Most of the case good furniture sold in the United Sates are manufactured in China. At the popular price point such as what you might buy from Universal and Ashley it would be difficult to find anything not made in China. As far as Ashley goes they are the largest or nearly largest supplier of furniture in the US. They must be dong something right or people would not be buying their product and stores would not be carrying it. I have visited both showrooms at the trade shows in North Carolina and they do have a varied and extensive selection in all catagories. If you want to look at US made bedroom furniture you might have a look at Vaughan Bassett as an alternative. In upholstery there are a lot of imports from China but there also are many US manufacturers. In fact I would say most of the upholstery sold in the US is US made.

Yelp is an excellent choice. You'll find our store and many others. I think however you're asking for a little too much for your budget. A good wood bed alone is easily over $1000, and $1200 is where you'll start to see things you like, and you won't get much choice until you hit $1500. Wood slides should be eliminated as a consideration. It is not a benefit, and actually creates stress on the drawer box. If you have or plan to have kids in your life at some point, I consider these drawer types to be a safety hazard for kids (jammed fingers) due to the friction, and we refuse to sell kids furniture with this construction, and avoid it even for adult furniture. Dust panel is meaningless. If dust is going to accumulate behind the drawers, you now have many more places to clean it out. I believe this is a throwback to the days when moths and mice really did get inside of furniture and wreak havoc, and a dust panel was an added protection barrier. All it does is add weight and cost. Again not a basis for consideration or elimination of a piece of furniture. Dovetail drawers are found on fine high-end furniture (more than you want to spend) and cheap imports trying to appeal to people looking for a bargain. Dovetail is a good idea for drawers with wood slides, but not a requirement; my set has wood slides but no dovetails and has held up fine. Solid wood for the entire cabinet is not always attractive. Most people don't realize that "solid wood" by DEFINITION is strips of solid wood glued together. Tops and sides look fine this way, drawer fronts can look a little goofy, especially if the strips don't line up. And then there is seasonal expansion and contraction, especially in Chicago. I generally prefer veneer fronts. Front corners should be solid wood, and back corners too if the design allows it. Tops I prefer solid wood, although my set is veneered (we liked the design of the set). Sides can be veneered. So in short solid wood adds cost and gives little benefit in terms of useful life. Kincaid and Brownstreet I can't comment on. Basset is Chinese "good enough" product, in this economy I'd try find a maker who keeps the dollars closer to home. I'll repeat again that you're asking for a lot, and many of your build criteria were based on the needs of consumers in the 1800's, when buying furniture was very different. Dust and vermin infestation were real issues. Furniture had to last forever (or at least several generations) because people didn't have the money to replace it. It had to be made a certain way because today's machinery hadn't been invented yet. Here's an analogy - a person looking for a two story house INSISTS that it has a laundry chute and won't consider a house without one. Sounds fine, but that person won't see any homes with a second floor laundry, which is preferable. So keep an open mind. Furniture has three characteristics - quality, appearance, and price. You need to balance these or you will have few or no choices even after spending a lot of time looking and researching. A good line to look at is AP furniture in Canada. The quality is very good - quality being defined as its made well and doesn't fall apart. Made in Quebec. They have the clean style you like, you can pick your finish color and the price will be close to your budget. There is a dealer in the near north burbs who has a piece or two on display so you can see the quality of construction. You can find this dealer on yelp.com (wink/nod). Good luck in your search, and please keep us posted!

I agree that my biggest concern is whether the drawers are made to withstand the kind of weight involved in kitchen storage. My guess would be no. If it IS no, then that would make the decision for me. I also agree that it does look like a dresser and not necessarily something that belongs in a kitchen. HOWEVER, that's only my opinion based on the picture. If I saw it in your kitchen I might form a completely different opinion. If it's your vision and you think it's going to work, it just might. Again though, that would depend on the weight limit of the drawers. I've linked the one link of the three you posted that worked for me. Here is a link that might be useful: dresser

I have decided that I like the contrast of the darker wood against the light colored upholstered bed. Please take a vote and tell me which one you like. 1- 2- 3- 1- Bassett 2- Bernhardt 3- Crate and Barrel