Searching this site seems to show a lot of positives for Wellborn Cabinets. Also turned up a reference that perhaps there was a family (brothers) split, leading to the founding of Wellborn Forest.

There was one thread (see below) regarding a GWer that installed Wellborn Forest who experienced some interior quality issues. He was satisfied with the resolution but, as you'll read, most GWers were unapproving of the cabinets as initially delivered.

HTH. Good luck!

tmy

Here is a link that might be useful: Wellborn Forest interior quality thread

Hello,

I have Wellborn cabinets and can speak very highly of them. No complaints.

In the current thread regarding Costco cabinets (see link below), Daveinorlado posts the following about Wellborn Forest from a dealer's perspective:
"I signed up with Wellborn Forest last fall for example as I like thier colors and door styles better but have decided to forget them. Many of my orders have not shipped complete things are missing on the truck when the paper work states it should be there for example. They also have a very short build time which in theory is nice but in the real world their quality control is lacking to be polite to say the least. "

Here is a link that might be useful: See daveinorlado's comment

They're awful. Orders were never complete and/or flawed. Worst customer service - stay away.

Please note when reading these reviews they are from a few years ago when Wellborn Forest was going through a reorganization period. I have sold Wellborn Forest for a number of years, and yes there was a time that I was going to give up and try to find another supplier. I did have some nightmare jobs come to me, but Wellborn Forest customer service did everything they could to rectify the situation. It was a stressful time for all. I can tell you now, I am proud to be a Wellborn Forest Dealer, their customer service and their facilty is top notch, and once again in the Driver Seat is Tim Wellborn, he was not in the picture when the problems were occurring, and that is what brought him back to the company that carries his name. He cares about the people and the product they are producing.

Thank you for the information. That being said, is there any advise you can give for us re our cabinets. It is obvious there was a manufacturing defect. Still thinking of options as they were a lifetime guarantee. Very disappointing to wait so long for a beautiful kitchen and see it turn out this way. Not to mention the money invested.

I appreciate any help.

I would contact the place of purchase, take pictures of the cabinets in question, they should have a company rep that would be willing to look at the product, to at least hear your concerns. Wellborn Forest will talk to their clients, but do not usually engage with the consumer, because then it would end up being a he said, she said. too many cooks in the kitchen issue. The company you bought from should be your connection to the company.

Not very good, at all. The maple cabinets (painted arctic white) look good, but they don't work well, at all. I am very, very disappointed. After having Kraftmaid cabinets at our house in Florida, I was hoping for the same quality. Nope. They can't compare to Kraftmaid. If I had known, I would have paid the extra to get much, much better quality. The lower, large pantry doors came with several dings and scratches. At least 5 of the cabinet drawers had gouges and large indentations, and the doors above the fridge had several dings. To top it all off, the slow close hardware stinks. Nothing glides like it should. The Kraftmaid would just glide beautifully after you gently pushed the drawers. The Wellborn Forest cabinets wiggle as soon as you push them gently, and they hardly move. You have to push the drawers up to the point where the slow close mechanism takes over, which is basically pushing them shut yourself. That's just unacceptable. Even though they cost less than Kraftmaid, they still were not cheap. I insisted on American made cabinets and this is what I get. As I said before, I am very, very disappointed. I would recommend spending the extra money and getting a better American made product, certainly not Wellborn Forest.

Hi Lee...curious what cabinet grade did you get? Elite, Supreme or Classic? Just looked at Wellborn Forest yesterday waiting on quote? Thanks for any info you can share.

I have Wellborn cabinets. I bought them in 2007 and stored them in their original crates in my basement until May of this year when they were installed. I am happy with them. That being said, I had some custom cabinets made to match the Wellborn cabinets and the customs are much better. Both are solid maple but the boxes and hardware are higher grade on the custom cabinets plus the added benefit of having custom sizes and no spacers. When I needed additional cabinets, I found Wellborn was more expensive than having the custom cabinets made hence the reason I went custom. If I hadn't got an amazing deal when I made the original Wellborn purchase, I probably would have gone all custom.

I think we have the Classic grade.

Thanks Lee for your response.

I got Wellborn Forest cabinets for my remodel in November/December of 2019. There are many problems and in my opinion the quality is sub par. You can view a few pictures of the quality at my ideabook. Problems include doors of differing sizes, pantry system that did not work (this they have replaced, but the new system punched holes in the exterior panels), "finished" bottoms that have raw plywood edges, and splinters, holes everywhere, warped drawer faces, pitted and cracked wood, etc. The self close drawers don't work very well - you have to basically close them yourself and when you do they are askew. My contractor sold this brand as "quality". I suppose quality is subjective to some degree, but I would have to disagree that what I have received is quality.

It’s builder grade, and that’s the expectations to have. Better than junk import RTA. That’s not saying a whole lot.

Thank you sunshine_31 for your response. I have looked a your posted photos and I am sorry for your troubles. What grade of cabinets were these? Elite, Supreme or Classic? I am thinking based on yours and live_wire_oak response I may need to stay away from Wellborn Forest no matter what grade of cabinet.

cgd360180, It is the Wellborn Forest Wyatt Five All-Plywood Cabinet in a Champagne painted finish. This is their Americana Capital Series.

Thank you sunshine_31 for the additional information.

Thanks everyone for sharing your issues about Wellborn cabinets. I was considering them but nowI'll stay away. Appreciate that you took the time to write and save others. I hope everyone with problems will be able to get them resolved satisfactorily.

I have been designing and selling Wellborn FOREST cabinets (not the same company or product as Wellborn Cabinets) for the past 4 years. They have made major improvements each year. The Capital line is the builders grade and they are now standard All Plywood construction. Many of the complaints I read above have to do with shipping/delivery and installation. Glides and hinges should be adjusted by the installer to operate smoothly. If doors are ‘dinged’ or if the finish is flawed, WF will replace them. I have had a really great experience with the product and I have had very satisfied customers who make referrals. I also have the added benefit of an Excellent installer. The price point is very competitive. It is never a bad idea to get a quote on a custom as well as semi custom kitchen. If you work with an experienced designer they should recommend custom if warranted by your space or design preferences. There are a LOT of choices; take the time to feel comfortable with the product, the salesperson and the designer you choose. 🙂

Purchased a home with Wellborn Forest Cabinets. They are the Madison in cherry wood. They look good at first glance, but after living with them for a few months, we are saving up to have them replaced. So many flaws that were touched up, doors are flimsy and don’t line up, several hinges are falling apart and the finish is rubbing off around edges of many of the doors & drawers. We remodeled our previous home‘s kitchen with Home Crest cabinets and they held up beautifully for 10 years intil we sold. Looked like the day they were installed. I hate to go through another gut & reno, but don’t feel these WF cabinets are even worth trying to repair or replace doors. They are good for donating to Habitat for Humanity or firewood.

Yes, Wellborn Forest is a step above garbage. Doors and drawer fronts are all different sizes, which looks bad. I'm STILL waiting for my replacement doors that they promised 2 years later. Nothing aligns, unless you stand there and jiggle and adjust, the soft close drawers don't.. it's a mess. Their customer service is really, really bad. The rep who finally came to our home and promised to send all the replacement parts never followed up, and we only got some, and they are aren't any better than the original ones, so we still have doors of all different sizes, damaged drawer fronts, etc - it was all just an exercise in frustration. They did replace the defective glides for the pantry and pullouts, but in doing so, they ruined the exterior panels. Part of my problem was installation too, I still have screws showing through the exterior, pulls on crooked, doors that open into objects, etc. My "designer" never finished the job and I have yet to sign off on it. RUN, don't walk, away from Wellborn Forest and their reps.

Avoid Wellborn Forest. I have their kitchen cabinets in the house we purchased a year ago. Didn’t realize how awful they were till I was living with them. Lots of flaws, drawers are warped and don’t shut properly. The hindges feel wobbly when I open & close. Finish is wearing off from cleaning. I use Murphy’s wood soap, so that should not be happening. My last kitchen we remodeled 10 years ago and had Homecrest. They were solid & looked like the day we put them in. I want so much to rip these cabinets out. Maybe someday.

Murphys isn’t helping with durability. It’s the worst possible choice to clean cabinet finishes with. It softens and ruins cabinet finishes. Dry dusting should be most of your cabinet cleaning. And use your vent hood.

Did not know that. I’ve been using Murphy’s my whole life because it’s what my mother used. Never had a problem with any furniture/cabinetry using it, but I’ll try just dry dusting. Though, I know cleaning is not the reason for warped drawer fronts & flimsy construction. Even the little clear round cushions that go on the inside all had to be replaced. They started to deteriorate and turn to a gooey gel that ate the finish off in perfect little circles on the inside of all my doors & drawers. I would never recommend Wellborn Forest. I tried to reach them on multiple occasions shortly after moving in to see if we could order some replacement fronts to extend the life of the kitchen. No call or email back. I’m thankful for that now. It would’ve just been slapping a band aid on a severed limb.

did you reach out to the contractor that did the work? They are the ones that should follow up and get replacement parts for you. I have been selling Wellborn Forest Cabinets for 30 years and they have had their ups and downs, but they have always taken care of any issues any of my customers have ever had. I have Wellborn Forest Cabinets in my house for almost 10 years now and they look as good today as they looked wnen they were installed. All the drawers are as smooth as silk, the doors have never needed to be adjusted after initial adjustment, which should be done as part of the installation. I read alot of complaints that are unfounded about this cabinet company and it isn't fair to them. I sell thousands of Wellborn Forest cabinets and the isuues are few and far between, and most of the time they are shipping or installation issues and are replaced no questions asked when I submit claims. Wellborn Forest is a top notch A+ better business bureau company and doesn't deserve the bashing that a few unsatisfied people are posting. Most of those are not going through the proper channels to get satisfaction.

I'm not sure what you consider to be the "proper channel to get satisfaction". I exhausted every channel I could - not only the contactor who sold them to me, designed the kitchen, installed them, but eventually when that wasn't working, I went straight to Wellborn Forest, and then to the regional rep they sent to my home.

I never got "satisfaction" from any of them - ie they never fixed the problems, never sent the promised replacement doors (other than a partial shipment, some of those with the same defect as the 1st ones), never followed through on what they said they would do.

So I 100% stand behind my "bashing", and loudly sound the warning to potential buyers. You can protect yourself by taking note of what happened to me and other customers who have shared our experience with this manufacturer, or you can believe the guy who is selling this stuff, cross your fingers, roll the dice, and hope you get lucky with Wellborn Forest.

I work as a kitchen designer that deals with Wellborn Forest, and I also used to be the warehouse supervisor in this same company. I would see the product come in, and now I know all the specs of it as well. Almost no one in my company will sell Wellborn Forest because the amount of headaches it causes isn't worth it. Their quality control is abysmal. Their customer service is clueless. They'll manufacture the wrong thing, and then send it 8 more times incorrectly until you have no choice but to just refund the customer. The actual cabinet construction is surprisingly good, but unfortunately that's where it stops. Everything else is sub-par. Even the 4 month old display we just got for our showroom came with significant defects that would enrage a customer. Stay away!

Thanks for your input John. Appreciated.