I've read that, too, Adellabedella. I've mentioned before at the KT that Bob Barker once read a limerick I wrote for him. He and the audience loved it, but I never got to see that episode. This was back in the 1980s, and the show offered to send me a VHS tape of the episode......for $400! I still enjoy the show, though.

I had my decision made to go with Shiloh Hickory cabinets in beaded inset and Richmond door. The cost for my large amount of cabinets was reasonible. I must now change wood as I spent 2 hours at a granite yard today and could only find almost black granites that look ok with the hickory cabinet door. I have to start over with another wood . I am disappointed. I will probably go with Maple now as I took a few maple doors with me and found a granite that look absolutely beautiful with the Maple The maple stain is gunstock and the granite was Alaskan White. I feel like the granite with probably be out of my price range when they give me the final figures. I do think it pays to shop around. I went to Reisterstown Lumber and found their prices to be competitive on Medallion and Swartz to be competitive on Shiloh. J&S lumber in Landisville is good for Showplace. I do think that lumber yards and independent shops do better with design help and pricing. Don't overspend and take your time shopping around. Give the cabinet places a chance to make things work well for you. I have had poor design help form some and very good from others. Some gave me a bunch of small cabinets which cost more than one large cabinet. Some accessories are no more expensive when purchased with the cabinets. Molding costs as much as taller cabinets. Drawers are sometimes less expensive than pull out trays. Not all designers try to work these things out. i have had to ask for drawers instead of pull outs for pantry cabinets and they priced out 30% less. I want a corner sink cabinet and the cost for one line was more than twice of another, so I had the designer use a diagonal sink from and return fillers and the cost was less. Reading this board has definitely helped with knowing what will help bring costs down and what is worth paying for to have a more functional space.

Sophie Wheeler, 23 years is WITHIN the last hundred years. That was my point. Using your logic, a house built in 2001 was instantly obsolete. Site built /stick built construction is actually considered to be desirable - completely custom, and often done in higher end homes. Is it cheaper to build modular and install? It can be - it's certainly more convenient for the homeowner. But for new construction, site built is great. Can both be equal in quality? Sure. I only know about this because I know a few builders, and we've actually discussed this exact topic. Hell I could gain major improvements just by replacing all the doors and drawers and all new hardware. But what I have still works quite well. If I had issues with drawers sticking and doors that didn't fit right, that would be a different story. But I don't. Everything works and fits as it should, so I will pursue changes where I need them. And those changes are all that we really should be discussing here. Again, thanks for the advice, but your suggestions have nothing to do with my topic.

@jdesign_gw and anyone else wanting to tackle hinge drilling affordable. While the 3-in-1 Blum drill is great, it's not diy affordable. One extra step, but not bad if you're not doing this everyday. I did this and painted 100+ doors in my house. For the 35mm bore hole. https://www.amazon.com/Kreg-Tool-Company-KHI-HINGE-Concealed/dp/B01JQ74FMQ/ref=asc_df_B01JQ74FMQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309763090755&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11433647920691291326&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1026411&hvtargid=pla-423472884902&psc=1 For the 8mm alignment hole. This is used after drilling the 35mm hole. INSERTA Boring Template Blum 65059A https://www.woodworkerexpress.com/hinge-accessories-inserta-boring-template-0-type-inserta-boring-template.html Both can be used with a hand drill if desired. No adjusting out errors. That was taken out of context.