I agree totally with Jan. Too little info to help. To me the island is just plain wrong with the perimeter cabinets so who chose that finish for the island?

I'm assuming she is very DIS pleased with the island- if production was different, or occurred in different locales or one was veneer and another an attempt at wood match with ACTUAL wood/stain and no veneer? They're never going to "match".

Harmony is one thing, but. I believe a "whole house" match in cabinetry, no matter WHAT it is a bit of a yawn.

No different than going into a home built 1990....... overloaded with cherry everywhere. Kitchen, every bath, every built in. . Just because the selection is newer or more up to date?? Doesn't really lessen the monotony. Jmho. : )

There's an easy fix here. Paint the island.

There will be some variation depending on the substrate. There will be slight variations in the density of the wood that will affect how well stain will be absorbed. The grain of the wood will also affect how stain is taken in. I agree with Patricia and Jan - the wood of the island just doesn't seem to coordinate well with the other cabinetry.

It is clearly too much variation. looks like completely different wood.

I agree with everyone else. island color does not look good with perimeter color.

That looks like a really narrow aisle between sink and island.

Variation from one piece to another can be expected but certainly not contrasting like this. One of the qualifications for a professional finisher is the ability to finish two species of wood and have them match,not perfectly but match as to be unnoticeable without concentrating. In building cabinets all exposed wood is usually same species even if some is solid and some is veneer so those should certainly match. Agin not perfect but not noticeable without close inspection. What i said above might sound like the finisher should always be able to formulate colors in the field but in reality some people don't perceive colors well enough so they have a go to person at a paint store who does it for them when requested. A professionel knows their limitations and when to get help. Yours did neither.

If the goal was matching, none of these are acceptable. The last picture is the closest and it is still not acceptable.

There is no reason for noticeable variation on slab front cabinetry. Sequenced and numbered veneers are between $12 and $20 extra per sheet and they are going to match. If there is so much wood that sequencing will not work, you either match stain or go with reconstituted (which I am terrible at spotting so these may be reconstituted).

If the island color is what you are objecting to, I would make lemonade. Paint, laminate or some other treatment. Because there is too much sameness to suit me. Lovely but a bit boring.

Thanks to all that took time to kindly reply to my post. Apologies as I didn't receive any notification so I didn't think anyone did.


We wanted uniformity throughout our home. We chose a light grey/beige stain on rift cut oak from a local cabinet maker. Our preference being cool tones with a more natural appearing grain. Uniformity throughout was the goal- kitchen/bathroom. One colour. Yes perhaps boring for some


The fixed panels vs operable are completely different. Operable more closely reflects what we wanted- cool stain/grain. The fixed are warm with a stripy almost unnaturally appearing grain. I now know that fixed panels have a veneer overlay, thin and chipping in a couple areas. Can't really tell with the operable. I also know that the fabricator admitted to using wood from different batches for a larger profit margin.


Furthermore, I requested that the cabinet maker bring the sample from which he was working to complete my cabinets- surely matching the sample I chose and took home. He didn't have one. He just wrote the selected stain colour down. Is this is normal????


They said they are willing to work with us on the kitchen but given the bathroom island is on it's own and nothing comparable nearby... I should just leave it. I suggested just painting over everything but my husband's argument is why did we pay top dollar to then paint over it.


Also worth mentioning, my husband was offered a partnership with a new and upcoming cabinet company in exchange for social media post. Our contractor strongly advised against it- MDF, unproven, could delay our projects months. Strong arguments . We agreed and paid 5 x's more for real wood and quality workmanship .