How are your cabinets holding up?

11 years ago

Hi Fellow GWers:

I've been reading endlessly all of your insightful and often entertaining posts about kitchen cabinets. I thought it would be helpful for everyone to post their cabinet maker, age of the cabinets and how they're holding up. It is such a big investment and those of us currently trying to make an informed decision would benefit from knowing just how long our investment will hold up. Pictures welcome!

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Comments (9)

Baroo2u
11 years ago
My cabinets are small town spec builder quality Home Depot bottom of the line. 12 yrs old & not holding up well, likely a combo of poor material and zero care from previous owners. A shining example of what not to buy if
you're doing anything other than flipping a house for maximum profit!

Warning to those in colder winter climates--or no central heat for those cold snaps in CA/FL etc: adhesives on laminated cabinets will fail if exposed to cold temps, with the result in photo...

This post was edited by Baroo2u on Thu, Mar 14, 13 at 7:17
sis2two
11 years ago
We went with Woodmode about 12 yrs. ago and have been so happy with the quality. Brookhaven is their sister company, is less expensive, and is also great quality. We went with Kraftmaid in our laundry room and upstairs bathrooms, and those have also held up very well. With the Kraftmaid, we did upgrade to the higher end of the cabinetry.
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Another Ikea kitchens advocate here. Installed ours in 2003. Spent 11.5K on the entire 180 sq f kitchen - all cabinets doors and fronts were solid wood (pine, discontinued), tons of drawers, sitting area, stainless appliances, granite, etc. If you want to keep your kitchen for the next 50-60 years, spend $150K and buy solid wood cabinets. If you are like many other people will get bored with your kitchen and/or want more modern details in 10-15 years, Ikea is the best option. Thicker than other medium range kitchen MDF (0.75" instead of 0.5") frames, high end Blum hardware with doors and fully extended drawers that have soft closure option. Both solid wood and melamine doors are very durable. As for the designer look, it actually all depends on your design abilities. I've seen $70K kitchen and $115K kitchen that looked much worse than many Ikea kitchens. Pick a good counter, knobs, curtains; think about trim and light. I've heard this 'Ikea-kitchen-is-for-losers' song from many contractors, but never from the actual owners. I will use Ikea kitchen cabinets (hacked) for our master bath remodeling. I was interviewing several contractors - two of them tried to convince me to not use Ikea cabinets for this. When I asked them about the alternative, they offered their cabinets instead. After comparing their cabinets to the Ikea ones that I chose, it turned out that their cabinets are: 1. About 2 times more expensive without all drawers I want and about 2.5 more expensive with the drawers; 2. Have mediocre hardware without soft closure, etc. 'What are you talking about??' said one of the contractors. 'All hardware is the same!' Yeah, right... The new Sektion line promises to be even better - more drawer options, more glass cabinets, etc. It will also be more expensive than Akurum probably. So, if the budget is important to you, use Ikea fall sale. The spring sale is already over in US. I got 20% off this time and I am very happy.
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We remodeled our entire house in 1989/90 and updated the kitchen and baths in 2003 (new counters, faucets, some new appliances). - Hated the Moen faucet, so-so on the Grohe Ladylux Plus. - Kohler cast iron Exec Chef sink was a workhorse but we hated the double. Vastly prefer the super-single Swanstone. - We installed a huge wall of picture windows (24' long and 14' high) which is wonderful for natural daylight - but it also bleached the sheet vinyl flooring and wood cabinet moldings, and killed the refrig in 8 yrs. Had to coat the windows, but am glad we put in laminate cabs (the most UV resistant) even if the resale would be better with wood cabs. - Adore the frameless cabs: storage, storage, storage! Have had no trouble with the high-density particleboard boxes. Even a small leak in the Moen faucet for 6 months did no visible damage to the sink cab. The shelves are sturdy, the hardware has operated without a flaw, the laminate is a miracle of easy cleaning. I just wish they still made this line of cabs: Kraftmaid stopped selling it in the late '90's. I'd take them with me when I leave, if I could manage it. - GE makes horrible DWs, especially from the '80's and early '90's period. So why our Kenmore/GE DW refuses to die is a complete puzzle to me! One of these days I'll get a better-cleaning DW in here, though - this one is slowly rusting out. But of course, the rust never gets on the dishes nor impedes its operation, LOL. - Although I'd love to replace my range and refrig just to have those gorgeous new pro-style appliances that are now available, I've really no excuse for doing so. Mine work beautifully and are suitable for our starter home neighborhood. But I still might do it anyway just for my own fun, hehehe. - The layout, which I did myself, has a few minor flaws but no biggies. It's the most efficient use of space (U-shaped) and miles above what most cooks have to deal with. After almost 20 yrs, people who see it still find it visually pleasing and it works well for 1 cook or 4 (my whole family likes to cook). All these years and I still smile every time I walk into my kitchen. I love working in it, and that's what counts in the end, I guess.
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okpokesfan
11 years ago
We have Kraftmaid in one bathroom (11 years old) and they still look and function great. We also put Kraftmaid in our kitchen about 4 years ago and they are still looking and performing very well!
MarinaGal
11 years ago
I just renovated a kitchen with 19-year-old Woodmode cabinets. They still in great condition. No-one can believe how old they are. They are medium-stained cherry, shaker style. Although they might not have been my first choice in stain, the style of the cabinets is classic enough that many people think I just installed them.
ILoveRed
11 years ago
I went with Woodmode 7-8 yrs ago in inset. The stained island still looks good. The vintage white finish...not so much. Lots of dings and chips in the finish from what I would consider everyday living. For the price I would not use them again.
sara_the_brit_z6_ct
11 years ago
Ikea, back in 2007. Adel white and not a chip or ding to be seen. Soft close works perfectly. I've haven't even had to adjust the door hinges: everything still perfectly level. The finish is as good as the day they were installed, and they see plenty of action.
LE
11 years ago
Ours were built by our next-door neighbor, so custom, in the mid-80s, before we bought the house. They are plywood boxes with full extension pull-outs. He was an early adopter of frameless construction, in this area anyway. We had those laminate and oak edged doors and drawer fronts, replaced them with cherry 8 years ago or so. But the cabinets themselves should last several more decades, hinges, slides and all.
acheavacci
11 years ago
We have builders cabinets from Homecrest. I must say the boxes are still very nice. The doors do have dings and are not full extension. But overall after 12 years things have held up nicely since they are considered builder grade.
jakabedy
11 years ago
IKEA Nexus (discontinued yellow-brown color), now entering their fourth year.The cabinets have held up beautifully, with drawer mechanisms as smooth as ever, and no problem with the weight of dishes or pots/pans in the 30" and 36" deep drawers.

The only problem came from something unrelated to everyday kitchen use -- a skylight leak that led to puddles. We have panels to the floor on the ends of the island, and they managed to wick up some moisture from the puddles, so are discolored at the bottom. We'd swap out the panels if the color hadn't been discontinued. We're not worried about it for now, but if and when we decide to sell we'll need to address it somehow,

How are your cabinets holding up?

Comments (9)

Baroo2u

sis2two

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