Have you looked at the stain options? I fell for a Decora stain (teaberry) that looked much more rich than anything offered by Armstrong or Timberlake. My KD reps the same brands, and they favor Decora and Kemper over the others you mentioned. But mine aren't installed yet, so my comments are not all that helpful!

I think teaberry might be too dark for me (looking at the brochure not actual samples). From the brochure, I am liking from glazed finishes: arlington espresso, brandywine espresso or mink espresso. From non-glazed maybe sepia or suede but I do like the glazed look more.

Oh, I wasn't necessarily suggesting teaberry for you, but just that you might fall in love with a particular stain in a particular line like i did. And that the pricier lines tend to have more options for things like glazing, and "deeper" finishes. Good luck!

I don't think a lot of people here know Canyon Creek. I was interested in it because it's made in Washington by a good company. I went to see a full kitchen display in natural cherry. It was very stripey with sap wood, so we didn't use them.

Armstrong is builder grade. "Value" is a relative term. Yes, they're "inexpensive" if you're a builder, but if you're anyone else, your vocabulary word is "cheap". Timberlake, not much better than builder grade. Same thing as Shenendoah at Lowes and American Woodmark at Home Depot. Jim Bishop focuses on looks, and sacrifices the specs to achieve it. I don't think they're that long on looks either after a few years, after seeing a 5 year old display at a local shop that looked 15 years old. Kemper is a good medium grade cabinet line, and about the lowest price of those you list that I'd consider. Decora is really nice, but, unless you fall in love with something from them, probably not worth the cost difference between it and Kemper. Canyon Creek is also nice, but if you're going to do it, you might as well do Decora. I'd go see what I fell in love with. It might be different than you imagine in your mind.

BTW, no one ever sells at "list" price. Discount off of list for cost depends on the dealer's location and the price of the cabinetry as shipping factors into it. It can vary from 50-70% off of list, depending on the line and the distance from the factory. If you're not getting that, you're not getting "cost". You're getting regular "discount off of list", which is usually 30-40% off of list. Sounds similar. Isn't. The difference is the dealer's margin.

Are any of those lines frameless ? If you are going with full overlay, you might as well get frameless if he carries a line that you can get it in. Especially for a small kitchen !

angela12345 - I think only JimBishop has frameless but I am pretty sure I will not get those. I know that frameless are more popular but just by re-configuring the layout and getting taller uppers I will gain a TON of more space and not having center stile will be wonderful!
hollysprings - that's great input, thank you. For Decora and Kemper, do you know how good they are at wood selection for cherry? I don't like when it looks "stripey" with lots of sap wood. I saw Kemper display at KD and Decora at HD and they seemed OK but they were really old displays. I did look at the door samples and colors and I did not "fall in love" any one door/finish.

I looked at my notes and I think he also carries KraftMade or whatever equivalent name is for KD.

My husband is not much help, he just wants a new kitchen and does not care that much what I choose so getting help and advice here is extremely appreciated.

oops - multiple accidental posts :(

This post was edited by skeylargo on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 22:05

no way to delete multiple posts ... sorry

This post was edited by skeylargo on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 22:07