What is flooring, counters, wall color, knobs?

The flooring is a very dark, almost espresso colored bamboo hardwood floor. Counters are granite (the name of the granite is mumbaso, has a green, beige and little black in it). As of now the walls are Sherwin Williams Pashimi (it is a neutral color with a hint of green in it) and the knobs brushed nickel. Also, would anybody have an opinion on whether or not the cabinet makers would be or should be responsible for fixing the color. My husband feels that the color has changed quite a bit since when we first had them installed a year ago. They definitely did not look this pink when we first accepted them. They look exceptionally bad under unnatural light. Thank you for your help

You don't show a close up picture of your cabinetry, but what I envision is what was called a pickled finish back in the 80's. That particular treatment shows color ranging from an orangy or salmon tone to just a slight pinkish tint depending upon what wood was used for the cabinetry. Some species of wood continue to change colors throughout their lifetime, particularly cherry. IMO, the cabinet supplier is not responsible for this. At some point, many folks go ahead and have the cabinets professionally painted to get rid of the pink tones.

Trying to find a cabinet that is painted yet shows some woodgrain is very difficult. We go to custom cabinets when a client wants to do this as it is just not typically available. This doesn't help you any, but possibly this will steer others that read this and want the same type look.

I cannot find the paint color you indicate. I can find a BM Pashmina. I would pull things toward the gray/green tones of the paint and stay away from beiges or anything that would pull out the pink tones - but again we have not seen pictures of your space.

Deborah,

Thank you for your reply. I mispoke myself, the color is BM pashmina, not Sherwin Williams. I also wanted to clarify that the cabinets were all custom made. I wasn't sure if you thought they were not custom. I will try to get a picture that captures the "pickled" look and attach soon.

The cabinet manufacturer would not be responsible for the finish chosen by the customer.

I don't know how this would work over an already finished door, but you might try it on a replicated piece of the same wood and pickling process and see if you like it. (I've done this for a customer who was very satisfied with the finish but on bare wood, not an already finished door). Spray paint a primer coat, lightly sand and then top coat it with lacquer.

Yes please attach a picture. If those were custom made locally, then you may have some options on the finish. It will depend upon the skill of the cabinet shop that did the finishing. I assumed that the cabinets were purchased through a cabinet shop - several stock lines like Brookhaven used to do that pickled look.

Painting the walls a darker color might help. The color Pashmina seems to be a pinky-beige, too, so is reinforcing the pinky-beige color of the cabinets.. Read this article by Maria Killam. Maria Killam is a talented designer & color expert. She says if you have an unfortunate neutral (like your cabinets) to paint the walls dark. http://www.mariakillam.com/2012/10/how-to-disappear-a-bad-beige.html

A dark red might work on the walls & lessen the impact of the cabinets. This kitchen wall is a color close to Sherwin William's Truepenny.

The back splash should harmonize with the granite! Choose one of the colors in the granite! I would try to match the granite very closely:

Before changing the wall color or choosing the granite, read this on choosing color for a room (examine the color in various lights). http://www.lindaholtinteriors.com/2011/07/testing-wall-color-101/

Maybe the kitchen lighting could be changed, so the colors in the kitchen will look better, or look more as they do in natural lighting.

One more thought regarding possibly trying the route of painting the walls darker. The kitchen ceiling is pretty low. Do you think it would look like a "cave" painting the walls dark as well since the floor is almost a black hardwood. The hardwood floor is Teragren midnight black I believe.

RE: Pink tint, is it possible your lighting is contributing to the pinkish tint? I found that to be a factor in my house. For some reason, the fluorescent bulbs we got added a pink tint to the warm whites we chose for the walls. Husband was bitterly complaining he hates pink and everything is pink. Changed some lightbulbs and it is better.

I think you're right, painting the walls dark could make the ceiling appear lower. I say this, b/c one of the ways to make ceilings appear higher is to paint ceilings in the same light color as the walls...so it seems to follow that large contrasts of color between ceiling and wall might make ceilings appear lower.

I would not tamper with cabinets by adding glaze or anything else. You have nice cabinets that are only 1 year old. You are only dissatisfied with the color...if you start glazing them, there is no telling what additional problems you might run into.

Here is another thing to try. Maria Killam (mentioned her in previous post) says the following colors look good with pinky-beige: Blue, Cream, Red. I think towels: red with a little cream as an accent might help the pinky-beige and look good with the green granite, too. If the red does not work 4 U, try a cream accent without the red.

If you try to glaze them, that might give you an interesting effect. Are they Maple? If so, the pores on Maple are tight and it won't absorb as much of the glaze as another wood would, but it might be worth a try on the backside of one of the drawer fronts to see what it would do. Also, make sure you use a glaze that is the same brand as the lacquer to make sure they are compatible. You'd also have to find out if the glaze had to be sealed.

If they were mine, I would be tempted to paint them as close to the color I originally had in mind. But not all paints and lacquers are compatible. I would call the manufacturer of the lacquer and find out what product they would suggest. You would also have to find out first if the original product was a water based or solvent based lacquer.

I am definitely going to play around with the lighting to see if that helps but if not, I was wondering how you would go about painting them. Do you actually have to remove them from the kitchen and have them done or can some one come in to the home and paint without having to tear them out. That sounds like it would be very costly and possibly risk damaging the floor. Sorry if I seem like I don't know what I'm doing but I don't! Lol! Thanks for all the help on Houzz website.

The best finish is to spray them. A professional painter could tell you if he was comfortable spraying them in place and whether he could spray without damaging the surroundings. I do know one who did it routinely for a builder. But definitely before you hire someone visit the jobs he's done and talk to the homeowners about their satisfaction level. Look closely at the work with a door open. When I sprayed cabinets in the shop, I sealed off the frames with masking tape and sealed the openings with construction paper, so there was no overspray inside the cabinet. The area would have to be sealed off with plastic and there would be fumes to deal with.

Alternatively a safer option would be be to take the doors and drawer fronts off and have them sprayed off-site and just brush just the frames. I would avoid brushing anything except the frames-- they don't really show anyway on your cabinets.

Thanks for the cabinet pictures. Since you said your cabinets were custom made, I would contact the cabinet maker and have them come out and help you with your options. If you think you want to do something with your cabinets, it will be expensive, so have the cabinet maker do a couple of test boards or test doors for you so you can see the impact. Live with them a couple of weeks before you decide whether or not to make a change.

If you are considering painting the walls darker, then try some test boards first to see how various colors look in your space. Changing out light bulbs as was mentioned above is a good first step as well. Make any changes slowly and only after testing - you could be jumping from the frying pan into the fire and it would be hard to back up if you don't like something.