Which brand of cabinets are you using? Woodmode/Brookhaven has a special on glazing, and other upgrades. Kraft Maid recently had a similar special. Check with your cabinet dealer. The special from Brookhaven/Woodmode reduced the cost of my cabinet estimates by over $2,000.

I personally love the look of glaze. Yes, people say it will look outdated, but if you really love it go for it, you are the one who will live with it.

In 10 years, no matter what you do, there is a good chance people will be able to guess that the kitchen was rennovated in the 2000s. Just as you could probably peg a kitchen that was rennovated in the 80s or 90s, even if it stayed away from the fads of the time and still looked good.

I think the only way you can get away from the stigma of eventually looking dated is if you go back dated far enough like 1950s and earlier. Then it's retro or vintage and doesn't carry the "dated" stigma - and obviously you have to have the house to go along with such a choice.

I do think 20% sounds high though - the quotes I got were 10% and 15% added to the cost.

I *think* that Brookhaven charged a 20% upgrade for a glaze back when I picked out my cabinets two years ago...I'm pretty sure, because it was a significant enough upcharge that I didn't even give it a second thought.

If it were 8-10%, I might think about it, or get the glaze and save somewhere else (maybe in the door style or the crown molding, etc.).

:)
Sarah

Glazing a piece is very labor intensive. You can't just spray it on. My built in 10 foot wide bookcase, which I did myself, required 2 different glazing techniques on top of the stain. All of it was dry brushed (except the stain of course). My sister's contractor had done the same for all her cabinets so I asked him what the process was and he was kind enough to give me the colors and various steps. Staining and applying lacquer takes skill but glazing is more of an art. Pricing would depend on how involved a technique you used.

Good question. One I agonized for hours over myself! ;o)

I finally chose Showplace maple cabinetry in an antique white color with an ivory glaze. The glaze on my cabinets is VEEEEEERY subtle... some might even say it wasn't worth the upcharge... but I LOVE it. The glazing adds just a bit of interest, and a definite (but subtle) *shimmer*, and I love how it catches and reflects the light.

It WAS expensive... but I chose a simpler door style to help offset the cost.

Tiskers - your cabs are really pretty! I hopy you will post photos of your kitchen when its done!

Tiskers, can you post a closeup of one of your cabinets? It's hard to tell in your photo that there's any glaze there, but I'm sure the effect in person is beautiful. I'm hoping it comes through in a closer photo...

Personally I think that often, wood cabinets that are painted look more like "wood" if they're glazed.

We went with a glaze on our Thomasville cabinets - they were offering a special so the glaze was free (if we got the upgraded interior construction, which we'd planned on anyway.) We were going to go with the dover finish but I ended up with amaretto creme, which is basically just dover with a glaze. I did ask them to give it a barely antiqued look, though.

I agree that by the time your cabinets look dated, it'll be time for a remodel anyway. ;-) And they can always be refinished (or painted) if that's the only thing that's dated about the kitchen down the road.

I'll be the counterpoint, just to offer one. I have friends with the glazing on their cabinets, and I really dislike the look. To me, the glazing always looks like the kind of fakey old-timey antiquing that was done in the 1970's, and I'm pretty sure it will indeed look dated in a few years. I prefer matte smooth finishes that are worn with time, not artificially, and would not personally spend that kind of money on it.

Just one opinion as a reassuring balance, in case you decide not to spring for the extra expense! :)

from what I understand there are a lot of people wheeling and dealing to get better pricing on cabinetry, granite, everything. I would gather some info on deals being offered by various cabinet companies and present it to your cabinet maker and asked for free glaze. In this economy, I think a 20% upcharge sounds like too much. Crown Point is offering free milk paint on their cabinets (normally a 25% upcharge) along with the other deals others have mentioned above. If you have your facts in hand and you politely and firmly ask for this discount, you very well may get it (particularly if they think you will walk). I ALWAYs ask for a better deal (even before the economy went belly up) and you would be surprised how much money you save this way. In my world, everything is negotiable.

Having said that I agree with circuspeanut that glazing will give you a dated look, but also agree with needsometips08, that this is your kitchen and you should have the look that you really want.

I considered getting glaze at a 10% upcharge. I decided against it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there were other "optional extras" that I really wanted and the glaze just didn't mean as much to me as the other things did. Secondly, I could see it turning into something that I might get sick of after a few years. That's just me, though, you know, my reasons for skipping it.

I think you have to evaluate whether it's worth the $2300 for YOU. Can you afford the $2300? Are you giving up anything else for this? Do you love it, really love it? Are you getting it just to avoid the cabinets looking too plain?

I will also say that I've read many stories here of people having problems with the glazing not looking the way they'd anticipated, problems with the quality of the glazing work. So again, make sure you really want it because it's not just money, it's an additional aspect to the project that can go wrong (not to say that it will or that everyone has problems, just that a lot of people seem to.)

And keep in mind, there are other ways to keep things from looking too plain: door style, knobs, etc. There are plenty of ways to accessorize your kitchen that might not cost $2300.

I have glazed cabinets...I love them...I don't care if they'll be dated to the 2000's...it's my kitchen, not some unknown person's in the future! Besides, if you wait long enough glazing will go out and come back in!

Bottom line, if you like it, get it!

As to upcharge...I have Omega and the upcharge was 10%, 15%, or 20%...depending on the type of glazing it was (some are more labor-intensive than others).

Here is a link that might be useful: Omega Cabinetry - Glazes

Thanks everyone for your replys. There are so many decisions to make, sometimes I'm not sure what I like anymore. I like the look of glaze, and the detail it gives to the cabinets. I've seen some door samples that the glaze looks great and others that I think it looks terrible, and sloppy, and they were all from the same manufacture.
I like the look of very light stained maple cabinets, but not sure if they will look too plain. The price of the glaze is in my budget, but it would be nice to come in below budget. (I'm sure I could find something to do with the extra money)

The manufacturer I'm thinking of going with is not having any rebates for what I need right now, the only rebate is for inset cabinets, which I don't want.

I priced other manufacturers that are having rebates, and they actually came out highter than the one I want.

Just my $.02 - I think glazing looks beautiful depending on the manufacturer. Don't think of a non-glazed look as too plain - think of it as simple - and maple is a beautiful wood.

I'm debating glazing but the cab manufacturer (Starmark) is having a promotion - free upgrade to inset and 50% off painted as well as 50% off glaze. Works for me as I do want insert and painted cabs. The debate is the glaze... I will weigh the $$ and think if I want to spend it elsewhere.

One thing about glaze though, I cleaned inset wood doors in my house this week and I was reminded of glaze... the dirt on the doors sort of collects exactly where glaze is the most noticeable :-)

I will try to get some pictures showing the glazing... stay tuned!

Lynn

If you have doubts that glazing is not worth an extra $2300, I think it might be worth it to pay close attention to them. That's a lot of money for something you're not quite sure about. I have maple cabinets and didn't go for glazing, but if I had really wanted it, I would have done it.

Instead, I blew my budget, without hesitation, on natural stone - soapstone and slate backsplash in the kitchen, and granite and marble in the bathrooms. I would have spent the extra $2300 on even more rocks, if could figure out a place to put em. ;-)

20% is very high - we paid about 10% more, so I was ok with that as it was Kraftmaid Cherry with a Ginger Glaze and it does make a difference but it depends on the cabinet door style & your look - some door styles don't take to glazing as well and you will not see it as well as others. I love ours, no regrets but we also have a small kitchen, so that also helped. :)

OK, here's a few pictures. This was really hard to try to photograph! As I mentioned, the glazing is VERY subtle, and the camera really can't seem to capture it.

But hopefully this will help. IRL, the glaze is lighter than the paint of the cabinets, and rather luminous... it doesn't really add another *color*, as much as a sheen and a highlight. I really do love it.

While I also like the more traditional darker glazes, I did worry a bit that I might tire of that look.

BTW, I have NO IDEA what that is showing up between the drawers in the bottom two photos?!!! I saw those pictures and kinda panicked, and I have been over my cabinets since then with a fine tooth comb, and there is nothing there???! *Insert creepy music here!!!!*

OOOPS, I posted one picture twice and MISSED one!!! Oy!!!
Sorry about that!

This one is a bit blurry, but at least it shows the glazing!

americancolleen,

Hi, The cabinets I am looking at are Fieldstone. They are made by the same company as Starmark, Norcraft. They even have all the same cabinet doors with the same name. My dealer told me they were only having a special on certain painted finishes and inset cabinets. There was nothing for glaze. I even called the company and was told the same thing.

Who told you about the special on glazing? Is it only when you get painted cabinets? I want a stain, maybe that's why it's not offered on the cabinets I want.

We chose Maple spice cabinets and I fell in love with the glaze. It was an additional 10% and after going home and sleeping on it, I called and had them take off the glaze. I don't know if it was just this manufacture, but in some spots, it looked dirty to me (on the samples) and then I thought about if they are going to look dated in 10 years.

Glazing does make the cabinet a bit darker and it really is pretty but I didn't want to have them all done and then regret it. The KD said that we can always glaze ourselves if we really want to.

buehl,

Hi, I have an appointment to look at the Dynasty/Omega cabinets on Saturday. Are you happy with them? Did you have any manufacturing problems, where cabinets had to be sent back? Do you know what the difference is between the two? They appear to have the same door construction, but the box is different. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks Gail

We did glazing on our cabinets. I couldn't inagine not having glazing. We have a medium brown color w/ a brown glaze (maple doors, color called artisian bronze). It has a nice carmelly color to me. When we started looking to the kitchen the price kept going up (not knowing how much it would cost). My DH didn't wont to pay for the glazing, but he did like it. I felt if we were going to do the kitchen, I had to love the color, not have to live with it to save $, it would be here for a long time. Anyway I did ask the Gc to bring home a door sample to look and and decide if I really wanted the door. You may ask your GC/KD for a sample to bring home and look at to decide if it was for you since you are uncertain. Also remember the more creases you have in the door, it will show more of the glazing. If you have a flat door, with very little creases may not be worth the glazing.

Gail...I love my Omega/Dynasty cabinets! We only had one manufacturing issue on a cabinet that was ordered separately from the others (the granite installers irreparably damaged a cabinet and we had to order a replacement). It was a small glaze splotch, IIRC, on the side of the cabinet (end of peninsula). I thought I took pictures, but I couldn't find any. Our KD covered it with a decorative door (on her dime) so you can no longer see it.

Other than that, I've had absolutely no problems! The drawers all work as advertised (when there's no granite dust in the glides!), the doors all "line up" w/no gap when there are double doors, and I love how the finish turned out.

One thing to consider...if you want toe kick drawers, you will need to order all Custom base cabinets (IglooChic could tell you more...she went all Omega Custom w/toe kick drawers in, I think, all base cabinets.)

Differences: The main difference, to me, is that the Omega Custom cabinets are finished inside to match the outside finish. Yes, there are a couple of differences in box construction, but I think the inside finish is the most significant difference.

Note that not all doors are available in both lines...but many are. Unfortunately, they don't have the same names! The names, though, start with the same letter. For example, the Artesia door in Dynasty is the same as the Ashford door in Omega Custom.

Hi Gaylemh:
Sorry, I didnt see your question until just now. I don't know how to keep track of posts unless they are on the front page.

Anyway, it was my cabinet place that told me there is a special... and I asked twice 'both painted AND glazed' -- but sadly, I don't fully trust them as the quote I got for starmark cabs (prelim) wasn't much less than the 'plain and fancy' - let's face it, with cabinets, you are at the mercy of your kitchen showroom people. They also told me that the beaded inset as well as regular inset was no upcharge.