From my perspective you will never get as good a finish on site as from the factory. I would pick your cabinets and a finish they offer, most have many, many stain colors available. Factory finish is always preferred.

Bad idea. Factory finish will be superior! And most companies won't even decrease the price for unfinished....and if they do...it's not much. So in the end it'll cost you more $.

Would you rather have Honda paint your car with their state of the art equipment in a dust free environment? Or order an unfinsihed car and have someone paint it in their garage?

THe words semi-custom are BS they are either custom or not. As for the rest a factory finish always will be better than on site . I guess we would need to see all these wood finishes but trully only the ones seen with tha cabinets matter and even them at most maybe the flooring. Pretty sure you can find one and is the designer going to fix the mess if it is wrong for the stain master .

Noboby knows anything about the capabilities of the mystery finisher your designer has experience with. Finishing isn't high tech except for UV cured tpcoats. which are pretty low but at least tech. Visit, talk and look at his/her samples. Retain inspection and validation in the agreement. I'd buy an unfinished door from your manufacturer for approval. Maybe differerent tones and matte and satin strips to test. You need that door because differentbwods all finish differebtly. To get what you want will workout best IF you are willing to put in a lot of effort beyond the ordinary.

What are the many stain colors/tones in the house. different sets of eyes might help to achieve a streamlined look or integrate everything. kitchens dont always have to match areas in the literal sense. theres probably a choice thats much easier than what you are thinking… two toned? how did you arrive at that? why would you suppose white kitchens have stood the test of time.. and now there are many more interesting whites and off whites.

Another vote for all painted, at the factory

In general a factory finish is going to be more uniform than an on-site finish unless you can find someone that you or your designer have used in the past and have a lot of confidence in.

Like Norwood said - confidence in the finisher is key. If you truly can’t find a factory finish for the stain, and the confidence level is rock solid in the finisher, you could make the lowers the on sight stain - but then go with the factory finish for the painted uppers. I’d order 2 extra cabinet door fronts just for the finisher to use for a final sample for approval. In addition to extra costs previously noted, obviously your project schedule would be extended as well.

Semi Custom? What is that? It will be better for you to go custom , have your desired stain color curated for you by the cabinet company and have them deliver a factory finish. I assume you are doing something other than staining for upper cabinets? Balance your savings there.

Go with the factory finish. The cabinet company can create a custom finish for you.

It looks to be unanimous--go with a factory finish. Wood stains don't need to be an exact match, and you can certainly find a stain from the manufacturer that will work with the wood in your house. Try all the manufacturers you've mentioned and see them in person. When you think you have one you are happy with, ask for a "strike-off," which is a stain applied to a door from their current stock. Samples in showrooms can be a fairly good representation but they can change over time. You don't want a surprise when your cabinets are delivered.

Also, what wood are you going to use? Consider how that takes a stain as well. Maple is difficult to stain because it's so dense. Pine is the opposite--it soaks up stain like a sponge and can look muddy. Oak and cherry are beautiful woods to stain, but oak can be yellow/orange and cherry can be red. So consider carefully the species and how it might take the stain you want in the finished product.

Thank you all! great advice and generally what I was thinking. I will probably go with an existing stain color even if its not quite what I want, just to ensure the finish is excellent.

Design Interior South: All those companies call themselves semi custom. Its not fully custom, but they can customize down to the 1/4" and make all kinds of adjustments.

Herbflavor: I prefer stained cabinetry. I just think its beautiful. but can't do all stain b/c of all the wood existing.. wood floors, wood tongue and groove ceilings, and wood beams!! it would be way too much wood. So I want to break it up with some painted finishes. I prefer a creamy off white. But I really don't want all painted.

Diana: I would prefer cherry or walnut, but to your point, the stain takes so differently depending on the wood.

I just feel like Goldilocks.. every one i look at is either too light, too dark, too red, too gray, etc... I'm losing my mind! Hence my trying to explore alternative options. I am trying to get a quote from a local cabinet maker, but it might be too expensive. and it is then not factory finished right??

thanks all!!

Check out a Shiloh dealer....I love their walnut wood with RYE finish. So pretty! I am planning a new display! Pictures look tad orangey but it's not.