The wall color in sample help blend out the darker stone. Are your walls painted if they are than you have a big contrast that makes stone seem darker than sample (at least on my screen yours stone n sample look similar) If you get wall paint up n still hate it or builder want replace for ya Then romobio nube gray lime wash will give u the light gray you want you need to do a light application to tone down the darker stone. Stuff super easy to use.

I would not be happy either. It looks much, much darker overall and I see very little of that almost black stone in either of your inspiration pics. Do you know the name of the supplier of the stone? Can you get on their website and see if they have a colorway that is darker than the one you chose? It may be the builder used the wrong stone and you could insist it be redone. Not sure what you can do if you can't show it's the wrong stuff. Either way, the installation is aesthetically poor with the way they installed those three matching stones on the lower right instead of randomly varying them with the darker stones.

Is the hearth mortared? The slabs look too far apart there, too.

Thank you. The walls are not painted, however, they will be light, once painted. They must be, because I have dark floors going in. So yeah, it will be a huge contrast.

I think it is the same colorway, but it almost looks like they just opened the box and started pulled stones out and putting them up however they were laid in there rather than looking at the range of colors, spreading them out a bit, and designing a variegated, loose yet natural looking pattern, where you get a little of everything in almost every bite, using the black stuff very sparingly as an accent, which is what I assumed anyone would do.

i guess it could have been a particularly dark batch, for some reason, but the sample board they have in the design center gave no indication of the dominance of the dark colors. The ratio was about 50 light, 30 midrange, 20 darker.

The other issue is that our superintendent never gives us updates as to what’s coming up next. We were told by our sales rep that he would be providing updates nonstop. And it is true, he is not checking the materials that come in against what I ordered, because there have been wrong cabinets come in, and they installed the wrong banister. They are lucky I can live with the banister. Had I known they were doing fireplaces next, I would have ridden out there and guided the process. He is obviously not there doing that.

Force a weekly meeting with the site super and ask what's on the plan and is everything correct. When given a choice, the site guys WON'T engage with the homeowner, as you just slow things down with all your desires to make things right!!! ;-)

What does your spec sheet say about the stone and is that the stone? If you have that specified and they installed something different, you can be stronger in your demands.

You will have to go get the sample and put it up against what was actually installed you cannot go off of previously installed application images especially if this is a natural product

Stone is porous. It absorbs moisture and appears darker right after setting than it does after a week or so of drying out. There’s also natural variation. Plus the fireplace is in shadow, with no lighting. All of that is combining to be crazy making. It will be fine when it’s all dried out, with the correct lighting shining on it.

Just an FYI - if you are having dark floors, I think this stone - as is - will be striking. You might want to hold your decision until the floors are in (or get a decent photoshopped to help you.

You look like you have an abundance of light (GREAT!) in both of these rooms, meaning you can pull this off.

The first question I always ask a rep when I'm considering natural stone from a sample is "how does this stone look today". And the rep will let me know how the new shipments compare to the sample boards. Lighter, darker, busier, etc. This looks to be the same stone as the inspiration photos, but it could be that the stone that was recently quarried is darker than the ones quarried previously. Checking in on site during install would have given you an opportunity to make sure the stone was correct or to request the installer favor lighter pieces over darker ones. When it comes to natural stone, I generally order 30% overage so that the installer can remove the pieces we do not want.

Off topic - are those direct vent fireplaces? If so, please check the manual for recommended heights of non-combustible material. Your mantels look low for direct-vent fireplace applications.

I can see the darker pieces compared to your sample picture, but as others have said, the sample has the darker walls and floor to balance it out. You also have to remember that online photos are usually touched up to show products in the best light.

I think it's unfortunate that you have to remember that the contractors are likely doing everything quickly and aren't going to take the time to sort through the tiles and pick the best ones. They want to get the job done. When we added a bathroom to our basement last year, I had to specifically tell my contractor to go through the tile to get a good variation in color and he looked at me like I had 3 heads. In the end, he didn't pick as much variation as *I* would have had I laid the tile myself, but I tend to be a bit of a control freak like that. I doubt the builder is going to do it over as it does look like the sample, just a bit darker.

Edit - realized I didn't answer your questions. If it was me, I'd not ask the builder to redo it as the tile itself looks like it was installed well (you see plenty of examples of bad tiles installations on this site). I don't know the requirements needed for direct vent fireplaces, but if the clearances are incorrect, then I can see a redo on the builder's dime. However, I think with this kind of stone you're going to get a lot of variation and unless you're sitting there picking out the individual stones, then the redoo may be worse than what you have now. I would pick paint and flooring to go with it. And it will look a lot difference once it's fully cured and everything else is in your space.

Your mantels look low for direct-vent fireplace applications.

Good catch! 12"-13" is a typical restriction. If so, the combustible wood corbels would be too low. But each fireplace manufacturer has different requirements.

The bottom inspiration photo actually reveals some potential problems. Dark stone outlines the opening on the left, but not on the right. Lighter stone on the right give the same stripe as in your fireplace. And anyway decor obscures much of the stone in the bottom picture.

It appears there will be a tv over your mantel, which will unfortunately (IMO) cover up some of the few color stones. But it will also be dark anyway, so will the stone be an issue?

I agree that the finished hearth isn’t as nice as the inspiration photo.

[...] but the sample board they have in the design center [....]

The other issue is that our superintendent never gives us updates as to
what’s coming up next. We were told by our sales rep that he would be
providing updates nonstop. [....] Had I known they were doing
fireplaces next, I would have ridden out there and guided the process.
He is obviously not there doing that.

What you say here makes me think that y'all are building a tract/production house, which means you might not have the options that other posters are suggesting. :-(

I have built only 2 tract homes, and I've never been given updates by the superintendent (I'm lucky to meet him two or three times), and while I have been *specifically* told by the sales reps that I am welcome on-site to check on the houses (not all builders allow this), I have never shown up while workers were there.

I agree with One Dame on the “sales rep” issue. I thought the same thing - that this is a mass production home. If it is, good luck with “forcing a head to head” meeting. Do you actually own the home now, or will you close when it is complete?

I think it is pretty as is. It looks like it may still be wet and darker from the install. But even if it stays as is, it is lovely.

True, it is a big builder, and we are not in it, yet. We are set to close mid-January.

I like what you have. I think it's the nature of the beast when dealing with natural materials and/or materials with a lot of variation. Not everyone has the most discerning eyes either.

So on something like this, I think you almost have to go into knowing that some degree of variation is expected. Yours falls within expected tolerances, for me.

If you don’t close on the house till next month, your leverage to make changes now is probably pretty low. Good luck.

Ugh, sorry for your disappointment. In our last house, I, too, wanted a lighter gray fireplace but when installed, it looked darker than I had envisioned. I did learn to live with and appreciate it over time, though.

May I ask how wide your fireplaces are and what size the inserts are?

Thank you. I’m sorry, I do not know the measurements. We’re set to move in about a month. The good news is the builder seems sympathetic is going to see what they can do.

I like your mix of stones color wise much more than what you were hoping for in the samples because i feel like yours is more versatile and frankly because I don’t love gray. I like the mixture of warm colors with gray. I would probably try to live with what you have and frankly I think your fireplaces look pretty good except for one area...those four stones circled in red really bother me. I would probably insist that those four be popped off and redone with a better mix. I know it can be done because we have several exterior stone walls that I had a few stones taken off and redone.

I have to say I’m not crazy about the color of your mantle. Is that the color you chose? Or is it off too?

That is the color they do for every mantle. I’m sure I could paint it. Any paint colors you like for this?

Update: They fixed those stripes in the lower right corner and it all appears quite a bit lighter, overall. Maybe it *was* wet/needed to dry/cure. Am I right that this looks better today?

Agree with ilovered and would insist they redo the very poor application of the corner stones circled in red. That would bother me much more than the dark color.

I think it looks great now. I don't love the mantle and after you're in, I would stain it a darker color. I wouldn't paint it.

I agree, I think it looks better now. Thank you very much for the stain idea. I will be doing that.

Two thumbs up Heather. Stain later when you have time..no hurry.

MUCH better!

So much better! Congrats on your new home!

Thank you all. You’ve been very helpful and kind!