NHB, thankyou. I had wanted french doors on this opening for quite some time, but thought it wouldn't work due to not having enough room to open them into the living room. Our doorway was originally 69" wide, so although we knew we would have to reduce it in width, opening 30 or 32 inch doors would never have worked. Walking around Home Depot one time, I spotted a pair of bifold french doors, but the price on them was high for just one pair (I needed two pairs). They were only available through special order. I calculated the cost for the sizes we would need, and thought "yikes", and I let the idea go. Two years later, I again looked at the HD doors on display, and then noticed there were some stacked in the shelves behind the display. Upon asking the clerk, I discovered that they indeed sold them in the store, and that only the ones with beveled glass like the display set were special order. I had hope, finally! We bought the unbeveled glass ones, and these doors cost us less than $400, for the two pairs. Ruth, I love your new floors, and I think your room is looking gorgeous!

Okay...gotta step in here again. Puppy mills have NOTHING to do with cabinetry. Nothing. And there's also incorrect info about some of the "newer technology". Puppy mills are run by many, many, many people other than Amish...and not all Amish who raise animals run puppy mills. Some do - but not all by any means. I've lived in central Pennsylvania and western Pennsylvania almost my entire life and I've seen a lot of Amish. I am an animal lover through and through - I come from a family who raised animals throughout my childhood, and I've seen animals raised well and raised poorly. And it's not just some Amish who raise animals in puppy mills. I'll venture that they are actually a small percentage of the puppy mills. I will also say that one of our best animals actually came to us from a puppy mill...he was a Shepard who had much better hips (hip displaysia is a common issue) than many of the "careful breeders" who breed for "show quality"...and many of his offspring went on to serve the community as highly regarded K9 units and loyal household pets...so, hate puppy mills if you want...but, there are "good breeders" out there who turn out garbage too...ask me to tell you about my Giant Schnauzer sometime. Anyway...to say that you wouldn't use an Amish cabinet maker because some Amish people run puppy mills is absolutely rediculous to me. The two have nothing to do with one another. We really need to separate that some people do good things and some people do bad things in all walks of life, no matter their beliefs and to condemn a whole community due to the actions of a few within that community isn't right. In regard to "And furthermore, don't expect to get the latest cabinet innovations, like soft-close Blum hinges, Super Susans, full-extension drawers"...both of the Amish that we talked with were using Blum soft close full-extension drawer slides and hinges. They had full access to Rev-a-Shelf and Hafele interior fittings (super susans, Magic Corners, LeMans units, garbage units, etc.) and in fact had catalogs for both. So, that is absolutely incorrect. Maybe some don't do that, but there are a fair number who do. I also believe that Ginny (whose cabinets are Mennonite made) had full access to all the "fancy trimmings". It is true that in my experience and as has been documented by others who have had Amish/Mennonite made cabinets that at least the vast majority of them do not do frameless...so, if that's a priority for you, it might be a non-starter issue. But, as I mentioned, ours were willing to entertain the idea of minimizing the frame which might work for some. edited because part of my initial response didn't paste over when I copied it in. This post was edited by andreak100 on Sat, Aug 10, 13 at 11:06

The typical discount to a Kitchen dealer by a fabricator around here is pretty small so even with a modest markup it can be higher than at most fabricators. Some kitchen dealers in my area work at an almost standard markup even on counters- making the charge much higher than most of the local fabricators- Then there is a range of fabricator pricing around here and there are a LOT of em- some advertise as low as 30/ft- others start at 70. While you don't always get what you pay for your rarely get what you don't pay for. In my own business- I use one place and only make the discount they give me. What I include-answering questions, running down slabs at different yards, occasionally going to a yard with client, checking stone characteristics for them, helping select the stone and splash, loading images into the design on the computer for them, being on site for template and install, dealing with any service issues- - by the hour I'd be better off fast a fast food place. I offer it when doing a project since I sell kitchens not just boxes. (note- I'm a tad quirky, don't expect all that from the typical KB dealer. I won't on the other hand sell just counters). Since I will only use a first rate fabricator, my counter price could easily be as much higher than a bargain fabricators as you are seeing; though I'm not making what amounts to the difference between the two prices. What you get is hard to say in this case- could be a cheap fabricator, a high markup up at the KB, a better fabricator at the KB place....

Thanks for the additional replies! hollysprings: The dishwasher is at the end of a run, and it will have a side panel that has an integrated solid piece that runs perpendicular to it. I'm working with a kitchen designer, but she has not mentioned the need for fillers at all, even next to walls. The cabinet specs say nothing about this either. I'm not sure why since I assume there's no way any full overlay door could open to 90 degrees next to a wall once the door hardware is installed. The kitchen designer doesn't seem to be all that experienced, so I'm just trying to cover all my bases. snoonby: These are semi-custom cabinets, so they come in 3-increments. I could add an extended stile instead of a filler, but it costs substantially more. Luckily, this is new construction, so I don't anticipate needing to use fillers except next to walls to allow for proper door function. Just want to make sure that fillers aren't needed next to appliances for functionality.