Nate,

With the painting done it seems moot but your friend J is in the wrong
for failing to find out what color "light" is. You clearly indicate that the
neighbor liked the gray color in the second samples and that she did not
like the cream color. It is odd, at the least, for J to decide to paint the
house cream when faced with a definite no from the neighbor. J's decision
that "light" meant cream is hard to understand.
But the job is done. So, is the color so bad that the neighbor can't
stand it? Can J live with the gray color? No prep work would be needed to
change the color at this time so if it has to be repainted it shouldn't be
too expensive. I think that the neighbor should pay for 1/2 of the cream
paint job. J and the neighbor should talk this out and if the neighbor truly
can't live with the cream then she and J need to find a color they both can
live with and J should pay for the second paint job.

Dave M.