Cab guy says he does not have experience painting the lacquered finish on site. So, he cud take drawers and doors and spray them, but the base of the cabs would have to be brushed finished on site which wouldn't be nearly as durable. This why I chose simple white cabs---so I cud change wall color in the future and not have to worry about repainting cabs.

I have a feeling he is offering to repaint at his shop to discourage you from having him do so! The doors and drawers, yes at shop, but no way would I let him take the cabinets down and take to the shop! Your kitchen is gorgeous! FWIW, the whole color debacle happened to us too, when we had our kitchen refreshed. When I complained about the cabinet color not looking right, I was told it was the wall and floor color throwing everything off. I didn't fight with the guy. Two years later, we have replaced the flooring and repainted, and the cabinets still have a very slight undertone that I hate!

My post just crossed with your last comment J G. Spraying on site takes A LOT of prep work. Our guy had three people who spent an entire day taping and masking off all of the cabinet frames etc. Do not let him use a brush with lacquer on your frames!

..again, if it's any comfort-it's still a beautiful house. Yet they made a mistake, it's good they acknowledge it and are willing to rectify asap. This time: samples first:)

If he can’t figure out how to spray the cabinets on site, then he needs to hire a painter that can at his own expense. I wouldn’t negotiate on this, I think it’s the only solution, and it can be done.

we built about a year ago, and when I walked into my kitchen after they painted cabinets I knew it was the wrong color. Held up my samples and my paint chip and took pics. Painter agreed, and turned out the paint store accidentally mixed for a quart instead of gallon. He got the right paint and fixed it.

I will add that, in pictures I think everything looks beautiful, but I understand that in person it is probably way off and not what you envisioned.

It is a HUGE risk removing the cabinets (appliances, countertops, plumbing, etc.). The potential for damage is pretty great. Will they guarantee that they will replace a broken countertop, backsplash slab, appliance, sink, etc. if they are damaged in the process? If not, I would not recommend you risk it.

That is what has had me so worried!!!! I think builder is also concerned about the damage that could occur! If the cab guy can't spend the extra dollars on SW paint, I wouldn't trust him to replace anything that is broken in the process. Again, every single cabinet in the house is the wrong color. Looking back, I am dumbfounded that I was never shown a cab door to approve and sign off on!!!

I think they either need to REPLACE all the cabinets with ones in the correct color, or refund what you paid for the cabinets. They are not what you ordered and you did not approve this color.

Who pays for this? That's between the cabinet buy and your GC, but it's not you!!!

I will tell you that even if your cabinet guy had used a SW color, it would most likely have been a bit different than the same color if one bought a can of paint at SW. How do I know this? Because that's what happened in my own kitchen! I had bought a can of paint and painted two cabinets with it to see if I liked the color in various lights (one on one wall, one on another). I also received a sample door with the color. All I could do was prop that up - it was not at the same height as my cabinets, but I could tell it looked different and was concerned. I finally took it to my local SW store and had them scan the sample door. It was a slightly different formula! The order had already been placed and my uppers had already been painted so I could not change it. What I did do was have the wall color made 1/2 strength at SW and also had them remove the magenta/maroon from the formula for the wall paint. That, and the VERY white woodwork, helped rid me of the slightly "pink" tone my SW Repose Gray cabinets had in certain lights. The dead white (Corian Glacier White) countertops also helped.

Color on cabinets is tricky as it is not "house paint". It has all sorts of other things in it to make it wear well and be satin smooth. I think it's one very big reason why so many people opt for white cabinets today.

I ended up very happy, but you are not going to be. They need to replace your cabinets.

Well...seems simple to me. If you don't like the color, simply listen to your cabinet guy and let him remove, repaint, and reinstall.

One solution would be to have the cabinet guy pay for your culinary degree. That way the food you cook in your kitchen would be so good you do not notice the cabinet color. Have them throw in a stocked wine cellar good for five years. Come to think about it, skip the culinary degree.

Virgil, I wish it were that simple. What happens if they damage the floors or Countertops when they are removing the cabinets from the kitchen, mudroom, laundry, and every single bathroom in the house?

We just finished a new home and when I think of what would have to be removed to get the whole cabinets in your house out and repainted, it scares me! The great possibility of damage to other products is very real and could be another nightmare. And never, ever let a paintbrush touch any part of them! It would look different and wear different. I am sorry for you, what a mess. We spend our money and our time and put in tons of research to come to the choices we make, and we put our trust in the people we hire to do it right! You certainly do have a pretty home! It is true that we can adjust to lots of little things that stand out at first, but you know if you can live with this or not!

Ahhh...what if, what if, what if!

It's not rocket science. If the cabinet boys damage anything in the removal and replacement of the cabinets, they correct or pay for needed corrections. Work it out with these boys before proceeding.

It can be really simple, if you will let it be...

OP: "I also don’t want to look at the wrong color the rest of my life." "Yes, I am very disappointed."

So, you hate it, they admit they made a mistake, and will fix it at no cost to you?

What exactly are you asking here?

Yep, I don't get it either.

The cabinet boys have offered to remove, repaint and reinstall.

So it seems to me the choice is simple:

1. If you can't stand the current color, have the cabinet boys repaint it;

2. If the thought of removal and replacement is more than you can stand, then learn to live with the current color.

Not many other options are there?

They offered to remove the upper cabs in the kitchen only. He said the rest of the cabs in the house look fine to him. Bottom cab door would be removed but the rest of the bottom cabs would have to be painted by hand on site. Since it's an open floor plan, you can see the mud room cabs from the kitchen. I don't want a house of mismatched cabs.

Can you tape your paint chip to a cabinet and take a pic so we can see the difference?. I don’t understand how he can tell you they look fine if the color is that off. And I’m confused as to why they can’t pay a professional painter to spray them in house? My parents did a kitchen reno a couple of years ago and they sprayed all her uppers and lowers in house, nothing had to come out, just took off the doors. There was lots of plastic taped up to prevent overspray getting out of the work area, and I’m sure the prep was a lot of work, but it can be done.

jolynne28,

I like your idea. I think that is what I'm going to insist that they do. Thank you so much!

If the cab guy can't refinish in place get quotes from pros who can. I wouldn't split the job with one group doing some parts and another doing the rest.

Dan, great advice! Thank you so much!

Your cabinet guy doesn’t have an argument, the color isn’t even close. He let it go this far trying to convince u it was fine, so he has no one to blame but himself. Good luck, I hope you get exactly what u wanted!

You have two problems.

1. You're correct. The color is quite a bit off. However that brings up the second problem

2. You can't just spray cabinets on site. They will never wear as well as cabinets sprayed in a clean environment and done with the right tools. It means first sanding down all surfaces, wiping them up and then respraying. If not done in a clean environment, you can get cabinets with contaminated pieces in it.

That doesn't help you though. I don't know what I'd do in your situation.

I had a similar situation with my shades. I bought from a shade company that offered custom coloring using their own fan book. I picked a color from the fan book for the shades in my living room and kitchen using one of their patterns.

They insisted I get a sample swatch for me to approve, which was supposed to take 2 weeks. 3 weeks later I got the sample and approved it. Shades were supposed to take 2 weeks to make. Over 1 month later, the shades come in and I go to look at them. They weren't even close to the green I chose. Too light and too blue!

It goes back and another month, the new shades come in. This time the value is correct and from a distance the color looks ok. However it doesn't match the sample I had approved but it does still work with my backsplash tile and fireplace tile. (A bit grayer than the actual green I had picked and the sample I had approved.)

So I gave them a choice. Take it back and I'll go elsewhere, or give me a significant discount. I got quite a good discount and honestly, those shades don't look so bad to me now.

Now having said that, it's 7 roll up shades versus lots of cabinets throughout your house. Only you know if you can learn to live with them.

Oh, this is difficult! Making a commitment like this is worse than choosing a significant other for me! If changing the lighting hasn’t helped, peach is coming back I’ve noticed. I also have seen white and cream colors together in the dozen or so magazines I have been going through. Also, if you didn’t plan on ever changing the color of the cabinets they will receive the normal wear and tear. Maybe you could add just a light amount of glazing to them now, nothing heavy or distressed but glaze can add depth and subtle tones. Then one big statement piece of art or floral arrangement that ties in white cream and black.

I think I would ask for a large discount and get new counter tops

Love the Lantern style lights in your dining area. Could I get the source please? Ps. I love your kitchen as-is.

Did he use SW Lacquer. The chips from the paint manufacturers very seldom match the chip.

cpartist isn't a pro painter as far as I've read on these forums. You need the evaluation of a professional to determine whether or not something can be done. I've pro painted cars and work with a pro on car projects often. You can and have to get a perfect or very close color match to the existing color(or blend) . . . With the proper prep, the pro equipment and the correct paint for the surface and conditions I would attempt this with a high probability of success. And I'm not a pro at painting cabs in place. I do know what can be done with paint by a pro.

Because of environmental laws in CA restricting what is needed to clean the air in a shop cabs are often painted in place where there are no restrictions. . . . . It can be done. . . . .Shop finish in a booth is also not 100% perfect.

You have to weigh the competing drawbacks. The frames painted in place with the doors and drawers refinished in the shop of the guys painting the frames in your house vs the possibility of damage from the removal and reinstall of everything. A discount is crap. You"ll be looking at everything every day for years.

For me the cab guy is already out because he's admitted he has no expertise in refinishing in place. Start the search now for the correct professional with sample color match approval.

You had a door scanned by Sherwin Williams. From that I feel you're a capable and reasonable consumer. I look forward to seeing you move things forward to a successful conclusion. To help with that you'll need to know the exact paint product the cabs were painted with for the new guys to pick their products.

The cabinet maker probably used SW Industrial Catalyzed varnish. It is close, but not exact to the SW retail paint. They won't exactly match. It's just that simple.

Does the homeowner bear some responsibility? She didn't stop the building process when she noticed the problem and resolve it before it became really difficult to resolve. The problem was noted pre-install. You didn't say stop. Instead, you hoped it would work out. It didn't. I don't mean to make you mad, but that part is your fault.

What are the options? How do you fix this?

Tear everything out, remove everything, send cabinets to the shop where they can be sanded and repainted with a paint that won't match exactly. This risks a lot of damage. This is not what the cabinetmaker is offering to do.

Remove wall cabinets, doors, and drawers. Paint these in the shop paint booth. Then hand brush base cabinets. They won't match and will make the problem even worse. This is what your cabinet maker is offering to do.

Paint all cabinets in on site with regular paint. It will match the color swatch. This gets you what you say you want more than anything else, a matching color. However, it won't wear as well and you will be repainting in five years. The good news is the color will match then, too.

Live with it. Get a discount from the cabinetmaker and move on. You have tried to live with this and don't like it. This is what I would do. I'm not standing in the room, but it looks lovely.

I do have a suggestion. Have you considered a color consultation with a professional? Perhaps your trim color can be modified to be more harmonious with the cabinet color? Perhaps the wall color could be changed? This may be more easily achieved than messing with the cabinets.

I suggest a color consultation before you go to the trouble of all of the other options. There may be a way to mitigate the color impact and make you happy at the same time. It's worth trying before you go to the trouble of tearing up a perfectly good house and risking permanent damage to it.

Cross post this thread over in the home decorating forum. There are two real color consultants that frequent it that can be hired for a consultation. I think I would hire someone to help me.

Home Decor

So I have some input and a follow up question.

I don't believe your contractor and/or cabinetmaker is going to correct this problem in full. It doesn't seem reasonable that they will be responsible for removing plumbing, trim, cabinets, countertops, etc. Then repaint and repay to have all of those things reinstalled and redone. Not to mention any liquidated damages caused by not having a sink in the house or a kitchen while they are redoing it.

This could easily approach the contractor's profit on the entire job, and I simply don't believe they are going to take that risk. I suspect if you start opting for that resolution that they will start limiting the scope. I would give you good odds that they have no intention of removing and repainting the cabinets, and they are only offering that solution to entice you to start thinking how problematic that solution is.

Now for the question... What all do you have in writing (or email)? Especially of the earlier conversation when the problem was noticed prior to completion. Just a hint to everyone out there, whenever you find a problem that someone is proposing a future solution for, write them a confirmation email. Just something that starts off with, "Here is a quick email to confirm our earlier conversation..."

---------

You have many more than simply the two options you were presented with, your goal is to get a satisfactory solution and my advice is for you to get in the driver's seat rather than let them tell you your options. I would advise you to get third party estimates for repair at this point. I would argue that their right to correct was forfeit when they decided not to correct when it was originally noticed. You may well choose to work with them (and probably will), but you should be fully aware of the costs for acceptable alternatives.

Good luck

Does the homeowner bear some responsibility? She didn't stop the building process when she noticed the problem and resolve it before it became really difficult to resolve. The problem was noted pre-install. You didn't say stop. Instead, you hoped it would work out. It didn't. I don't mean to make you mad, but that part is your fault.

I completely disagree with this. The homeowner is not the expert and once brought to the attention of the experts, the homeowner relied on their advice and experience. Which is exactly what should happen, you don't hire experts to help you with decisions and then decide not to listen to them. If this was a solution they proposed, then they chose to gamble that the OP would eventually warm to it, and the OP only relied on their expertise. It was their risk, and it may have been a great gamble, 99 out of 100 consumers may have fallen in love with it, but this one didn't.

I am surprised how many are telling you to just live with it bc it looks pretty to them. You built a CUSTOM HOME! This is huge. It will always look half-assed to you, regardless of how many people tell you otherwise. I would steel myself, pack up my kitchen (and contents of all other affected cabs,) and have them correctly fix it. Huge pain in the butt? Absolutely. But you spent so much time and so much money planning and building your home! This isn’t the wrong finish on a drawer pull...this is the color of your cabinets! The largest color source in your kitchen! I just feel so bad for you. I do know that when I personally take the easiest way, I usually regret it.

"You don't hire experts to help you with decisions and then decide not to listen to them."

You would be surprised how much this happens.

Mark,

I should probably rephrase that to - You don't hire experts to help you with decisions and then get taken to task when you decide to actually listen to them.

J G -- If you could tell us exactly what finish is on the cabinets, someone may be able to suggest how this might be corrected.

Product name, number etc.

I am surprised how many are telling you to just live with it bc it looks pretty to them. You built a CUSTOM HOME! This is huge. It will always look half-assed to you, regardless of how many people tell you otherwise

Unfortunately Nini, even in a custom home where everything is spelled out, things happen and it's usually the homeowner who gets the proverbial screw. Don't believe me? Just read through my saga. My list of things that were wrong and now haven't and can't be fixed are pages long and mine is not an inexpensive custom house.

I think if it were me at this point, as much as I wasn't 100% thrilled with the color of the cabinets, I'd probably do what homechef is suggesting because I personally would rather have cabinets where the finish will hold up over time versus the exact color. I guess because color is my business, I figure I can figure out a way to mitigate the color by what I use surrounding it. But that's me. Everyone has different tolerances to different things.

Anyone who has built a custom home knows that every decision is a compromise in one way or another. Every decision impacts 10 subsequent decisions. Nature of the beast. Limited options, limited solutions. How much do you want that color? It's going to cost you. How much are you willing to spend to get your way? Those are the facts.

Have them repainted using Fine Paints of Europe Hollandlc satin. You must sand, prime and paint using their complete system. They will wear and hold well.

A conversion varnish for the boxes CAN be sprayed in home. It’s a giant PIA to hang the plastic, turn off the air, and drag a compressor and gun in. The doors and drawers are brought to the shop and done there, though. Then everything needs undisturbed time to cure. 3-7 days, depending on the weather. The time out on the builder’s schedule is a PIA too.

But this is why the average kitchen “paint” job is the 7-9K. The size of the job that you have? Close to triple that retail, because it’s not just localized to the kitchen, and your kitchen is larger than average. So 21-27K retail value for the recoating job. That IS well beyond the cabinet maker’s take home for the job. That is into the take home for the next 4-5 jobs.

Also, paint formulas are completely different chemistries than conversion varnishes. There will always be a difference when converting paint to varnish. Always.

But, if you want a respray. It can be done. You may still not like the results, even if you sign off on a color sample. Because small samples never give you the reality of the giant mass that is a completed job. But once you sign off on a sample, and have that done, you’ll need to live with the results. And that goes beyond the mass of color. That goes to the consequences that it will have to the builder and the cabinet maker.

I know one cabinet maker that this happened too locally. It bankrupted him and he lost his shop entirely. Yes, accepting the mixed product from the supply house and not testing it and getting a written approval from the customer is on him. He learned his lesson for he next customer. But there will be no next customer. Small businesses are very close to the bone in just about every job.

If you want the respray, perhaps you all share some of the costs. You did notice the issue. And still moved forward. Which more than doubled the costs of correcting the problem. So maybe you share in the solution to the problem as well.

Oh Sophie, do you ever side with the homeowner? They did notice the issue and the concerns were dismissed.

When I held up the Snowbound paint chip to the cabs, I got the ole, “That looks like Snowbound to me.” Then it was blamed on lighting, the gold metal in my round island lights, etc.

My husband brought this to their attention during the build and it was all attributed to light, light fixtures, time of day, etc

It seems that in your world, if the homeowner trusts the professionals and the professionals are wrong, the homeowner is at fault for not being more informed.

But, if the homeowner questions the professionals about their decisions, the homeowner is at fault for interfering and being difficult.

I believe in supporting small businesses and have no desire to "stick it" to this company. They did a great job on my cabinets--they are just the wrong color---which is huge. To answer one of the questions above, I have documentation of everything and they are not questioning that I am correct.

I met with the builder this morning and he is very supportive. I told him that I truly wanted the solution to be a win win for everyone concerned. I proposed the idea of having my hood and the cabinets beside it painted black and adding glass to them. I said that I would just leave my cabs in the master bath as is but that I would like my bedroom and bathroom walls to be painted a new color that would better coordinate with the cab color. Same with my son's bedroom and bath. The builder was happy with these ideas and we are meeting with the cab guy Weds. to discuss them. I am attaching a photo of the black hood and cab idea. I will add my sources for those who have asked in my next comment.

Island lights

J G, you seem like a nice person and I'm so impressed that you have come up with solutions that can work, and won't be detrimental to anyone. Your inspiration picture for the "fix" is pretty much my dream kitchen :) Good luck and please post after pictures!

Thanks, JG and how funny, they are the exact ones from the exact site I was looking at. Ordered! Thank you!

JG: first, I want to reiterate everyone else in saying your kitchen is beautiful. But I understand your disappointment and your concerns. One of our posters, Lori Sawaya, is a color expert. She has posted many times on the decorating and paint forums. You might give her a shout out to ask her how you can brighten your cabinets - she's quite a wizard. Below is a comparison of white paint colors she did for another poster. I am no expert, but it looks like Snowbound definitely falls into the creamy range of off white. Our exterior trim is painted snowbound. I think it's popular here because it looks white, but not glaringly so. Our painter suggested we paint our ceilings snowbound (he was a real fan of that color!!). DH and I sample painted our ceilings and definitely saw peach or pink so it was no go for our ceilings.

Here is my layman's theory: The creamier paints take on a creamier tone when they are in indirect light. I don't see any windows in your kitchen so am assuming you have indirect light in that room. Of course I haven't seen your bathrooms, but we are talking about your kitchen here. Our interior trim is painted white dove and in areas where it gets indirect light I definitely see a creamy tinge.

Your inspiration photo is filled with natural light. Plus the photog probably added more lights and reflectors. Be careful to evaluate black in your kitchen. Maybe paint a sample board and put it up on your hood for a week or two. Or look for a color that is not true black, but "reads" black.

My thought is that if you paint with Snowbound again you may get the same result, or different color and same result, and be disappointed again. Since the guys are willing to repaint, I strongly suggest you select a brighter white. And of course, get a sample door of the actual paint and leave it up for a week or two.

And you might give Lori a shout out on the paint forum. I sure hope things turn out well for you! Best of luck.

To make sure you get a correct color match get a 2x2' sample and compare it to a 2x2' sample of Snowbound you supply. The manufacturer can do a color scan and match just like all the other pro manufacturers. Completely possible. Set the standard as a primary provision of the job.