anything can be painted if prepped and primed properly..

Can be stripped, sanded and restained to a color you like. Difficult to go lighter though.

I think the cabinets look great. I would surely change the floor to something warmer and not trendy.

Well, I don't know if this is on the cabinet guy...it seems that you made a decision and he did what you wanted him to do.

I'm sure he will again do what you want him to, as long as he gets paid and it doesn't hold him up as far as other jobs go.

It will be much easier to sand and paint them, rather than sand and restain them. Also, that might be a better choice given your busy floor. They won't argue like they are now...

Let it go and paint it after you move in. I do not know what stained wood will go with that floor.

Do you have a pic of what you approved? Was it the same wood?

I’d have them painted for sure. They do look dated And bad with the floor. But they will look great painted. But use a really Good painter.

Whoa! It’s the floor, not the vanity that’s the issue in my opinion.

I like the vanity. It's not an orangy or yellowish stain, and doesn't have a rounded door design. So not dated looking to me. But agree, doesn't go with your floor.

There's no such thing as "clear stain". What are you really describing?

They look like my kids bathroom cabinets from 95 same door drawer mine r stained a medium brown red oak never been redone and I changed the knob to satin nickel lol. Your tile seems modern IMO and the cabinets style more country farm house. so what style r u going for. I’m a dyi person n have stripped n restrained lots of cabinets n furniture. It wouldn’t take much to restrain n even quicker to paint. The cabinet guy just wants to be done with your job n move on.

How were you expecting them to look?

And will your counter top be harmonious with your flooring?

The cabinets work. It’s that awful gray floor that doesn’t work. Change it.

No, you can’t stain a wood that is sealed. The labor to strip it would rival that of just building an all new vanity. If you want something different, just replace it.

Personally I like the floor a lot - just find a really good painter and paint the cabinets. Problem solved.

IMO the wood is the problem if you wanted all that grain to show then you got what you asked for I personally think the floor and the cabinets are fighting eachother and not you will be adding another element with the counter.BTW tell your cabinet guy he is an idiot if he can’t figure how to stain them darker or paint them. I think if they were stained black they would work with the floor and then add a plain white quartz top.

I like the cabinets. Not loving the floor, but a great rug can help with that. Change the hardware.

Also, Patricia’s solution is a great option as well. A black stain would look great. Fusion Mineral Paint could be a paint solution.

I agree with most everyone else upthread. The floors and the cabinets just don't go together at all.

Please don't think I'm beating you up because I struggle with things like this too, but there's no way on God's green earth the tones of that cabinet and the grey floor were ever going to play well together.....and that's got to be more "on you" than the cabinet guy.

I personally LOVE natural wood. Real natural wood, not the greyed out stuff that's currently so popular. So I freaking love your cabinets, and I'd change the floor into something that harmonizes better.

Looks like the same floors I have. One bath has off white cabinets and the other gray. I agree with the others, paint or stain a different color.

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They can be restained but it is so much work that the least costly alternative is to reface them essentially but I think if you are using a custom cabinet maker, having him just make a new vanity would be less expensive.

Not to pile on because God knows I lack design sense and so I hired a designer to make choices, but there just isn't any wood that would work with the floor because it is essentially a wood grain and an artificial wood grain at that.

As between the two elements, I would get rid of the floor because it is going to completely control any choices you make in the future and it's a trendy look which is going to date the floors in the same way as avocado green or harvest yellow define a particular style era - and not in a good way.

As others have posted, the color of the stain is not the issue as it's a rather nice warm light to medium stain. However, you picked a wood species that is really really busy and has a lot of grain. There are alternative woods that still give one a warm wood feeling and aren't so busy.

I recently remodeled and my cabinets are a quarter sawn oak which are stained a medium/light caramel. When I was approving my doors, the cabinet maker actually stained a miniature (about half size) door for me to approve. I had to go through a few rounds until the color was perfect - there were figurative cheers around the room as my GC, designer, the cabinet guy and some other random workers all approved the choice :-). FWIW, I noticed that a portion of a wood chair had the color I liked and he actually took it to his shop to replicate. He then brought back the door and I had to initial it as proof that it was the door.

Even with all that, there are always going to be visual shocks when a lay person sees finished results because the bottom line is that most of us don't have the eyes to see how things will turn out - thank the Lord for good designers who do have that visual imagination and can take our bits and pieces and inspiration and lead us into a final result that actually IS perfect (or as close to perfect as one can get LOL). But in my experience, almost everything to me was somewhat of a visual shock.

In my long winded way, I would say now is the time to change especially since you are willing to pay money to have a look that makes you happy. However, I would urge you to reconsider your flooring choices because I think the vanity (wood and stain) is quite lovely and would look well with other choices - and those choices wouldn't be as limited as they now are by the extremely DOMINANT floor.

FWIW, here's a shot of my bathroom vanities which have a similar light/medium wood tone and a photo of the chair which I used as a guide for the stain color I wanted.

Things often look different in the showroom than in your own home. Did you bring a sample of the flooring to the showroom, so you could see how they looked together?

I agree with the others that love the cabinet, but not the floor, and certainly not the two together. Try putting a big rug, a sheet, or something to cover the whole floor, and see how you feel about the cabinet.

Love the cabinets. Like others stated the cabinets and floor don't work well together. It also seems like the style of the floor doesn't match the style of the cabinets. I'd change the floor.

Have to agree with the others. The cabinet is beautiful but the floors not so much plus they really are already dated

It seems you got what you asked for. What kind of wood did he use for your cabinets and the sample you saw. Could make a difference.

Are you nearly done with cabinets? Consider hiring an interior designer for future decisions if you are not nearly done. It may save you money in the long run

Your cabinet person may have other jobs and want to move on. A designer could potentially speed up your process if you can make choices once with confidence instead of modifications during installs

Put a nice dhuri rug that matches the beautiful cabinets a bit more.

Paint them the color of the grout lines in the floor. The two "grains" are an issue for me.

Paint the cabinets or change the floor. I actually think the cabinets look really nice. I have a lot of gray in my home too, but in this scenario, I think I'd keep the cabinets and change the floors!

It does not take much work to paint the cabinet right now. Remove the back screws take it out, remove the doors and spray everything primer and finish. I hope you did not pay much for those.

Unfortunately, the species of wood and the sawing technique which was used created a "wild" grain pattern totally unsuited for a semi-transparent stain. The result is a cabinet which is simply atrocious and deserves to become kindling.

As as others have said, the wild grain, and resulting color fights with the flooring. And it's a losing battle.

One or the other has to go.

Soon.

What style are you going for? You mentioned it is for a teen bathroom, right? The floor definitely reads more modern. Personally I would not love those cabinets but I also shy away from anything rustic, farmhouse or otherwise. I think it’s up to your style. If it were me I would paint the cabinets white or a gray that exists in the floor, and leave it a more modern look, especially since it’s for teens. But again, what’s in the rest of your house? It should all flow.

If you can get your cabinet guy to do it, great. Otherwise, 2 ideas that are easy and inexpensive. gel stain. works great. we remodeled our kitchen cabinets with gel stain in 2008 and they still look great. So easy to do. Also use the gel topcoat. No sanding required. https://generalfinishes.com/wood-finishes-retail/oil-based-wood-stains-sealers/oil-based-gel-stains Or, if you want a painted look, chalk paint. No sanding required. use a good sealer to protect finish. Best of luck.

May be do not make any decision until factoring in your counter top choice.

You might have expected something more like this:

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This is white oak, but it is cut to reduce the grain.

I went through a Parade Home last night with this kitchen - again, it has less grain:

In both cases, a warm wood floor was chosen.

Your floor is modern while the cabinet is rustic and warm. The two don't go well together. I love the cabinet and I think just using different hardware could help you change its look and make it more contemporary. But even if you do manage to strip, sand and get the color you will like, it's still going to have this warm wood look that won't go well with the floor. Would you consider changing the tiles?

This is not exactly a nightmare, just not the best choice!

Did we lose the OP?

Earlier I showed what the OP might have been expecting, but i actually have similar to OP in two of my bathrooms. This one is about 9 years old and I like it just fine.

I wish the grain on the doors went the same direction as everything else.

40 comments and none from OP. Looks like the community is more interested in this topic than the op.

Problem here is too much pattern on pattern and competition of real wood versus faux wood. I would balance it out by painting the cabinetry. I would choose a color from the tile or a color to complement so they BOTH work off each other.

That's Hickory for you.

You could try white washing them, I like the one made by General Finishes. If you don’t like it then you could always still strip and restrain.

Bethany, how are things going. Hope you are now into your new home.,

Bethany, you've gotten some good advice but don't panic. Building a house is a lot of stress but everything and anything can be changed now or even later. I agree with you that the cabinets do look dated, like the old fashioned builder's grade oak cabinets that we're all painting and replacing now. I'm a fan of painting cabinets and adding some gorgeous hardware and a great stone top. Whatever you choose, just choose something you love.

God greif I just realized this is from June pretty sure it was solved by now