DH says there are a million shades of white and they're all different! DH says taupe has pink undertones so need to change paint color. He says the light reflecting with the taupe and cabinets are causing the pink you're seeing. Paint store should be able to help you.

Before he retired DH was a painting contractor-painting mainly schools though.

Pictures may help with a solution but then colors aren't always true from IRL to camera to monitor. Good luck. Stay calm. It will all work out. Have a nice glass of wine.

It is possible the pink in the taupe is reflecting onto the cabinets (and repainting another color may fix it). Another possibility is if there is pink or red in the flooring reflecting a pink onto the cabinets. If cabinets are a pink white then repainting them will fix it.

Can you tell where the pink is coming from?

It could be reflecting the light or picking up colors from elsewhere. Any pics?

Also consider your lighting -- when we moved into current house their was a green tulip shade in the kitchen. We thought the cabinets had a green undertone to them -- it was the lampshade -- the blue walls and blue plaid linoleom contributed to it.

I think Chris45ny is right. The pink is probably coming from the taupe paint.

You may be able to correct this with a different wallcolor before you commit to painting the cabinets. You may also be able to correct it under artificial light by using different bulbs.

How much marble is on the island? Cover that and see if the cabinets still read so pink--the easiest thing may be to change the marble. You may be able to sell it back to the stone place (at a loss) and get something else, but it may be cheaper than repainting the cabinets.

I am not sure I would want to jump in and paint brand new cabinets (do you know if its a catalyzed finish?) A painted over surface is not going to be as durable.

Just an idea... but would it be possible for someone to hold up a sheet (not white or pink, maybe blue or something that contrasts with pink) next to the cabinets and cover the paint color? That way perhaps you could see if the cabinets still look pink without the wall color interfering?

The pink tone is definitely coming from the wall paint.

I know because we installed off-white cabinets and I had my heart set on a sand colour - but I was definite on not wanting a pink tone in my cabinet colour (had those before!).

So, instead I had to go to a green-gray (BM Nantucket Gray). Cabinets don't have a hint of pink in them now.

Also, lighting can make a difference as to color. Our other kitchen cabinets looked yellow (they were white) until I put in "full spectrum" lighting. Helped a great deal.

Good luck - it sounds beautiful!

Oh thank you! You are all wonderful! The pink was there before any of the countertops were installed. I thought it would disappear once the light stopped filtering through the top of the cabinet base. Today was the countertop install and I had to face the awful truth :( I have no light fixtures so that's not an issue....yet.
I can't tell where it's coming from either. I've tried to, different times of day, from different angles. My mother-in-law proclaimed PINK, when she walked in the door. Ugh.
I'll start with the wall color, I called the painter immediately after reading your responses and he'll be over on Friday to check things out. I broached the worst case scenario, painting the cabinets and he mentioned something about a glaze but that he'll start with the paint.
Thank you all again!!!! My heart rate dropped, only about half a beat but dropping nonetheless :)

If you like Taupe, look for a grey based Taupe. Some Taupes are more grey than others. Go to a paint store and look at their samples, also ask for assistance with your selection.

Good Luck.

Please don't repaint the cabinets or get rid of the marble. FIRST-think about changing the wall color. Go to a good paint store-Sherwin Williams or Dulex/Glidden or ICA-whatever you have where you live. Explain to them what the problem is-see what they have to say.

The paint you have on the wall now-what brand, what exact color???
During different times of the day when the light changes are you still seeing pink-worse when it's very bright/sunny? All this info can help a paint rep choose a paint for you that will work. Paint is cheaper than marble and cabinets!!!!

Here are some formulas for taupe. Note how much red is in them. Don't do anything until you do the walls without much red or pink.
Color Coordinates
1 Taupe - RGB (red, green, blue) (72, 60, 50)
2 Purple Taupe - RGB (r, g, b) (80, 64, 77)
3 Medium Taupe - RGB (r, g, b) (103, 67, 71)
4 Rose Taupe - RGB (r, g, b) (145, 95, 109)
5 Mauve Taupe - RGB (r, g, b) (175, 134, 142)
6 Sandy Taupe - RGB (r, g, b) (150, 113, 23)
7 Pale Taupe (Mouse) - RGB (r, g, b) (188, 152, 126)
8 Taupe Gray - RGB (r, g, b) (139, 133, 137)
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taupe

Doraville: Thank you for the taupe color chart info. I can use this in the future.

I would get a bunch of paint chips and look at them in the room with that sunlight before painting.

Oh boy. I have Sherwin Williams, in Choice Cream. I totally forgot it was a cream and not a taupe. The pink made me think taupe. My old living room was classic taupe, Behr, and it turned pink when the sun came up every morning.

Doraville, that was so nice of you to find that info. I always liked this site, right now I'm thanking my lucky stars I'm a registered member and that you all are too!

The values for Choice Cream are:
R 240
G 227
B 209

Is the red value an indication of how much red is in it or is it the difference between the red value and the others that I should be more concerned with? In the meantime, I'll Google it and see if I can find it.......

I'm going to call the SW store in the morning and get suggestions so I can swing by there and grab some samples on the way home. Also, I'll start getting some pictures to share. I was going to wait until it was finished but I think I might need some constructive criticism before things go too far.

Thanks!!!!!!

I don't know the answer to your questions but maybe someone at the paint store can help. When I painted my bedroom, I was surprised at how much red ended up in the paint can (from reading formula). I didn't want red/pink so was surprised to see it there and sure enough when I painted the room there was a hint of red/pink. However, without natural light, I don't perceive it. The answer for me was to keep it dark in the bedroom (which I like anyway) and it is a fine color without light. Good luck with your choice. Just tell them at the paint store that you don't want a hint of pink!

Be sure to paint a sample board (large enough to really see the color well) with any new colors you may be considering. Then, be sure to look at them on a cloudy day, a rainy day, shortly after the sun rises, at sunset, etc.

We have taupe paint that definitely has a pinkish cast to it--I had them paint most of the first floor with it, unfortunately. It often looks the worst in low light situations. I have often wondered if the greenish cast of the energy efficient windows has affected all of my colors. Once we finish up a lot of other projects, we're going to repaint all of these rooms.

Anne

Just my two cents. But if you make the walls a darker color, not taupe, not from that family of colors at all, it will make your cabinets seem lighter and whiter. I would steer away from any shades of taupe or white. White will compete with the cabinet color and taupe can pull out any pink that might be in the cabinet base color. It may also be that your floors are reflecting in the cabinets. Does your floor have a red undertone? Chestnut? If so, a rug will help in addition to a different wall color.

Did you say you had lots of natural lighting? What kind and what color are your curtains? That could reflect on your cabinets. If you change them would that help?

Sheila99 is correct I think in regards to staying away from a white color and go for another color other than beige, sand, taupe. I'll try to post photos of the color of our kitchen (backsplash not yet done).

Here it is hopefully:

Here it is:

Total photoshop hack job with green tones. I almost think the green makes the cabs look MORE pink because of the color-wheel opposites effect:

Blues?

Ack. I'm terrible at photoshop. Anyone?

PS: SO not a disaster! What a lovely space. I like the way the corner gives you a semi-sheltered working nook -- nooks are good.

Don't panic until after the painter pays visit. I agree that it is probably the wall color. I would suggest painting some large pieces of plywood and putting in the room strategically to see if the pink goes away in that area.

Also, your under cabinet lights appear to be florescent? If so, does it still look pink with them off? They can greatly distort color.

If your painter is good then he should know what is causing it. If it is coming from the cabinets the glaze he suggests should be able to fix the problem without changing the color a great deal.

Best of luck! Take a deep breath, make some tea & get that painter there ASAP!

Unless I missed something, I don't think that is rookie's (OP's) k;tchen but iceqween's to show an example.

Yes, many taupes have a pink undertone, but I just want to inject a word of caution about conflating the RGB color system with paint. RGB is an additive color system which is a very different beast than pigments which are subtractive. In the RGB system, red (R) light + green (G) light yields yellow light. Add green pigment to red pigment and you have mush (well, if adding them to white paint, you could end up with a pinky taupe).

While trying to lower your blood pressure until the painter arrives, you might want to look at the "Colour Me Happy" blog by the colorist (or colourist, since she is Canadian) Maria Killam. Yesterday's entry was about ki tchens. You'll end up spending a ton of time there because she has such fascinating posts. She has several articles on how beiges can go pink. I promise it will intrigue you & likely relax you since it all can be fixed.

Best of luck & let us all know how it works out.

Jo Ann

Here is a link that might be useful: Colour Me Happy

Fortunately for me, I'm color blind.

You can play with Sherwin Williams color visualizer tool. Take a good picture of the kitchen walls with cabinets. Correct your image for the lighting (use your photo editing program). Upload it into the color visualizer and then you can paint away to see how the image changes. It won't be exactly right, but you can get a really good idea of how different colors on the walls will affect the way the cabinets look. The color visualizer will also offer you suggestions for warmer or colder (redder or bluer), brighter and so on for any color family you like.

I spent a few days with this tool picking an exterior color for my house and it worked out well. I was also dealing with pink in my brick and white window frames. I ended up with a brown color, with purple and gray undertones.

Don't panic! You have many good suggestions. My first though, though, was to alter the natural lighting, not the kitchen colors. I don't know what you kitchen configuration is and how many windows are providing light, but applying a tinted window film might be a more cost effective option, certainly than painting the cabinets or replacing the marble. It won't help when you windows are open, though.

Here's an example (no personal experience, though):

Here is a link that might be useful: 3M residential window films

Thank you again everyone! circuspeanut, that is a great idea to play with the colors using photoshop! Thank you! I have the painter coming over tomorrow, I took the day off from work. I'm going to check out the Colour Me Happy blog, I appreciate the info Drjoann! I'm going to take pictures to share tomorrow. For now, have to browse for ideas to run damage control on another home building issue I'm having with tile......
I'm so grateful to be getting a new home but it sure is more fun to pick things out than it is to get them installed..........so many environmental variables I didn't anticipate!

Perhaps you should also consider changing the ceiling color. The grey white of the ceiling may be having an impact as well. I've got ivory ceilings and they look great - it was a little shocking when the first brush stroke of ivory went up - but when the whole ceiling was done it was great. Your cabinets would really pop against it!
good luck!!!

Our small, local paint company has a woman on staff who is great at picking paint colors - I would get an outside opinion from either a designer or other professional. Paying for an hour or two of their time would be worth it. BTW - I think the cabinets and the counters look great together!

I'm counting the minutes until I meet with the painter tomorrow..... My screen name is rookie for reason, I really would have saved myself so much time and frustration if I'd consulted a designer for a couple of hours in the beginning. Instead I marched into the kitchen store and told them what I wanted and never gave any of the experienced staff an opportunity to make suggestions. So, I'm learning a lesson in humility.......
Thank you everyone for being so generous with your time:)
I'm going to follow up sometime tomorrow.

If your cabinets are like most, it's not difficult to remove a door and take it with you to the paint store. It's not a foolproof solution, because the paint store's lighting isn't exactly the same as yours -- but it could help.

Good luck!

I just bought a house with a white kitchen -- walls and trim same color as cabinets -- and it looked clearly PINK to me. Green paint on the walls totally changed the tone of the cabinets; no more pink.

Hopefully you will have as successful of an outcome as I.

Hello everyone,
Well, I tried a new paint color, recommended by my painter and my cabinets are still pink. His suggestion was not the color that made most sense to me, I just gave it a shot anyway since he has more experience. To me, it's the sunlight, totally the sunlight. I'm still hopeful that a new color wall paint might help. I'm attempting to pull out the big guns though. I e-mailed Maria of the Colour Me Happy blog and asked for a phone consultation. I'm prepared to mail her a sample of everything in that room is she's able to help. If not, does anyone know of a color consultant in the Philadelphia Metro area??
Thanks!

BTW, I'm thinking silver sage, if I can't get professional help in the next week, I'll have to go for it. I just hadn't planned for a cool-color palette and would then have to paint the great room too. I have a sage green in the dining room that's visible from the kitchen and the great room so I'm afraid that I'll be repainting half the house to accommodate these disruptive cabinets. These open floor-plans can be difficult..........

Rookie: I love Maria's blog and read it all the time. I would bet she can help...she seems to know so much! Good Luck!

Rookie: Have you considered using a basic gray wall paint? Also, are your knobs and pulls on the cabinets yet? Lights in yet? I thought I read that you don't have lights yet and are just getting the natural light. I wouldn't panic at all. My cabinets totally changed color when the hardware was put on and all my lights were installed. The color even changed when I went from having light bulbs hanging out of the ceiling from my permanent recessed lights. What are you using for cabinet hardware? That makes a huge difference, too.

so what did you and your painter decide about color?

Thanks for asking doraville!
My painter tried another light tan. It was awful but I let him take his turn. For my turn, I chose SW Dried Thyme.....perfecto! If it didn't work, I was going to go through with a professional consultation...... It's a dark-ish green (thanks alabamanicole!), slightly on the cool side, I'd call it a fresh tone. Not warm, not really a cool either IMO. So, the green will go in the kitchen and breakfast nook. The kitchen is separated from the main part of the house by 2 doorways and a big pass-thru. I'm going to get an almost match off-white for the trim in the kitchen and breakfast nook so I don't have any bright white near my cabinets. I'm feeling good about it again.
My backsplash material was brought in today and now I'm back to being terrified of tile. What if it looks terrible, ugly, weird? etc. If I could rewind, I'd consult a KD for sure.............
If it weren't for this forum and the bath forum, I'd be institutionalized by now! lol.

I know how you feel - I often wish I consulted a KD. I'm glad you found a color you liked. I had to chose the paint before the cabs went in and before I chose the countertop and floor so I was lucky it all worked. I ended up bringing a couple of people from work home with me during lunch to help me make a decision re color! Of course, they disagreed, but the one of the two colors ended up perfect. It is called natural linen and is a light gray/brown color. Don't get me started on the backsplash! I returned one and although I love the one I installed, it is less than a perfect color match with the countertop. I made decisions as I went along but I think it might have been easier to make all the decisions at the beginning with a KD. Maybe. The problem is I have no ability to visualize and need to see everything in person.

You can use a product called Briwax over the existing finish on your cabinets. It's a tinted wax and it will also give a nice sheen to them and protect the finish. The lightest shade is golden oak, but the colors are sheer and you can mix it with the clear one to get just the tint you want. That should take care of the pink cast without the cost of repainting the cabinets. You can also use it to get a glazed effect that's deeper in any crevices.

Here is a link that might be useful: Briwax colors

Please, please try changing your light bulbs before doing anything! I had a problem in our new bathroom with color. My white cabinets and granite looked yellow and the walls looked peach at the other end of the bath. We changed the lightbulbs above the mirror to ones that looked almost blue and the canned light (where it looked peach) and voila, we had the normal true colors. It may work. Hope so.

Thank you neumamom! Funny you mentioned it, my electrician told me today that even though I told him months and months ago that I wanted warm lighting, he undermined me and chose the white clear lights for the kitchen and baths since I'd have dimmers (he does that a lot and has saved me from quite a few mistakes). They should wash everything in white. Even without lighting, things are looking much better. I went with a gray-green paint, the backsplash is in and the trim and ceiling will be off-white by the end of the day tomorrow.
I'm really relieved to hear that this has actually worked for someone else!