We've priced out Schuler for the kitchen and Diamond for the bathroom (where my requirements aren't as custom.) Schuler will make anything you design and will give you a custom quote. We have two pieces that required the custom quote. So in fact there are many more options with Schuler.

Keep in mind that ONLY KraftMaid has the two-coats finished process of their doors/drawer fronts whereas Diamond, Schuler, and other comparable-priced brand only have one-coat finished process. if you go to your dealer or Lowes or Home Depot and feel the smoothness of the doors/drawers' finishes, you will find that KraftMaid has the smoothest feel and a more durable finish than the other comparable competing brands. Also KraftMaid construction and its drawers/doors holds up very well and last longer, and stays good looking longer. I have a Diamond Reflections/Intermediate series with Ply-Ends box construction which weren't cheap and after two years, the quality has started to show its weakness resulting in issues needed to be replaced as such the tall wall cabinet doors starts to bow out, shelves warp down from the weight of the dishwares, drawers are skinny thin the thickness of your pinky finger, especially if you have a pots and pan drawer that's 30 inches or wider, the weight will make the drawer box bow down and become treacheously bouncy as if it's going to break off. The bottom of the drawer boxes on base cabinets of 30 inches and wider do not have a spine the in center under the "floor" of the drawer box to prevent the floorpanel from bowing down, from the weight of the items in it. ONLY KraftMaid has these spines attached from the back to front under the center bottom of the wide drawer boxes for structural integrity. Their drawer runner guides are wider, thicker and much more durable as STANDARD feature. With Diamond, you would have to upgrade to the most expensive Intrigue/Advance series to get that wider and strong drawer runne guides and wood veneered interior boxes. With KraftMaid's the wood veneer interior boxes (only available on APC All Plywood construction) is standard and cost less than Diamond Intrigue/Advanced series. Diamond does have very nice door styles, wood, and color finishes and Diamond is the only leading brand with the most variety of paint color finishes than the other brands. You just have to pick your priorities or poison. If you are concerned about quality finishes and durability, then go with KraftMaid- they are guaranteed to last a very long time as I have seen its true test of time of cabinets as old as 1984 and they haven't aged much at all.

More pictures are here! The house is almost done and things are starting to get cleaned up. Now it is very easy to see the countertops (although I wish I had cleared all of the junk off of them before taking these photos.) And you can see the total kitchen-- minus the fridge and microwave in their little nooks. I'll do a true reveal thread once it is completely functional, but for now this thread will have my sneak peek reveal. :) The BS is grouted and all is in order. This picture shows the hood that started this whole thread in all it's glory. I feel like I should carve "GW" in the hood somewhere as a testament to how this website made it possible. :) A closeup of the backsplash. Daltile Modern Dimensions subway 4 1/4" x 12 3/4". And the ledge we built into the wall behind the range run. The stove is the GE cafe dual fuel range with baking drawer. The view from the dining room. I want to change that outlet cover to match the island because it's an eyesore right now. A view from the pantry of the entire kitchen. The counters are Caesarstone piatra grey on the perimeter and frosty carrina on the island. Obviously missing the barstools-- if anyone has an opinion about what those should be, please speak up! That's it. I close with one last huge THANK YOU. There are a few of you who were helpful from the moment I first appeared on here with a dysfunctional floorplan right up until I figured out how to get exactly what I wanted. You know who you are and please know that I am sending so much sincere love and appreciation your way. I hope that people stumble across this thread and read it and realize the power that GW can have with it's collective wisdom and creative and collaborative problem solving. I keep thinking that if I had let my hurt feelings from people critiquing my original floorplan convince me to stay off of GW, my whole first floor and kitchen would be different. Thank goodness I decided to put on my big girl pants and stick around for the long haul!!

I designed the local showroom here, and was their kitchen designer for 3 years. Yes, you have access to good brands. They can sometimes be less expensive than other dealerships, especially with the Dynasty and Omega. The mid and builder lines are not going to be priced much differently no matter where you go. They are too commonly found, and comp shopped for that. Yes, you have access to a dedicated kitchen designer as opposed to an architect's input. Those kitchen designers are every bit of hit and miss as at any other place, so due diligence is in order. As a rule, the designers are a bit more of the miss because of the low compensation package offered, which is why I left. They are franchises, and each one has different ways of doing things, even though they operate under the umbrella of the franchise agreement. The other reason that I left was that I was uncomfortable with their compensating their contractor and designer members for 10% of the sale without the customer's knowledge. Yes, many companies do give a contractor discount to members, but there, if you the customer paid 30K for cabinets, your designer or contractor who brought your business to them would get a 3K check. Contractors don't have a duty to disclose that to their customers, but designers and architects have a Code of Ethics that compel them to be clear with their customers about all sources of income on their jobs. In all the time I was there, I had only one designer who complied with that Code of Ethics. The temptation was just too great, I guess. Now, members can pass along that 10% discount to their customers if they want, and get their compensation outside of that, and if I were dealing with a member, thst is what I would want. But, I personally would wait to see if he offers it. Or mentions the discount at all. Because that will tell you a lot.