Hi all - I first want to say I am a new member (login wise anyway), but have been reading your wonderful posts and getting ideas for my own new kitchen for over a year now. My install started yesterday (finally!) and I wanted to say Thank You so much for all the ideas/ inspiration/ advice! You are all fabulous! anncamp - This is a very sensitive topic for me since I was (and still somewhat am) in a very similar situation as you - and it was also with an Authorized dealer of Shiloh cabinets! My (main but not only) issue was that I requested 13" depth upper cabinets and the KD ordered 12" depth. They are the light painted inset cabs with cafe brushing/glaze, so matching the remake cabs to the other (correct) cabs has been next to impossible. After 2 tries (over "many" months of time), Shiloh almost got it right. I am taking my chances and putting them up, with the promise that Shiloh will send someone here to better match any that look to be a problem (after reading a post above though, i'm not sure I want to attempt this.) After almost a year of living with a torn up kitchen and having kitchen cabinets sitting in several rooms of my home while I battled with my KD (who also owns the Company and at this point I feel is nothing but a weasley (sp?) con man) and the Shiloh rep, I have some advice that I think might help. #1 - Do Not Settle or allow yourself to be bullied / manipulated into settling for something you did not order. Please remember - cabinets are a LOT of money and you work hard for your money, and you have to live with the final result for many years to come. It is not your responsibility to pay for someone else's mistakes, it's theirs! Hopefully you have a contract to back you up in case things get worse. (My KD tried so many games to get me to settle - blowing up, playing the poor me, then talking nicely and trying to convince me (and others) that I was just nervous, threatening me ... just thinking about all of the crap I endured is making me mad all over again %-) #2 - If you have not yet paid in full, DON'T yet. #3 - Do Not install those cabinets until you are absolutely sure you want them, or unless you get it in writing (with signatures) that if you don't like them after install that they can be returned for the ones you actually ordered or you will receive a full refund. Whether it's true or not I don't know, but I was told that if you install them they can claim that as acceptance, or play the game that they are used now. (My KD and rep tried to get me to install part of the order while I waited for the remake of the other cabs and I said "Absolutely NOT". I got the sense that they knew I was no dummy and meant business.) #4 - Document all communications in writing, especially if you agree to any changes - make sure these are documented "precisely" with signatures. You will need this if it ever has to go to court. Good luck ann, and please keep us posted an how things work out for you. Hopefully it will work out better (and quicker) than my situation. - littleitaly

I have to agree with bluekitobsessed "glazing makes the cab detail look good". Bluekitobsessed: Can you show a sample of your Amaretto floor? What type of wood are you using on the floor? Did you choose your granite and backsplash? (I'm most likely selecting similar maple cabinets with a light chocolate glaze and would like some help with color selection) Back to Glaze or not to glaze: I am also in the process of choosing a cab color and am driving myself (and my family) crazy. Each day I go back and forth between light and dark, glaze and no glaze (parading door samples around the kitchen). I think this post has helped me reach a decision and here is why: I think if you go with a light maple cabinet, glazing is a good idea because it helps bring out the grain in the maple a bit more. Cherry, unlike maple, typically shows more of the grain and therefore I think you can get away with a cherry stain and no glaze. If anyone is in the process of finishing a light/medium maple kitchen with a glaze I would appreciate photo sharing and/or ideas. Thanks Melanie

I love frenchkitty's kitchen. I used her kitchen as one of my inspiration photos for my new kitchen, last year. I did not know what colors she used. (Thanks). First, I totally agree that you should paint the desk the same as the cabinets. Second, any reason you are not going to paint the bricks on the island??? Do they match some other bricks in your home? You could paint them the same as the cabinets if you wanted to downplay them or leave them if you like them. Third, I used SW antique white as our trim color thoughout our home, plus all the kitchen cabinets. The painter did glaze the kitchen cabinets with a brown glaze mix and I just love them. They are a soft cream with the brown antiqued look. We used SW Ivoire for all the walls and now I want to repaint the kitchen walls a deeper tone of gold or caramel. I am little confused. What color are you leaning toward for the china cabinet? I liked Patty Cakes idea of using a color and then perhaps glazing over it. I am not crzay about the idea of brown. Too safe and boring. I do love the French blues or perhaps a soft bluish green. If depends on what other colors you use in your kitchen and home. You actually could also do a bright shade of color with no glaze. It all depends on your taste. But not brown. Sorry.

After painting my cabinets I glazed them as well. The doors have a raised panel so that was no problem glazing. My end panels are flat. So all I did was lightly glaze the flat end panels. Not really creating any darkness in any corners or grooves because there weren't any. All it did really was make the end panels the same color as the cabinets. Which you have to do because you will be changing your cab color. I love the way mine came out. I am no expert but my advise is to go light with the glaze on cabinets and even lighter on end panels. I have seen the wainscoting done on backsplash and end panels. It looked nice but I was doing so much already I could not add another element. Good luck and have fun!