I am a woodworker. Use wood stains, wood dyes, and all manner of clear/tinted finishes. I have the original natural, stained woodwork in this 1965 built house. It is hideous. Pine and poplar wood, stained with fruitwood stain(a color that fell way out of favor early on), it did not age well. Have sanded the doors to remove most of the stain color(it also bleaches), painted the original cabinets white and am in the process of painting the door/base molding white as well. Looks MUCH better!!!!! Now, when someone mentions painting oak, I get distressed. No matter the color, painted oak looks terrible. So, not all wood looks good stained, and some look terrible painted.

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.

No matter what is said, your home needs a gray to whitish color trim and roof. Adding an accent color to that much blue is just not going to look classy. Your roof should be white, or a very silvery gray, and your trim should be white. That is enough color for your home size. It will be classy, and you will not tire of it. White or silvery white/grayish white , on the eaves of the home, the doors and the railings, and a similar white to silvery/gray tone on your new shingled roof. In 5 years you can re-evaluate and at that time, if your landscaping and your home are in sync, you MIGHT try a warm LIGHT PALE tone of yellow on your screen door, or exit door. That Greeen BJ Moore recommends, I expect, would be curtains, a throw rug and or a comforter set inside a house. That way you might have a 60/40 split of 2 colors, with other surfaces, like ? wood floor, windows open, lamps, a ceiling in other tones. That is in no way proper for a small cottage home like yours, at this point. Good luck!! Do not paint your foundation and steps, unless you use a concrete color. And than, you are really going to open yourself for maintenance. It's not easy to keep paint on aged concrete, from the experiments I have seen. It's easier to replace some indoor outdoor carpet throw runner on the steps.. :D

To the initial question, if repainted properly, there shouldn't be anymore chipping than not repainted (that being said, not all paint methods and products are created equal), and peeling should never be an issue unless the surface was imprperly prepped or an upper coat was incomptible with a coat below it, which is really still just improper prep, as incompatibility and potential adhesion challenges should be identified resolved during prep. The repaint should probably be done back at their shop if possible, though if that's not practical, some pros can probably give details on how the job should be done in place. Lizzie, generally best to start your own topic if you want the best answers. Anyways Anyways, this is a perfect example as to why painters doing large spaces/objects ideally mix all the paint they need for the job in a large bucket - dump multiple cans into a single vessel and mix if they can't get the proper volume mixed from the get go. As for getting the cabinet maker to understand the issue, since it sounds like they can't see the differences (they may really just not have the level of perception), you might need to hire a 3rd party color consultant, or I don't know if one of those color analysis tools is sensitive enough to detect and indicate the difference. I assume you've already taken a drawer and a door outside and shown them to the cabinet maker in natural light, directly adjacent, and on the same plane to best demonstrate the difference.