Merillat Classic vs. Masterpiece

16 years ago

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had any insight between these two levels of cabinets. The masterpiece is Merillat's higher end cabinet. We are looking at a plain, slab door - Fusion in the classic line and Epic in the masterpiece line and I am trying to figure out the big differences. I think maybe the Fusion door is veneer and the Epic is solid wood, but I might have that wrong.

Anyone out there with more info would be greatly appreciated! I have done several searches but didn't find what I was looking for.

Thanks in advance!

Featured Answer

teched

16 years ago

I have both. The classic is in my kid's bath and the Masterpiece is in my masterbath. I actually like the Classic (with upgraded drawers) much better. The drawer mechanism is stronger. Also, the Masterpiece has this stupid plastic thing that covers the dovetailing on the drawer. The drawer heads are not adjustable (without a drill!!!!!) on the Masterpiece. Also, we have a glazed finish and the crown molding and fillers aren't glazed.

That said, I chose to go another route for my powder room and my kitchen. My powder room vanity is from Home and Stone (online) and the cabinets are Shilo. I just wasn't happy enough with Merrillat to go back.

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Comments (7)

kompy
16 years ago
From what I've heard, Masterpiece is basically KraftMaid. (same parent company...MASCO). They probably have different doors and specs, but the finishes are almost the same. I've heard that MP is more $$$ than KM. Not sure about that...just what I've heard.
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dd70
16 years ago
hi kkupstate-I have masterpiece and i love them.
Here are some differences.
MASTERPIECE
1. more door styles
2. more finishes avail.
3. solid wood doors vs. engineered for classic
4. cabinet back is : 3/8" thick laminated printed birch wood grain or white Melamine. 3/8" Plywood upgrade (we upgraded) vs. 1/4" thick, 50-pound density engineered wood extends all the way to the floor to give the entire cabinet box extra strength and stability for classic.
5. 3/4" solid wood full-depth drawer with four-sided dovetail construction and 3/16" plywood bottom vs. Drawer is 4-sided, 1/2" thick 48-pound engineered wood lap joined with adhesive and stapled for classic
6. 3/4" Solid wood drawer fronts vs. engineered
7. Blum Tandem Plus full extension drawer guide with 75lb load rating and standard soft closing drawer buffer system vs. Sidemount WhisperGlide drawer guides deliver a smooth opening and are load rated for 75lbs for classic.
8. Wall Cabinet Shelves: 3/4" thick laminated printed birch wood grain or white Melamine. 3/4" plywood upgrade available vs. 5/8" thick Forty-eight pound density engineered wood.
Those are some of the differences but I have included a link to their website so you can see them all.
Merillat and Kraftmaid are made by the same company. We originally got quotes on KM from lowes which contained less big cabinets (microwave cooking center) and Merillat Masterpiece was less expensive(after contractor discount). If you went with classic upgrades are available on some of their items whereas with masterpiece almost everything is upgraded and included in price. Like I said I love mine, they are well built and I would use them again.
hope this helps you some!

Here is a link that might be useful: merillat
trecat
16 years ago
I have Merillat Classic with upgraded drawers in my kitchen and bathroom and I have very pleased with them. My doors are solid, but not all of their door styles are solid. I have never seen the Masterpiece line but my cabinet dealer told me they are approx 10% higher than the classic line. The MP does have more door styles and color choices.
kkupstate
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks everyone for your help! I am TERRIBLE at making decisions... I am trying to decide if I care about the doors being solid wood or engineered with a veneer. I think the Fusion doors in the classic lines are not solid wood. Thave being said, I think we are leaning towards the classic door with upgrades, but as my husband says, we will like anything better than the white laminate that we have that is starting to peel!
yanalg
16 years ago
we priced out both but i recall we would not be able to keep the same layout with the Classic, Masterpiece offered more options, so a few cabinets were different. Classic came in at 12K or so, Masterpiece was 17K. We ended up going with Decora, which came in at 14K with a lot more bells and other extras.

Why don't you lok at another line? We also looked at Brookhaven, which came in between Classic and Decora.

Masterpiecwe cabinets were very nice looking, but if Classic fits your design, then I would go with that as the price difference was very substantial in our case.
kkupstate
Original Author
16 years ago
You are right that masterpiece offers more. I am looking at a couple of other brands - Showplace and Homecrest. We looked at Diamond and really liked those cabinets too! Like I said, I am terrible at making decisions. I also feel like I should have loyalty to the KD who has worked with us the most, and I know I need to get over that...

Thanks again!