My architect designed my kitchen. I'm a member of a co-op that provides 2 hours of free kitchen design with your membership. I took my design to them and the only suggestion from the co-op KD was to move a dishwasher so that the sink would be flanked on both sides by dishwashers. They also provided me a quote. I went to the cabinet manufacturer Imperia to see all the doors and worked with an in-house designer to pick my doors, stain, etc. They also made some suggestions to reduce my price - like combining cabinets. Now if I buy the cabinets directly from the manufacturer I will save money. Part of me feels bad to do this but part of me is trying to cut costs wherever I can. What do you think? I did not use up my "alloted" time with the KD. Are there any issues buying directly from the manufacturer? They are local to the area. Thanks for your help. I have found so much useful information from this site.

I spent a lot of time comparing and contrasting Ultracraft with Innermost during my frameless cabinet review. I think Fergusons was surprised I returned so frequently to check their Ultracraft display. Opening and shutting drawers, checking their gliding, going over interior finish, feeling the finish. Ultracraft would have had my contract except for three things: -I noticed the pull split the wood of a front drawer. I asked about it, and they said it was just a display. Things happen, and perhaps it was an accident, but it made me wonder if when mine would be installed, they would split the drawer like that. -They had three whites, none of which were just right for me. The finish was more matte like than satin like. -Their price came in higher and was non-negotiable. I chose Innermost (Elkay Cabinetry) painted frameless and am very satisfied. All cabinets came in without any imperfections which i found amazing for painted (they are also conversion varnish, btw). All interior birch was similar and nicely done, without knots and edging well matched. All painted interiors were done nicely, but regrettably, on the thee 42" tall glass cabinets with mullions, the middle hinges on the box sits right over the glass door mullion, so your shelf must go either above or below the hinge. This makes the shelves not all aligned with the mullions as most competitive cabinet manufacturers have, and aesthetically the way it is suppose to be. I had asked about this prior to order, and am displeased. I'm working with Elkay on a remedy: my suggestion is four $3 Blum hinges on each door side, thus permitting the glass door mullions and inside box shelves to line up with each other. I have two original built in mullion glass cabinets in my dining room and was trying to integrate the look in the kitchen with the connected dining room. It's Elkay's satin paint finish I just marvel at: just a bit of sheen, no plastic offensive look or feel, and it's very durable and easy to keep clean. I love it! I think either Ultracraft or Innermost are very nice choices. I just had a few important particulars that swayed me towards Innermost, one being their paint finish. You do have more space with frameless. This post was edited by SparklingWater on Fri, May 2, 14 at 17:31

Thomasville is now made by MasterBrand (Diamond and\or Kemper). The use of the name Thomasville is a licensing arrangement between Thomasville and Home Depot (as previously stated). Initially in 2000 American Woodmark was making the face frame cabinets and Masco was making the frameless through Mill's Pride but since 2003 it has been a MasterBrand product exclusively with the frameless only available in Canada. I think it is quite possible that Furniture Brands has a role in product approval but I doubt they play much of a role in the quality control of a product being produced in factories owned by another company. The production arrangement is between HD and MasterBrand not MasterBrand and Furniture Brands. We were advised if my Mom had wanted a stained finish she would be better off with the Canadian line that slots in under Thomasville as the finish quality was much more consistent. For paint we were told Thomasville did nicer paint finishes than Kraftmaid. Here is a link that might be useful: HD press release

"... DW on the left side...if the DW is open, person prepping can't get to fridge and person emptying the DW is standing at sink..." No matter where the DW is, that will be a problem for the Prep Zone in general (the space b/w the sink/water source and range). On the left: An open DW will block the aisle b/w the refrigerator and Prep Zone or range. On the right: An open DW blocks access b/w the sink and the range - even worse! It also forces someone prepping there to step aside and wait while the DW is open. I would rather have the DW on the left so it's not blocking access to Prep Zone and to the sink from the range. In addition, several people here have said they dislike having only 12" b/w the DW and corner for unloading dishes. We had that in our old kitchen and it wasn't an issue - but you might want to think about that. Oh...and that would also mean if the DW is on the right someone emptying the DW will be completely blocking the Prep Zone (not just over the DW), the aisle b/w the sink or refrigerator and range and, possibly, the range itself. One way to solve the problem is to be sure you have at least a 48" aisle b/w the island counter edge and the perimeter counter edge (I don't know what you have in your layout). This way, you'll have room for an open DW w/o blocking anyone's access. A wider aisle will also allow you to have someone working at the island while someone else is working at the sink. CamG - I like your latest layout much better! But, I think I like the stacked cabs in your first layout better....it gives you taller upper cabinets in some cases. Drawers vs ROTS (roll out tray shelves)...check pricing in your cabinet line. In some cabinet lines cabinets with ROTS cost close to the same as drawers - especially when the drawer faces are slabs like yours. One suggestion for saving money on the cabs: For the narrower cabs, don't get drawers (except the top drawer). Instead, get ones with the single shelf - but adjustable. Then, use the bottom of the cabinet for cutting boards, trays, cooling racks, etc. The shelf could then be close to the top for longer platters to be stored front-to-back. Since you don't have an oven stack, you will need that type of storage somewhere and vertical storage for trays, etc. is more useful than trying to store them flat. So, I suggest drawers for the wider cabinets (21" & wider) and "regular" cabinets for the narrower one I see b/w the refrigerator and DW. Corner (base)...I also recommend keeping the corner susan. Look into which is less expensive..."lazy" susan or "super" susan. Either one offers excellent pot & pan storage or small appliance storage. Another advantage of corner susans is that the contents are always right in front of you - spin the shelf until the item you want is in front. It's a simple matter of taking it out. Corner drawers are also nice, but they aren't "standard" and are usually only available with fully custom cabinets. In our old kitchen, we stored all our pots & pans, colanders, and several serving dishes in a lazy susan. I really wanted another one in our new kitchen for small appliance storage, but I was thinking out loud one day about using a "straight" cabinet turned 90 degrees so it faced outside the kitchen and could hold dog food, treats, etc. and my DH heard me - he immediately latched onto the idea and I lost my small appliance storage! (They're in my rather small pantry now, taking up valuable space!) [A "lazy" susan has a center pole and the door is often attached to the shelves so it rotates in when spinning the susan - no doors banging adjacent cabinets. A "super" susan has no center pole, rather, you have two "turntables" sitting on stationary shelves. The door cannot be attached in this case, so you have a door that swings out, but there's no center pole taking up space.] Corner (upper)...consider an "easy reach" cabinet that has a 90-degree angle rather than the diagonal. It will open up that wall. If symmetry is important to you, the easy reach may be an issue....but try it to see. One last thing...is the refrigerator against a wall? If so, is the wall no deeper than the depth of the refrigerator carcass/box? The doors must stick out past obstructions to open fully. If the wall is deeper, you will need filler or a cabinet b/w the wall and refrigerator.