That door is what you can expect from stained alder. There is nothing wrong with the application. You will see that much variance in a slab door. If you want less variance I suggest you select a different wood for your cabinet doors. Speak directly with the supplier and tell them what you want to achieve. They can suggest an alternate wood or if you are looking for perfection and uniform color you might be better off purchasing a Thermofoil door and kitchen.

Wood is a natural product with variation. If that bothers you, get laminate doors.

People who do not know the nature of a product should go another direction. If nothing else getting the sample doors taught you, you do not care for this dealer or Alder. Is that the norm in your region? I am not aware of it as a solid kitchen cabinet choice. There are plenty of hard woods that do work well for kitchen cabinetry.

The purpose of getting a sample door is to make sure that the color, finish, and wood species is what you want, before the manufacturer does the whole job. If you do not like the sample, then you need to select something else, as others have described above.

I agree this is the nature of alder and better to see the sample before hating the whole kitchen

alder normally takes light true brown to medium brown stains quite well. if you specified a cherry stain on alder it could be some of the cause. If I were seeking alder for whatever reason i think I'd pick characterr alder w knots and stick w a light true brown stain.I've seen lots of alder around here as there are somewhat rustic themes....... [it is a hardwood but one of the softer ones and the knot characteristics can be specified which I see you omitted]..... why dont you get cherry cabinets for the tone you picked and the smoothness and lack of unique alder characteristics ???example shown knotty alder probably a typical light caramel stain.....no problems.

411 Long Ridge - Kitchen · More Info

Samples represent both the look of the door and the quality of the work. If you don’t like it, do not build a whole kitchen around it.

My sample doors were probably better than the finished product! I carried these doors for months in my car in a large tote bag with tile samples and they still looked great! The drawer was scaled wrong in the samples and we both caught it and they fixed for final production.

The purpose is to give you a concrete sample to approve and to sign off that you approve. The fact that you don’t approve says that they were very smart to give you a heads up that what you are asking for is a poor choice for your expectations.

Alder is best for someone who wants rustic, knotty, and streaky. If you want sleek and modern, that is at odds with the material you chose. You need something like a clear premium cherry veneer over a Medex substrate for that. Or a high pressure laminate.