WWYD - custom cabinets wrong color

[Anonymous]

25% lighter doesn't mean anything. I've worked in custom millwork for decades and seen this request for decades. It's a Architect/Decorator shortcut that keeps vague what should be definable. That should have been made clear at some point.

You can't get 90% there then say "but different" the expect anything exact. You have an approved sample or nothing at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How would they have calculated the 25% lighter? Asking because for one of the paint colors in our house, we requested a 50% version from the paint store for some walls. I can hardly tell the difference between the 50% and the full color version. So depending on what you meant by 25% lighter, you might not have gotten what you were looking for anyway.

+1 Did you have a sample that was 25% lighter or just calculated this perfect look in your head?

OP. Oh, goodness, I would never have just calculated this look in my head and crossed my fingers. But your comment relates to that of a couple other PPs -- the ones who say "% lighter isn't a thing." I don't understand this. One can walk into any paint store and request a % higher/lower LRV of any color in the deck. We've done it with both Benjamin Moore and with Sherwin Williams, and each time, the employees make the exact formula even over different cans of paint. How, I don't know. I just figured they had a program that figured this out.

Anyway, this past spring we painted our 40-year-old cabinets this way, with multiple cans, just to live with our color selection for a while. Never got a question from the paint store about what 25% actually meant, and the color match was always spot on. Contractor was using the same brand (not color-matching) for the final product, so I didn't think it would be an issue. Anyway, even if contractor didn't understand 25% lighter, he could have asked, and I could have given him the formula. Alas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they look good and cohesive with the rest of the kitchen?

OP, hoping I can respond before the internet blinks out again as work continues in the kitchen!

The color isn’t the problem per se. But the uppers and lowers are two different colors (I know not everyone likes two-tone cabinets, but would be great not to debate that right now). To pull the two-tone thing off, the lowers should be darker than the uppers by a certain amount, and now they’re not. The colors are independently great, but there’s just not quite enough contrast between them. So when I look at them together I get an “off” feeling.
It’s only 25%, but it definitely would have looked sharper with more contrast.

Maybe I’ll mind less when counters are in. Maybe I’ll just paint it myself someday, I feel ridiculous, but I don’t know how to shake that feeling that it’s off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ideally you would have signed off on the paint after seeing one test cabinet

Note to future renovators, this would be a good thing to put into your contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they look good and cohesive with the rest of the kitchen?

OP, hoping I can respond before the internet blinks out again as work continues in the kitchen!

The color isn’t the problem per se. But the uppers and lowers are two different colors (I know not everyone likes two-tone cabinets, but would be great not to debate that right now). To pull the two-tone thing off, the lowers should be darker than the uppers by a certain amount, and now they’re not. The colors are independently great, but there’s just not quite enough contrast between them. So when I look at them together I get an “off” feeling.
It’s only 25%, but it definitely would have looked sharper with more contrast.

Maybe I’ll mind less when counters are in. Maybe I’ll just paint it myself someday, I feel ridiculous, but I don’t know how to shake that feeling that it’s off.

Ooh, that’s more challenging, but likely looks beautiful. My fingers are crossed for you that the counters and other elements help pull it all together in a way that works for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you change lighting and wall color to make it a little better?

Do you really think that would be cheaper? Plus, OP shouldn’t have to do that.

Cheaper than repainting or replacing all the cabinets? Absolutely.

If your contract was clear and there was a mistake made, you could really push things to get the cabinets replaced or repainted. But is that reasonable? For me, I would not want them repainted. I could tell the difference. Getting them replaced is a tall order and last resort. You made a big investment and you should get what was specified in your contract but you really should consider if the the solution will be better than sticking with the cabinets as they are and trying to find a reasonable fix. I empathize with you OP. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

OP if there are two colors, I would get it fixed. But it’s going to cost a lot and it’s at least partly your fault for not using a proper color formula. Next time.

[Anonymous]

Will you notice 25% lighter in a few months? If not, can you wait longer for the cabinets to be redone?

Personally I would not notice or care in a couple of months even though it would feel like a big deal today.

[Anonymous]

Can you offer some money to redo the bottom set before the counters arrive?

[Anonymous]

I can't tell if you worked with a contractor/design company who should take this up with the cabinet people or if you direct contracted.

Either way, I'd stare at A LOT of two tone kitchens online and decide how much I hated it/if I could live with it. If I could, I'd request a discount for the error. If I couldn't, I'd have them redo it at their cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, they’re not the wrong color, exactly. They’re the right color, but they were supposed to be 25% lighter. Instead they’re just the off-the-shelf shade.

We were clear in writing in multiple places, and there was never a communication with that color that didn’t also include the phrase “25% lighter. (Color was not in the contract). The contractor just didn’t read some things closely, and definitely didn’t read other things at all.

We worked really hard to get the exact right color, undertone, etc for our precise light and space and other elements. Contractor (independent, solo) also worked really hard and in all other ways did a great job.

It’s such a stupid a first world problem, and they are otherwise beautiful, and I feel like a whiny little B saying, “well, they’re alllllmost right, but they’re just a smidge too dark.” (But to my eyes they *are* just a smidge too dark.)

WWYD? Even if I asked for something, what would it be? They were sprayed in the workshop, and now they’re in place.

Too late. You should have had one done and put in place to assure the color mix was right and what you wanted.

Hindsight 20/20.

Also, you can change the color of lighting in the room to adjust the darkness appearance of the paint. LED's are actually useful for this if you get the right wavelength and filters.

Over time you won't notice.

[Anonymous]

Try changing your lightbulbs.

LED lights can really distort colors

[Anonymous]

are these painted or stained?

painted? contractor repaints.

also, i think 25% lighter just isn't enough difference to be different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:are these painted or stained?

painted? contractor repaints.

also, i think 25% lighter just isn't enough difference to be different.

This. Highly subjective. Would be awful to force a contractor to lose money over some OCD thing like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they look good and cohesive with the rest of the kitchen?

OP, hoping I can respond before the internet blinks out again as work continues in the kitchen!

The color isn’t the problem per se. But the uppers and lowers are two different colors (I know not everyone likes two-tone cabinets, but would be great not to debate that right now). To pull the two-tone thing off, the lowers should be darker than the uppers by a certain amount, and now they’re not. The colors are independently great, but there’s just not quite enough contrast between them. So when I look at them together I get an “off” feeling.
It’s only 25%, but it definitely would have looked sharper with more contrast.

Maybe I’ll mind less when counters are in. Maybe I’ll just paint it myself someday, I feel ridiculous, but I don’t know how to shake that feeling that it’s off.

If the counters aren't in, this is the time for your contractor to remove them and try again