I don't know much about stains but before your painter does anything else you might want to give a local paint store a call. Not a big box type store where a teenager who's been working for 2 weeks is now the manager of the department. But, an actual paint store with an owner that knows the business inside and out. Ask if there are options at this point.
Keep in mind too, if you saw the cabinets last night in un-natural lighting then you might be surprised in the daylight. If you thought it was right with your sample strips then it cannot be to far off. If you're not sure then changing it could bring bigger problems for you when your flooring goes in.
When our cabinets were stained our windows were also covered for the wall paint. The stain looked extremely dark but once the windows were uncovered and it was daylight they were indeed the right color.

Four coats of stain?

Do you have good electricity in the house? If you're looking at the cabinets in bad lighting, it can make a difference.

The four coats the painter referred to was more than likely a sanding sealer,stain,followed by two coats of clear coat, not four coats of stain.Most stains darken more with each coat.

I think you guys are right about the lighting. Allison, we have no electricity yet. I was just over there again this morning and either I'm getting used to it or it looks much better with bright sunshine streaming through the window. The Kitchen area, and especially the island are quite dark. But the painter warned us the island might look that way. It's 11 feet and that much stain across the room really gets magnified.

The pieces that are sitting in an area where the natural light comes through look great so I'm going to hang my hat on that and hope once the kitchen lighting goes in, it will be better.

sierraeast, that makes sense. I sure hope they don't continue to add more stain to make it darker. I hope it's just the clear coats you're talking about.

Here's a picture of the kitchen with the flash. It's actually darker than this in person but again...the lighting sucks so I'm sure my eyes are playing tricks.

Here's a close up of a cabinet face that is sitting in my Master Bedroom with tons of natural light coming through the window. This is the color we were going for.

Lindy-rest easy, I think your cabinets are STUNNING! I bet you'll be thrilled when it's all done.

Yes, stunning! Start worrying about something else! ;)

I agree with everyone else-gorgeous cabinets and the sample door is stunning! Remember also that your papered up walls are affecting the overall look, once everything is finished you will perceive your cabinets much differently. Paint colors and stained finishes always look a little more intense or darker when they are up vs seeing a small sample. I think your Kitchen is going to be beautiful!

Getting just the right stain can really freak a person out can't it?
...I remember DH messed for weeks to find the "perfect" honey color. The whole time I'm saying we need to pick out our flooring first because it's harder to match a floor than a stain. But, GC kept saying "it's as good a place to start as any".... MEN!.... Well, thank goodness we hadn't stained the cabinets yet b/c DH comes home one day with the "perfect" tung oil white oak 8" wide plank flooring. And, that perfect honey colored stain.... looked like carp next to it. Then it was my turn to fret over the "perfect" brown stain! LOL

Lindy, I agree with everyone, start worrying about something else. The cabs are just beautiful! You must be so excited!

Amy

Lindy,

Your cabinetry is beautiful. I agree with everyone, they do not look too dark in the photos.

What type of wood are they made of? It is gorgeous!!!!

Oh you guys sure know how to perk a girl up! Thanks so much! I know it will all come together but worrying is part of this process, isn't it? LOL! I'm just hoping the Teak Floor looks good with such dark cabinets. The floor is not finished yet so just another thing to add to my worry list.

kats, that is the perfect honey color. I love it!! Stain is hard, you're right. My Sister said, don't you just go to the showroom and pick something out. I wish it were that easy. We sat with the painter for an hour trying to get just the right formula.

mavs, it's Alder wood. Still a little splotchy in places but I'm sure when it's all put back together I will wonder what I was fretting about.

THANKS EVERYONE!

Lindy

LOL Kats, just re-read your post. Perfect honey stain looked like CRAP...now you have perfect brown! LOL

Still love it!

good LORD... get some light in there and dance on top of that stunning island! a disco ball perhaps?

The kitchen is stunning...the color is gorgeous.

Slapping Forehead:::: Oh Damn, I forgot to order the disco ball!!!! Another mistake made....whaaaaaaa!

ROFL!

Thanks for all the stunning comments! ;c)

lindy, your cabs are GORGEOUS! stop worrying, as others have said. yeah, they're darker than your sample door, but they are absolutely beautiful so it's not worth your concern to worry another minute. and as for the teak floor, all your cabs need to be are two notches lighter or darker than your wood floors and it's fine. you simply don't want them too matchy. you're going to have an amazing kitchen. relax. that's an order! :)

Lindy,
When you order that disco ball, you should probably get a 'pole' as well. Your kitchen would look unfinished without it. Of course placement could be tricky as it is important to make sure that the disco ball highlights the pole while not drawing attention from it and that you have enough headroom over your island to accomodate...well whatever you might want to do...your kitchen will be truly unique and a really fun place to cook and ENTERTAIN! ;)

Note to self:

Add Pole
Sign up for stripper lessons
Order Strobe Lights

Be sure to check in with your local building dept to see how far away from the cooktop the pole must be.Have an electrical engineer do all the calcs for the strobes.The disco ball can only be a diameter in proximity to kitchen square footage.Glow in the dark paints aren't allowed in certain counties.Dress codes prohibit polyester and bell bottoms in the millineum!

Your cabs are beautiful! Mine are also alder and my stain is very similar. If they come out half as nice as yours, I will be very pleased.

Kygirl, that's my fear is the Teak floor is going to match the cabinets. At this point, I can't do anything about it. The floor is in but not finished yet. It just gets a clear coat on top, no stain. From what I can tell though, there are several colors in that floor so maybe it'll be fine.

Thanks Kellyeng, are you getting close to cabinet time yet? I forgot what stage you are. You'll have to post pics when you get yours in. I love Alder wood.

Sierra....ROFL!

The boxes are all done and installed, we just need the doors and drawers. I'm heading over there in a few minutes and taking my camera. Hopefully there will something worth photographing!

Sorry Lindy, forgot to mention that like the others, i think the stain and your cabinetry is outrageous.Beautiful island!

All right, I know I'm coming in late in the game and lindybarts, you're probably already convinced that you should not worry a wink because your kitchen is GORGEOUS...but as a biased alder-lover, let me also chime in and say don't worry a wink because your kitchen is GORGEOUS!

Aloha,
Leilani

P.S. The pom-pom banana is TOO FUNNY! :)

lindybarts~

I agree with everyone else... your kitchen is gorgeous. Nothing to fear in that room..... my goodness. It's stunning!

The island is absolutely amazing.... and that color stain is spectacular! So much that you've almost got me rethinking my kitchen cabinetry color choices. We're doing alder too, but I wasn't doing a stain. Hmmmm...... thanks alot for confusing me further with your lovely kitchen. :o) LOL!

Any more photos to share? You can't keep all of that beauty to yourself. A peek of the master bath? Maybe a shot of a staircase? WE simply must see more Lindy! :O) Please?!

totallyblessed, you are so kind! Thank you! Our builder originally had quoted us on no stain as well but then we saw some cabinets like the ones we got and just had to have them. I think no stain is going to look great too because Alder is so chameleon-like. It looks great no matter what you do.

Good Luck with yours!

Pictures maybe next week. It's hard to take some with all the paper taped up.

Lindy

Ah Linday, you need to get some colored lights going in there too! And I think the pole needs to be on the right side of the island, since it looks like you have a sink on the left. Oh, and the ambiance will be better since you won't be competing so much with the light from the windows...
Actually, your cabinets look fantastic! Did you do the same throughout the rest of the house or did you mix and match a little? Either way, very, very nice!

My work computer blocks the pictures, so I couldn't WAIT to go home and view your cabs....absolutely stunning! Congrats on a truly beautiful house (what I can see of it!)!

Thanks fishpants! Yes, we did the same cabinets in that stain for the Great Room, Office and all bathrooms. The laundry room and hallway have the same style but in paint grade. (white) They just did all the trim today and it makes everything POP! I love it now. Thanks so much for talking me off the ledge everyone! Now I just have to nudge hubby a bit more and he'll come around too.

juniork, you are so nice! Thanks so much and I promise more pictures next week. The painter just called and is buying the exterior paint today. And I can't wait til my granite goes in. This is truely the fun part.

hey lindy,

I know I COULD wait for the photos, but I'll ask anyway..... what granite did you choose for your kitchen? Can't wait to see it all pulled together with your TEAK (seriously?! Get out... too pretty!!) floors. :o)

We decided on New Venetian Gold. The backsplash is going to be Tumbled Travertine in Mountain Beige with bronze accents which should match my Kohler Brazen Bronze faucet.

Our builder told me he hadn't planned on the granite slab until June 25th but because the cabinets went so quickly this week, he might try and move it up. I'm anxious for everything as you can imagine. Who said patience is a virtue?

We also have a teak floor - bo stain, finished with satin Waterlox. Highly recommended, BTW

Anyway, it goes great with our dark Mahogany cabinets. So don't worry.

I did a double take when I looked at that kitchen!!! Just beautiful - really truly! Show these messages to your husband and he will know how amazing it really is...congratulations to you.

chazas, ohhh, I'd love to see photos of yours! Plus, there are several of us on here doing Teak floors and I'm sure others would like to see too!

columbia, thanks so much!

My partner (who's the architect) has a little website with progress photos of our house. There's a good picture up now on the front page of our living room and the teak floors with the Waterlox coating. Unfortunately the only cabinet pictures we have up now are of the painted cabinets (half are painted, half are dark mahogany). You can see the mahogany paneling in the stair hall, though - mahogany plywood with mahogany trim making rectangular panels. The builder built and stained it, we waxed (!)it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Placecraft

chazas, your house is looking beautiful! I love the stone or tile work in the bathrooms, and your teak floors are gorgeous. Looks like you are getting there! My DH and I lived in your fair city for a year, and I really enjoyed it so much. I could walk everywhere, and tons of parks within walking distance for my (at that time) two young girls.

Amy

That is one GORGEOUS floor chazas! I hope ours turns out like that. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful house.

Lindy--can you hear my sighs and oohs and ahhs? Gorgeous--everything! What a great job you have done. Be proud! Love it, love it! Don't change stain at all!

This is off the thread, but I noticed on another thread your progress pics and that you used board and batten. (Gorgeous everything again--love your style!) If you don't mind me asking, did you use, (for a lack of technical terms), real wood or manufactured siding type? What type of maintenance will you have with your choice? And, did you carry it all around the sides and back? DH not too handy :(, so I'm worried about a lot of maintenance.

If we have to start cutting things on our plan due to budget issues, I don't want to lose my stone on the front, (call it my!), but I would rather lose the brick. We were thinking cedar shakes and/or board & batten. Just was hoping to "pick your brain" and see what helped you make your decision.

Thanks in advance. If you want, you can email me. Thanks too for sharing your photos and experiences.

evanthecatisaboy, THANK YOU! You are so nice. Actually both hubby and I adore the stain now. It just goes to show you that first impressions aren't always right in the building process. Wait until the trim is done and the paper comes off the darn windows before passing judgement. LOL!

Anyway, yes, the board and batten is real wood. I suppose it will be a fair amount of maintenance but every product has it's pros and cons, right? We have siding on the other 3 sides. My dh is not handy either. The two of us make awful homeowners. We call for service on everything! LOL

Lindy