You have to have a good idea of what you want. It will be a waste of time to start meeting with people without some magazine clippings of some kitchens you like.,
I would also get bids from local cabinet makers. If you don't know any call some local homebuilders and ask who they use. If there is a parade of homes in your area, then access the website. Usually awards are given to exteriors, kitchen, tile, etc. Make contact and find out there procedure. You shouldn't have to pay to get an estimate. In my area the contractors are hungry and more than willing to drive out and look at what you have. I just stopped in the individual cabinet shops and brought my plan. I picked out a door and wood and got my bids. In the end I didn't use a local cabinetmaker because I wanted inset doors and there just weren't any cabinetmakers in my area that had enough experience doing them.

I got a quote on Mid Continent for a larger kitchen than yours for $7K installed, from a local kitchen shop. Yes, I've fussed about the quality and how we decided against them, but if I were selling I would get them for that price.
Lowe's and HD are usually higher than local cabinet "stores". Lowe's was $9.5K installed for better quality kraftmaid. So, yes, I'm sure you can do a kitchen that size easily for $15K.
OTOH,if you go with a local cabinet maker, you'll be able to brag "all wood custom cabinets" when you go on the market.

I agree about knowing the look you want ahead of time.

If you go to Home Depot or Lowe's, go with a detailed measured drawing showing where the doorways (including trim) windows and how high the sill is, plumbing, electrical, *heating vents, ceiling height. You may also want to go with a tentative layout

If you look at the websites for the cabinets they carry, you can often link to the specs...as an interior designer who designed kitchens but is not a kitchen designer per se, I have found the HD-L kitchen people to be a mixed bag, from excellent at the design aspect all the way down to good at plugging in the software and thats about it.

Just to give you an idea, of the three similar sized kitchens I have done recently, a plain slab door with basic cabinet boxes, (no fancy pullouts) in Thomasville (HD) priced out about $6-7000 for cabinets only. A fancier Thomasville kitchen with a raised panel door, pullouts, glass doors, glazed finish etc, $13,000.(Her full on custom kitchen cabinets in the house she is leaving were about $40,000--the volume of cabinets (higher ceilings and such was bigger but not a whole lot))

A Plain and Fancy cabinetry kitchen with inset doors similar in size to the first two I cited ran $19,000.

Do you have an Ikea near you? Consumers Reports rated them very highly...and they're very inexpensive. They're also geared toward DIYers. Check them out! Additionally, there's a Forum that is very active and can help w/almost any questions you may have.

There are quite a few people who did Ikea kitchens here that turned out wonderful! You could have a great kitchen for much less than going w/HD, Lowes, or others.

You might also check the following thread:

Show us your 'under $20K' kitchens!

Some Ikea kitchens:

My Ikea cabinets/Scherrs doors kitchen, in progress

Finished White Ikea Stat Kitchen

Morton5's Finished Kitchen-- Ikea and Fire and Ice

Pictures of finished 'budget' remodel - go Ikea!

Also, check the Finished Kitchens Blog. If you check the "FKB Categories" (on the right navigation panel), you'll find cabinet manufacturers...look for Ikea. That link will take you to GWers with Ikea kitchens.

IKEAFans

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished Kitchens Blog

I went to a full service kitchen place. They are basically doing the whole project, soup to nuts.

If I were to do it over again, I'd hire an independent kitchen designer to design a plan, and then take the plans and shop around for cabinets. That way, when you get different quotes, say from home depot or a custom cabinet maker, or whatever, you are comparing apples to apples, and you have a great floor plan that you are happy with.

I think I could have saved a lot of money if I had known exactly what materials I wanted before I got into this.

I just reread the original post and I saw that you mean to go back on the market in a year or two, so essentially you may not be really using this kitchen yourself.

I would talk to a realtor and find out if, in your market it makes sense to redo a kitchen, (on a relatively low budget) just to go onto market?

How much of that $15,000 can you be expected to get back?

If there are comparables in your neighborhood do they have the 40 year old cabinets? Do they have a new $25K kitchen or a new $15K kitchen. --or do they have a new 40K kitchen?

If the comps in your area have new $15K kitchens, you are on target.

If they comps in your neighborhood have new $25K kitchens, you Still may not be competing, and it may make sense to leave it alone and ask a bit less.

I personally would not buy an old house with a brand new kitchen, I'd rather save a bit on the purchase price and put in the kitchen I wanted. It may be different where you live.

I have told this story before but it is not one I will forget. A realtor friend sold a house where the homeowners had recently completed a $50K kitchen remodel--a year or so before they went to market. When the new owners closed on the house, they told the realtor the *first thing they were going to do was get rid of that *hideous kitchen.

It may have been a very nice kitchen I dunno. The point is that it was a waste of money and resources, and the house sold in SPITE of what they thought of the kitchen rather than because of it.

It may make great sense for you to spend 15K...just make sure you have the best information for your situation before you spend it.