And the list goes on and on. We have Schmidt cabinetry (2002 remodel) and will look at using it again in the new build. We will start the home show circuit this month and plan to look closely at other brands. My recommendation is to take items that you store to local show rooms for a "fit" test. The one thing I do not like about Schmidt are the shallow drawers. I have to buy skinny boxes storage bags for them to fit.

Good luck!

Well, I was in the same boat as you. For me, it was a particular stain that really jumped out at me, and I just knew that was the stain I wanted. I already knew the door style that I liked, and I could find that with any cabinet manufacturer. This bit of advice is basically "go with what you love", but there was more to it than that. I looked at price points, cabinet construction, what things came standard, and how the super susan was made. Additionally, you may find a cabinet company that you like, but it may be the case that only a couple kitchen and bath firms in your area deal with that brand. It's not just the cabinet brand you have to evaluate, but the general contractor who will install them (which is just as important).

Ugh I know the feeling. The KD company our contractor works with uses 3-4 companies i have never heard of or seen used here (though I haven't searched the forums for all of them yet). Surprisingly, none of them are local either. We haven't met with them yet, but I am hoping something (other than cost) jumps out at us when we do. I am finding a lot of this process overwhelming!

If you like frameless. We had Kitchen Craft at our pervious house and love it. By the way, we had painted finish.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Craft

Daveinorlado, that is what we finally ended up doing. We had gone to a few retailers that only carried one or two lines of cabinets, and were not happy with what we saw. Finally, we found a KD who carried 9 cabinet brands ranging from low-ish end to very high end. After he heard what we were looking for and our price range, he priced out 4 different lines for us, and explained the advantages and trade-offs of going with each. Ultimately, we narrowed it down to 2, and since we are getting painted, we went with the cabinet line that carried the color we wanted as a stock color. It doesn't sound logical, but in the end having more choices, explained to us by a knowledgeable professional, made our decision easier.

I'd go with a well-made cabinet, hopefully with dovetail construction for the drawers, not stapled. Since I plan to paint mine, I don't care too much about the finish, but I do want something that is going to last!

One thing I read here on GW makes a lot of sense, especially if you're planning to use granite or other stone countertops. Invest in well made, durable cabinets, or they won't last as long as your countertop! :)

Another important thing to remember...many new cabinets will release gases, due to glue and other things used during construction. If you or anyone in your family is sensitive to such things, be sure to ask about that, when you compare cabinetry.

I spent several hours today at a local cabinetmakers' shop -- fun! But he uses several construction techniques that are considered subpar here. This is/was his Dad's business (met Dad too) and between the two of them, they've been making cabinets for contractors (as opposed to more retail) for a long time. He says first, he's perfectly happy to do whatever I want including dovetail drawers, for example, but in his experience the staples have been just fine. The bottoms are dadoed (run into a groove along the side panels) so the boxes are very sturdy. He uses a natural finished birch ply.

So I'm wondering about some of these 'necessities' -- is this a reasonable place to save money? It's not as if you ever see the back of the boxes where things are stapled. And if they don't fall apart (which I'm fairly certain these won't do - they're really sturdy; clearly made very well), does that matter?

Ditto on the thickness of the ply used for box sides and shelving. I think it's often mentioned here that 3/4" is a good upgrade, but at least one person was dissing this as overkill. This cabinetmaker, again well-respected long-time in business, independent with a really nice-looking product, that he's trying to be cost-conscious for me about -- his stock is 1/2" ply and upgrade is to 5/8". He says he doesn't have a problem with the 1/2" box. Certainly for the drawers where I'll stash lots of cast iron pans, I'll want heavier rather than lighter. But I'm wondering whether any other cabinetmakers here have this same experience -- do you think 1/2" is really quite good-enough with 5/8" upgrade for heavy-duty drawers only? Or do you think 3/4" is the way to go?

I suppose the other thing is, you get more interior space if you go with 1/2" and if it's good-enough, it's probably just not always the case that more is better....

ya think?

Re off-gassing. I can see how this can be a serious problem. But I'm wondering whether the cabinetry itself is all that important to focus on given that the whole house is mostly new-construction with glues and resins in plywood that isn't no-VOC all over the place. I don't know whether these gases are cumulative in effect (probably they are), but if we didn't think to concern ourselves with this issue earlier, is this just closing the barn door after the horse has escaped, iykwim?

Daveinorlando -- thank you so much for this long, helpful post and for all your other posts all over this forum too. You are most kind to share so much knowledge with us. It is really deeply generous and helpful. It goes a long way toward trying to tangle out this mess of the glut of manufacturers.

Funnily enough I find a few KDs suggesting lines that aren't really on their floor and I can't get any good feel for them. I guess that should be a real demerit in consideration. Though probably all these brands I'm considering are just fine. At least they many of them have strong boosters on this forum at least. But still, it's awfully tough when you can't sort of sink into a knowledge of the stuff.

Interesting today dealing with a fairly working-class cabinetmaker. This guy isn't high-end or a designer with special vision and an aesthetic agenda. He's got a value-driven, hard-work-ethic, pride-in-craft if not art agenda. He's not a salesman and he's clearly internally proud of his own work, but not at all telling me that I need to be proud of what he does or will do for me. Some folks I've spoken with have been like that, telling me how tremendously great they were (and surprise surprise, in this particular case, he just wasn't, to boot -- I was perfectly happy to believe he was fabulous, only he wasn't).

This is a different perspective, I think, from some of what others have posted about their experience here. So in the end, as noted, you're not only buying cabinets, but the services of the installer too. And as always, in the end it may sort of boil down to (or can), personalities and integrity. So hard to navigate this giant purchase!

I'd love to hear your thoughts about what is good-enough. I realize in the end this may just be a wholly personal-choice issue. But perhaps not ... awaiting your thoughts!

TIA.

p.s. Re-reading this I realize I wrote 'he does a lot of work for contractors' and then discuss stapled rather than dovetailed. Perhaps the real difference is what a contractor may wish to get away with in the invisible parts of the cabinets when building for another vs what a homeowner themself wants to know is in there regarding quality and strength. So maybe it's a perspective-thing; what you're willing to shell out for... not necessarily that one is overkill, but the other is sufficient when it's not your own...?

I guess it depends on many factors. Do you have pride in ownership? Are you going to be there for a long time or a short period? Is quality and durability important to you? Or is price the main factor? There are many others only the homeowner can determine.

I have built whatever the client requested, but if I was asked, I always recommended 3/4 inch plywood boxes. You don't have to have it, you can get 1/2 inch particle board boxes at a big box store that will get you by. Just don't ask me to install them, it will cost you more.

¡ That's funny about costing more -- I had a carpenter friend once who charged a certain amount per hour and twice that if you were there with him. He was kinda a loner.

We'll be in the house as long as we're extant I suspect.

So you think 3/4" is really significantly better than 5/8"?

Particle-board is a non-starter for me. At least I have some pride.... ;)

There have been a few threads discussing quality. Hera are a few:

Relative cabinetry prices: brand vs. brand

Semi-Custom Cabinet Brand Recommendation

Pls help list popular cabinet companies alphabetically

I'd take Merit off your list if you really like your kitchen.

Well that's short and sweet antss! Did you have trouble installing them or living with them or have you heard bad things about them or perhaps seen them in a showroom and been underwhelmed? Thanks for following up a little about why they should fall from the list....

aliris, I only charge double if they help! :) That way I break even when I have to fix things! I encourage watching, I am proud of my work and my product.
You have more issues with particle board is why I charge more for installing it.
Glad you are going with plywood, you will be too!
5/8ths is better than half, but usually the cost difference between that and 3/4 is minimal relative to what you get, so I go all in!

re: Merit

lets just say they are constantly changing their product to save $$$ (read cheaper for them) and the consistency is therefor lacking. The pitch is basically : just like the good stuff only less expensive. Except it's just cheaper with no "as good".

the owner also ran a well know euro brand into the ground during the go go years of real estate using the same techniques.

Powertool, so you don't mind about the additional 1/4" loss between 5/8 and 3/4"? In 3-D over many cabinets, that might be sizeable in the end... or it might not be; I can't quite tell.

That's interesting, antss. I did notice they don't use the Blum slides though basically every every everyone else does. OTOH someone on here noted that they did not agree that Blum were essentially peerless. I don't remember who are where the post was; perhaps you'll speak up if you're the nay-sayer?

Buehl -- thanks for those threads; very helpful! I did search a bunch of times but never came up with any of those three threads; they're great.

aliris, you'll only be losing a quarter inch on the inside of the cabinet. The overall dimension will remain the same. For me that is not a dealbreaker, it's a personal choice.
Their is a lot to choose from, my suggestion would be to make a list of what the ideal would be, then make a list of what you think you can afford and winnow it down from there. We can ususally afford more than we think, if we really want it! :)