You can probably reach your dollar goal by shifting to more mid range cabinet lines and still keep many of your desired features. But to understand where the money is in your quote you don't have to look very far in your description.

Eliminate the plywood construction upcharge and go with plain MDF. Save 20% right off the bat. It's more than sufficient for kitchen cabinet construction for the real world. Eliminate the stacked cabinetry in favor of single tall cabinets and take it down another 20-30%. Any glass? Another 20-30%. Paint is also usually an upcharge over stained wood, but also look at the base material that is being painted. You can save some dollars there as well.

Scherr's?

Did you get a detailed list with pricing? If not, get one. Once you see what every cabinet, feature, and do-dad costs you will see where to cut.

Where do you live? Custom is often the best bang for your buck as far as price/value so I would get custom cabinet quotes locally if at all possible. Maybe people here can give you recommendations depending on your location.

In 2 kitchens within 5 years I wanted inset cabs. While I don't think you can beat the quality and service of Crown Point they were out of our price range. We had both kits done with custom make cabs. In both cases plywood with top of the line hardware and drawer glides to include presently hand forged wrought iron hinges. In both cases it was less than most upper quality cabs and no fillers. Oh and one was stained and one painted with BM oil base paint no problems with finishes.

Thank you for the feedback - I live in Eastern Washington. If anyone knows a good cabinet maker, I'd love a recommendation. I've not got the full breakout from CP yet - I am hoping that this info will lead me to understand what options and choices have contributed to this price. I do have some flexibility in my choices and am willing to make compromises - but want to keep the quality high. This is a one time remodel, and I expect to be taken out of this house feet first. I guess I am just hoping that my budget is not completely unreasonable.

Yikes. That amount for that size kitchen? I about spit my coffee at the monitor when I read that. Does it include a really good looking guy that brings you your meals on a silver platter for a year? Then maybe..... nah.

Definitely look at local, custom shops for heaven's sake. My kitchen is about the same sq. ft as yours and my 3 estimates were in the 14,000.00 range, one being a plywood upgrade that I asked for before I understood that furniture board used for cabs nowadays is perfectly sturdy and used throughout the industry.

I know the other thing that costs is the fancy pull-outs, drawers hardware, etc. You can buy that stuff separately and much more reasonably (say at Ikea for starters)and install it yourself.

Good luck!

My kitchen was a bit large than yours, 8' ceilings, but several entrances (so not a lot of cabinets total).

Estimates were $17k for partial overlay, glazed, wood/plywood constructions, soft close everything, no decorative panels for the ends. Also got one for $27k with decorative panels and few more custom trim details. Cabinets only, no installation.

Ended up building them myself from Conestoga for $9k for the same specs with trim molding and decorative end panels. Had to do some custom mods for appliances and such, but that saved us a bundle.

For the non-DIY quotes. Premium finish was an extra 10% of the cost and a paint + glaze was %15 over that. Inset was about 25% more, mostly due to labor. These were for appliance store semi-custom.

Custom usually beats store semi-custom for inset cabinets because they can fit everything during the actual cutting part, not the trial and error after the automated machines cut everything. Subtle difference, but it's true. For overlay doors the semi-custom places are usually half the price of custom.

Good luck!

My 6 yr old cabinets are Wood-mode. You probably won't do any better with them. Nice but pricy. Do you have access to Mouser cabinets. I'm seriously thinking about them for my new home. Their cabinets are amazing, well-made and gorgeous- and more affordable.

They also do really nice inset. Might be worth checking them out.

We had 2 different KDs recommend Mouser to us for quality, more affordable cabinets. We went with Signature due to a better match with their stock paint colors, but were also impressed with the Mouser line.

I can't even pretend to get a quote, since I can't afford cabinets.

However, if you're stuck on the plywood idea, consider using plywood for your exposed end cabinets and cabinet grade MDF for the inside cabs.

Stacked cabinets require 2 different cabs. I got 42" tall cabs (I have 8' ceilings) and had a rail put in, used 30" cab doors on the bottom and 12" above the rail. It looks stacked and I'm proud of my bad self!

Have you tried Brian at The Cabinet Joint or Rick at The Cabinet Joint?
These folks are fabulous and use Conestoga cabinets.

Most of all? Get the KD for free and keep shopping!
C.

Thanks, I checked out the Mouser site, they do look beautiful. Unfortunately it looks like they don't delver west of the Rockies -

I appreciate all of the feedback - it has given me some good direction to think about how to explore options and understand pricing impact - and a little hope that my budget should allow me to end up with something nice. That first quote was pretty shocking. I know that I had seen CP quotes on this board more in line with my budget. With no glazing and minimal paint, I was pretty stunned and needed to regroup.

We got a quote from Omega Dynasty, and found 2 local custom shops that were no more expensive. As recommended, keep looking and do not rule out custom.

I don't know a custom cab maker in your area but I do know a semi-custom cab maker with dealers in your area: DeWils. Don't be misled by "semi-custom" - cabs are a adjustable to 1/4". Standard construction is plywood boxes, dovetail drawers, soft close drawers and doors. There is no upcharge on wood choice, regardless of wood choice. They do face frame and frameless (more expensive) and inset cabs (also more expensive) but I found their quote quite reasonable. Several GWers here have used DeWils and have been pleased with their cabs (look up Cloudswift's kitchen). According to their dealer map, there should be a dealer close to you (see link).

Here is a link that might be useful: DeWils dealer map

I went through the same sticker shock. I gave up stacked cabinets throughout the kitchen and inset doors- I settled for full overlay and stacked cabinets in a "china hutch area" only. It sounds like your budget is a bit more robust than mine but I was really surprised how the little things added to the price- Flush Ends on cabinets added 10% per side; Paint was a 15% upgrade; matching interior and mullion doors were a 35% upcharge, all plywood boxes etc. It was all of these things that made a huge difference in the quote.

My suggestions to you are to look at cabinet makers who make taller cabinets that have two doors on one box or appear to be 2 doors- this may give you the same look for less. Also, get an itemized cost sheet that shows you what percentage the little things add to the total cost of the box. For any glass cabinets, as mentioned above, have them cut for glass but then source your glass locally- it is so much less expensive. I was fortunate to have a friend who is a GC who sold me cabinets at his cost (we are DIY to get the best bang for our buck). Best of luck!

You might look at Barker cabinets, located near Portland (Oregon). I have cabinets on order from them, so I can't speak to quality yet, but I got the referral from here (knowledgeable, and particular, people). I did get a sample door which is beautiful (alder) and impressed even my super finicky architect husband.

It's fun to order from there, online, custom sizing. They also now will finish your cabinets (though no staining, natural only). My extensive order, a LOT of cabinets (13x14 kitchen, two bath vanities, linen cab), was $10k unfinished, versus $20-25K from everyone else (Scherr's, Huntwood, Innermost-HD, Canyon Creek). (My order would have been $13k finished.)

I also wanted stacked cabinets to the ceiling (9'), but couldn't swing it right now. I settled on 39" upper cabinets which leaves just the right amount of room to add those pretty squarish upper cabs later, if we want.

Here is a link that might be useful: Barker cabinets

Make sure you think outside the box as well. For example, I wanted 8ft tall pantry cabinets which were only 18" deep. However, Dura Supreme only made kitchen pantry cabinets that were either 24" deep or 12" deep and the KD wanted me to pay for their custom line or pay an extra charge to have 24" deep cabinets cut down to 18". Then I asked her if they had bathroom vanity cabinets which were 8ft tall and 18" deep and they did. They were very similar to the kitchen ones and were perfectly fine for my kitchen.

Try to reduce the number of boxes you need as well. For example, think about whether a 36" cabinet will work for you instead of a 24" one and a 12" one etc. This goes with the comment about stacked cabinets. If you can use a tall pantry cabinet (1 box) it will be cheaper than a base cabinet with a stacked cabinet on top.

We also live in eastern WA and we used DeWils; they are located in Vancouver (WA), and we used a local place to order and install. We have natural cherry cabs and we love them. If you want more information, let me know here or email me.

Hi,

I had the same experience with my initial Crown Point estimate. After I became familiar with their pricing we ended up with a great kitchen for a really reasonable price.

To put the pricing in perpective, I could have filled my space with Ikea cabs with every option possible plus a table for about $10,000. Since we were replacing out current Ikea cabs, but I only used their website to play with my design space and check out their prices.

My next estimate was for Signature Cabinets that came from a kitchen designer.. We had several options from this company that ranged from low $30,000 to $45,000. The biggest problem with the quote was I didn't receive an itemized pricing quote making impossible to cut costs never mind not having the kitchen layout to view as well.

When we provided Crown Point with the same layout and options from the previous quote they came in a bit less, but we could see the pricing and cab layout making it very easy to brainstorm during the decision process

What really sold us on pursuing CP was our trip to visiting the factory. I found several ways to cut costs, that our finished kitchen had everything we wanted for about $30,000 or so (going from memory on all prices, but have all docs)

We made many changes to our design such as combining cabinets, adding draw, using thier non premium door design, buying our own crown moulding (saved 2k there). Our cabs were painted with Farrow and Ball so matching the mouldings to the cabs was a breeze. The key was going over every item on the estimate, eliminating all extras and build up from there. Also you would be surprise how much you can save by changing the cab size and shape a bit. For example I eliminated the two upper cabs that were to the left and right of my range hood, and making the hood and my existing upper cabs wider. I got the same cab space and saved money.

I hope this helps, we are very happy with our cabinets. Good luck.

Because my main goal is to open up the kitchen space, I was not actually chained to a cabinet design. That flexibility helped. My "dream" plan revolved around creamy, v-bead cabinets, but the initial estimate came in way over my comfort line. By going with a simpler, stained design and no glass fronts, we immediately saved 10%, which meant we could go for more Super-Cabinet insides.

One caveat on the Big Box stores. While a good designer can be very helpful, when we tried to use HD, it was obvious the "designer" had basically just moved in from another department. Be sure to ask about design experience. There may also be strings attached to the plan, i.e. we were told we would have to contract to use their installers before anyone would come look at the site. This may be standard, but it seemed a bit coercive.

We ended up going with a local lumber yard with a K/B design wing.On the upside, I'm pretty sure I drove the KD crazy, but I felt very comfortable with the service and expect the same level for any problems that may arise. On the downside, she was more a Kitchen Planner than KD. When I started talking lighting, that was out of her area.

I also learned from GW that what often looks like standard cabinets at a really good price at the BB stores, may actually be a dumbed-down version of a well-known brand. If you do a GW search on "cabinets", you should find many helpful threads.

Cabinets will probably be your biggest purchase. As others have said, get as many details as you can, and don't hesitate to speak with multiple sources.

Good luck!

If you want to buy a Mercedes, don't be surprised that it costs Mercedes money. :) Top notch products like Crown Point have a well deserved reputation for quality that is also matched by their pricing structure. You can still get from point A to point B in a Toyota, or even a Chevy---or for that matter a Yamaha motorcycle. The products won't be quite the same, but the end result will be exactly the same.

If you want a good quality product---just not top notch--then check out Kraftmaid. They don't do inset, but they will probably be 60% the price of Crown Point for almost the "same" kitchen. A bit down on the price scale from them would be American Woodmark/Shenendoah/Timberland. They are above builder grade and decently constructed, but the biggest thing you lose as you go down the price scale is versatility in the catalog and they don't offer as many styles and sizes as going up the foodchain can give you. Their quote should run right around 50% of CP and you can still end up with a white kitchen if you put some creativity into it and scale down some of your wants.

I congratulate you for being sensible about affordability and costs.

As I look at the Hollywood Regency thread and follow the leads to historic original houses in that style, I'm struck by the original kitchens, albeit few still remain. They are not fancy. They were utilitarian. The family put its decorating money into other rooms. In our time, the trend toward "kitchen is the center of the house" logic brings us to some very spendy and probably unnecessary options.

Keep looking for a local company. You might want to re-take the "Sweeby Test" to clarify your priorities.

DeWilis is an excellent option. Well made and affordable. Custom is also a great option, if you can get some referrals.

Personally, while I think that the CP cabs are amazing, I don't think even they justify the cost. My friend spent 45,000 on her cabs, and as far as fiction, I don't think they are any better than my MIL Mouser kitchen that was almost half that cost for the same size and options.
I would take a look at you other options and weigh them against one another. Then take a look at your budget and determine if that money is best spent in your cabs or elsewhere.

I was thinking custom or RTA custom (Scherr's).
I have an 18' long galley kitchen, so that's about 36 linear feet of 30" deep cabinets, with 27" soft close.
There are only bottoms on "island" side.
The "wall" side has 15" uppers over about 1/2 (clean-up sink area) and 30" full-depth cabs over the rest (custom double wall oven with sheet pan storage above, sub-zero with flanking pantries).
Mid-grade cherry. $15K
cherry. $15K.

I just got a quote from TheCabinetAuthority.com as someone suggested above. Great website, lots of finish options, they can make anything custom that you want. I got a quote of 6,000 for 16 cabs with a painted finish. Pretty happy with that. I talked to Dave and have some finish samples on the way. I think I may have found our cabinet supplier, so thanks whomever suggested them. Also, that price included the shipping charges, too. And the cabs are made with plywood instead of MDF, if that matters to anyone and I guess it does sometimes. Anyway, I'd encourage the OP to check them out. I don't work for them either :)

Hi, here are the prices I received [sticker shock - yes!]

CrownPoint [direct]: $33K
Earthfriendly by Christiana: $25K
Crystal Cabinetry: $18K

Plywood, inset, 22 cabs, white painted not glazed. I was leaning towards Crystal. I have a builder that offers a significant discount on Wood-Mode I am probably ordering those.

I would not settle for MDF, upgrade to plywood!

See below link for the layout of my kitchen that was priced out. Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Kitchen Layout

It's important to understand what you are getting for your money so that you can adequately compare your choices. That means not only an "apples to apples" comparison based on the same cabinets and trim, but also understanding quality differences.

Builder grade cabinets are generally not customizable at all compared to mid grade semi custom cabinetry which has some customization available. The biggest difference between builder grade cabinets and mid grade cabinets is the material. The construction material and hardware is lower grade for builder grade. But many lower grade cabinets available will still pass KCMA construction guidelines, and you would not be purchasing significantly more durability by purchasing more expensive cabinet boxes. Once you reach a certain level of construction in boxes, anything above that is overkill with little return.

The doors are a different matter. What separates mid grade cabinets from upper grade cabinets is the finishing of the doors. The boxes and the hardware are pretty comparable. What you are buying is the extra time required to do a more premium job in selecting and finishing the wood for the doors. We all know that labor is the most expensive component of any product or service. In higher quality cabinets, the wood matches better, it's sanded smoother, and the staining or painting is of better quality. Since the doors and drawers are what show on cabinetry, the difference in finishing can impart significant differences in appearance and wear over time.

The difference between upper grade cabinets and premium grade cabinets is back to the materials chosen and the ability to completely customize them to any degree. Exotic woods, solid polished stainless, or specialty box materials like no VOC plywood can be part of the mix. You're also talking custom labor installation from people who do nothing else and are part of the package. Christopher Peacock customers aren't DIYers. ;)

The term "custom" gets bandied about a lot, but it doesn't have a fixed unalterable meaning because some wood workers (NOT woodworkers) have usurped the term to make themselves sound more skilled than they are. The term is stretched almost to the breaking between a builder's carpenter who makes a couple of big long boxes on the wall to fit doors that he pre-ordered from a wholesaler to a true craftsman who will make any wood you want in any door configuration and in any size. Custom is NO guarantee of quality---EVER. Some of the worst slapdash quality cabinets you will ever see will come with that label, as well as some of the finest furniture quality casework.

Be sure to do enough research to know what you are getting for your money. Sometimes the products considered are not worth the money difference, but much of the time it is. But, even if it's intrinsically worth the money doesn't mean that it's not overkill for your situation and thus not "worth" the money to you. There is sometimes a world of difference between what we want and what we really need. It's not "settling" to spend 20K on full overlay semi custom cabinets rather than inset fully custom 100K cabinets if that is where your budget number needs to be. It's probably where your house needs to be as well.

Thank you all for your comments and advice (and apologies for the typo in the posting title!) I truly appreciate the wisdom and experience that is so freely shared on this board. This is an expensive decision and I want to make the best, and most informed, choice that I can.

While my initial estimate caught me off guard. I have a better understanding about working through options now. I know that I will have to make trade offs, however I really have a fair bit of flexibility in what I like terms of door style, wood etc. so this will be helpful in finding a good option. Based on the advice given here, I think I should be able to find something that is a vast upgrade to my current builders grade oak cabinets at a price point that works for my budget and home.

Clearly, I've got some work to do to - including more research and estimates. As it comes together, I am sure that I will be seeking additional guidance from this board to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples.

Thanks again

Canyon Creek is a cabinet maker in Eastern Washington. They are not the level of your Crown Point, and I don't know if they do inset. Others here have finished kitchens with them and like them. Do a search on this website. I am ordering a bathroom vanity from them. They offer a plywood upgrade.

I am not sure how the islandlife's Canyon Creek bid was so high; I was looking at the same price for their plywood as the most basic cabinet in Woodmark with all mdf at Home Depot. Could be each distributor marks this line up differently.

Good luck!

I forgot to add the link that was given to me on a previous email. Some good photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: A finished kitchen from Canyon Creek