Hi. I had Kraftmaid solid maple (honey spice stain) cabinets installed 10 years ago and they are still beautiful--and we are hard on things in this house! And I have only really given them a thorough cleaning maybe 3 or 4 times. They have a beautiful finish. We just did some minor remodeling and I was glad that I could still order another cabinet in the same style and color--one reason to go with a company that will be around for awhile I guess. (Both Merrillat and Kraftmaid have been in business a long time.) My older cabinets were a builder grade Merillat,(terrible- didn't even have adjustable shelves in the wall cabinets!) but I think that they might have a higher grade of cabinet available. Didn't Reico buy them out? However, yes, Kraftmaid is pricey for stock cabinets compared to some other lines, especially for their trim pieces and accessories! (You could buy after-market accessories) One nice thing about Kraftmaid is that they replaced a few cabinet doors for free when I complained about some of the natural markings that I didn't like (even though I signed something that said I understand that "this is a natural product that has natural markings, etc." Another good thing about Kraftmaid is they have so many sizes and trims, and special cabinets that it is almost like a custom cabinet shop. I'm not sure if it is worth $6K more, however. I can just vouch for how well they hold up. One tip to save money--if you need something like corbels you can just order stain (I know Kraftmaid will sell it) and order corbels online. I did! I got unfinished solid maple corbels for $20 instead of the $100+ or so it would have cost to get them from Kraftmaid. Hope this helps.

hi kkupstate-I have masterpiece and i love them. Here are some differences. MASTERPIECE 1. more door styles 2. more finishes avail. 3. solid wood doors vs. engineered for classic 4. cabinet back is : 3/8" thick laminated printed birch wood grain or white Melamine. 3/8" Plywood upgrade (we upgraded) vs. 1/4" thick, 50-pound density engineered wood extends all the way to the floor to give the entire cabinet box extra strength and stability for classic. 5. 3/4" solid wood full-depth drawer with four-sided dovetail construction and 3/16" plywood bottom vs. Drawer is 4-sided, 1/2" thick 48-pound engineered wood lap joined with adhesive and stapled for classic 6. 3/4" Solid wood drawer fronts vs. engineered 7. Blum Tandem Plus full extension drawer guide with 75lb load rating and standard soft closing drawer buffer system vs. Sidemount WhisperGlide drawer guides deliver a smooth opening and are load rated for 75lbs for classic. 8. Wall Cabinet Shelves: 3/4" thick laminated printed birch wood grain or white Melamine. 3/4" plywood upgrade available vs. 5/8" thick Forty-eight pound density engineered wood. Those are some of the differences but I have included a link to their website so you can see them all. Merillat and Kraftmaid are made by the same company. We originally got quotes on KM from lowes which contained less big cabinets (microwave cooking center) and Merillat Masterpiece was less expensive(after contractor discount). If you went with classic upgrades are available on some of their items whereas with masterpiece almost everything is upgraded and included in price. Like I said I love mine, they are well built and I would use them again. hope this helps you some! Here is a link that might be useful: merillat

we almost went with Merrilat but decided on Ultra Craft, a semi-custom line. Merrilat is a stock cabinet, so it isn't as if yours have to be 'made' ...chances are the order is easier to 'fill'. We ended up with the semi custom line which allowed us to have the design we really wanted. The specials being offered by Ultra Craft at the time made the price difference about 2 grand. I have to say, though, the kitchen designer had NO HESITATION in backing Merrilat 110%. She said we it is a solid company, and offers a good product. If you can get what you want with it, and the savings will help, you can feel confident going with Merrilat. We too were going to do the plywood and dovetail drawers. GOOD LUCK with the DECISION!

But is the masterpiece more expensive? We want good quality, but this was an unexpected project and we are on a budget. We also need the cabinets quickly because of an issue with our counters. I do have complete confidence in our contractor. He is our realtor’s FIL and has done several projects for people in our family.