"For instance, when I was drilling the holes for the drawer fronts, I learned to place a piece of wood on the backside of the wood that I was drilling to prevent the wood from splintering." That was going to be my suggestion, but you already figured this out. God job. Carpenters never buy templates. You can make better ones in the shop.

I don't have any experience with spraying cabinets, so I'll let others address that. However, I did want to ask if you had priced cabinet doors/drawerfronts at Scherr's? I haven't used them myself, but from what I have read, they have the Ikea measurements on file, and people have found that their prices are either comparable to Ikea's, or in some cases even better (at least, if you're choosing an unfinished, paint-grade wood at Scherr's vs. a finished door at Ikea). Amberley is currently doing an Ikea kitchen with Scherrs doors; I'm sure she could give you some insight. The reason I mention it is that buying a finished door from Ikea means that you will have to deal with sanding off the Ikea finish, which adds time and hassle if you're doing it yourself, and time and money if you're hiring it done. Whereas with Scherr's, you can buy either unfinished or preprimed. (Also, it's possible that they have a doorstyle you like even more then the Adel.) Good luck with whatever you decide!

As a general rule, if someone is charging an arm and leg to do something, it's because it's not easy and takes some experience to do it right. Anyone with a screwdriver can attach doors and drawer fronts. The trick is getting them to look right -- aligned and even. Cabinet doors are fairly simple, but the adjustments available by tweaking the hinges is about 3/16" maximum, so you have to get them pretty close before you start adjusting. Take you time with you first door and get it exactly even with the same margin on all sides. Then measure from the top of the opening to the middle of the top hinge screw slot. This is your starting hole for all subsequent doors -- assuming that your door manufacturer made them all with the same top offset. Attach the top hinge, then place and drill the bottom hinge. Attach any middle hinge(s) last. Drawer fronts are more difficult. They have to be perfectly aligned and evenly spaced to look right, which is much more difficult than the pros make it look ( especially as some of the fronts are inevitable going to be just a little too large or a little too small). For your first drawer box, cut out cardboard templates matching the fronts, then lay them out on the drawer box and tape them in place with making tape until they line up perfectly. Mark the location of the fronts and remove the templates. Start at the bottom and work up. After a little experience you can skip the templates, using the drawers you have already installed as an alignment guide. Your best asset is going to be unlimited patience. Don't be afraid to do it over until you get it right. Good luck.

seconding the recommendation for the jig; ask the folks who are selling you the doors to help you find one. Most doors will be the same height (some will be anomalies), but they may be standard distances from top and bottom of cabinet. And once you figure it out, if the commercial jig isn't quite specific enough for your cabinet, you can use it to make your own jig that fits exactly (out of masonite, or ply, or something).