually be rather than on what they would be at first. My cabinets are cherry in a natural finish, so we knew the difference would be significant over time.

My friend who used the same cabinet maker has maple cabinets, and hers have become much more yellow/gold over time.