I'm so sorry. Did your contractor mock up the clear coat for you on the sample and then not do it, did you specify product anywhere and he changed that, or was it just verbal or written clear coat and in his mind he just thought why not use wax instead? Wax to me seems to be a product used on wood pieces that don't get much use, not on kitchen cabinets.

I see how the untreated looks scandi and the treated look mountain cabinet. Greater minds than mine can tell you how to repair the wax finish or if it can be stripped off.

@kendrah nothing in writing. I just asked for a clear coat to protect the wood, and he knew I was trying to keep the wood the same to match the flooring. He said it would darken a bit but I expected that, not yellow! Thanks for your thoughts!

I would eat the cost and order new doors. The wax has gone into the grain and even stripping may not get the color back and any finish applied over the wax may not adhere. Looks like a small kitchen - hopefully not a lot of doors to replace.

I don’t know about birch, but I know that maple turns even a “clear” coat (which isn’t really exactly clear) a pinky-orange color. Is it possible a similar thing happens with birch?

That is an oil based sealer. It's what crapola Minwax junk does. Stop using handymen for cabinet finishing. And stop using "cabinet guys" who don't finish their cabinets, like an actual cabinet maker will.

Sorry this happened to you! Specific is terrific, always put it all in writing wrt specific products. I would just take a deep breath and move on. They look fine, and buyers will never know you intended them to be different.🙂

It doesn't look that bad. It's a flip, so will it really matter? Let the buyers handle it. It's not "your vision" but aren't you just putting stuff in there there looks new-ish in order to sell it? I don't think your vision matters much, given that it's a flip. But now you learned a lesson about your contractors, and on the next one, you'll use someone else, or become much more choosy about the products you want to use.

I agree to move on - I would see what it looks like with black hardware so the dark cabs connect to the wood

The upper cabinets are too warm toned to go with the surrounding cool colors. They totally interrupt the look of the kitchen.

If possible (might not after the waxing?), I would paint the uppers a white color that matches to the white in the countertop and backsplash.

I would paint the uppers the same gray as the lower cabinets.

It's odd that the original cabinets needed sealing since they look very shiny in the first photos.

Maybe the best option is to replace the doors to match the lower cabinets, which will give you a more cohesive look.

Is this a starter home? If so, people just want new stuff. Based on what I see selling, this is nicer than many kitchens and young buyers often don't have the greatest aesthetic tastes, just as long as it's new and trendy. I would leave them until you see if the cabinets stand in the way of a sale. The wood is really pretty, so would be a shame to waste it. And lots of buyers might think they should have white cabinets anyway and would paint over any wood you put in there. Save your money.

“These lovely birch cabinets were supposed to be clear-coated, but my GC used this thick yellow wax to seal them and now they are…yellow.“

Exactly what product was used? There are several different wax types and without knowing the specific type it is impossible to know how to proceed.

I love the way the wax brought out the color variation of the wood. They uppers are beautiful it's the lowers that were a misstep. With the plastic on they looked gray uggg but still two tone is just not a look many buyers will want and they will see $$$$ to fix right off the bat. Bad choice for a flip that should focus on appealing to a WIDE buyer pool.

Strip, prime and paint white and move on. Birch isn't white oak, anyway.

There was no need for the split of color and stain.

It only has to to hold up well until it is sold

Oh, I feel for you. I suggest replacing the doors.

if you change the backsplash you can marry the uppers w the lowers. dont care for the mosaics to be honest so thats what I would do. For a small volume of cabinetry you are talking about..or so it appears I would leave the cabinetry alone....looks pretty good actually.....different splash might be the key.

Transitional Family Kitchen · More Info

if nothing else...a cleaner white splash

Modern Kitchen with White Kitchen Tile Backsplash · More Info

They look fine. Move on please.

They look fine, the undertones are off but not terrible. If you aren't living there, I wouldn't worry about it. I do pity the buyer who doesn't care for it and thinks they can be easily painted to match the lowers.

Wow, I see some cruel comments. I am not sure why it is important to some people to be so mean. Sorry to the OP, and I hope she can focus on the helpful comments and ignore the rude, sad people.

Change all the doors and drawers to white. What buyers want is light, clean, and airy. Chalk the wax finish up to a learning experience and move on.

Most woods will have a "warm" look when clear coated.

Paint will work better with the counter, splash, walls and lower cabinets.

Mrs. S said "Wow, I see some cruel comments. I am not sure why it is important to some people to be so mean. Sorry to the OP, and I hope she can focus on the helpful comments and ignore the rude, sad people."

Bully for you Mrs. S for pointing out not a single person expressed concern for buyer that winds up with this mess. Truth is flippers prey on sellers in a corner and/or ignorant of home value then doctor to sell unsuspecting buyers ignorant of underlying issues. I think most agree flips are primarily bought by young,first time buyers so they are the ones we should be sympathetic with. In this case an area were flipper is ignorant bit her in the posterior and she came here looking for way out and still make profit. Here's one of those callous to eventual buyer mollycoddling flipper and advising to pass the problem to buyer.

" It doesn't look that bad. It's a flip, so will it really matter? Let the buyers handle it. It's not "your vision" but aren't you just putting stuff in there there looks new-ish in order to sell it?"

"Truth is flippers prey on sellers in a corner and/or ignorant of home value then doctor to sell unsuspecting buyers ignorant of underlying issues. I think most agree flips are primarily bought by young,first time buyers so they are the ones we should be sympathetic with. In this case an area were flipper is ignorant bit her in the posterior and she came here looking for way out and still make profit. Here's one of those callous to eventual buyer mollycoddling flipper and advising to pass the problem to buyer. "

The ACTUAL truth is that there are just as many varieties of flippers as there are of builders. There are a fair number of tract home builders who exploit new home buyers with substandard construction, but there are also builders who build quality custom homes.

Certainly there are a lot of flippers covering up problems and using poor quality finishes, but there are also plenty of flippers who are updating multi-million dollar homes with quality work and quality materials and selling them.

And there are plenty doing a careful and trustworthy job at medium levels too. The flipper shows and their spawn have given everybody a bad name.

Sometimes an outfit seems off but the right scarf or jewelry will pull it together. I bet your hardware can do this for you here. Once you put the hardware on, it will really distract from the mismatch you are seeing now with naked doors.

I'd so a simple rectangular pull (not knobs) in a finish close to the hood and stove. Add a nice staging piece or two to the counter and buyers will be pleased.

No one will probably read this, but I am grateful to those who provided constructive feedback. The folks who have chimed in with judgement and making wild assumptions have zero idea what they’re talking about. This is a lovely home we will list at close to $800k; a ton of thought and care has gone into the design. My GC does solid, careful work and none of us are here to screw buyers. My take was not ’who cares’, which is why I panicked a bit. In 3 months of renovation, this has been the 1st snafu, and I take full responsibility for the mistake, I should have done test patches myself. It is not minwax, it is a high-end wax finish and I simply did not realize it would change the character of the wood so much. The floors are white oak and the backsplash is marble, the pictures as we all know upload fuzzy on here. I do try to make things a little special w/o going overboard (a la Unsellable Houses lol) and in this case my idea failed, and I learned. Anyone here who has never made a mistake please raise your hand!! We plan to strip, sand, and paint the uppers white as several folks suggested, and it will look great!

All that response indicating various things but just curious why you did not install base drawers … it is pretty standard now and i would really dislike all new but lacking that.

“It is not minwax, it is a high-end wax finish and I simply did not realize it would change the character of the wood so much.”

There are many types of wax finishes, which is why we really need to know the product. If the product is a hardwax oil (Rubio or Odies) then it is incredibly easy to sand off and reapply.

If it is a hardwax oil all you really need to do is sand it with 120 grit sandpaper, once sanded use a precolor (probably mint white) and apply the proper hardwax finish (for Rubio Cotton White maybe). The best thing about hardwax oils is that they don’t build up and don’t crosslink. So if you start sanding and decide it is not worth the trouble then you can just reapply the original color and no one will ever know it wasn’t intended.

BTW: The mint in the mint white precolor counteracts the orange tones to keep it lighter.