I have a medium sized kitchen and priced out
Shiloh
Medallion
Dynasty
Custom (went with custom)

Dynasty was the most expensive of the bunch. While they aren't "high end" like some of the brands we see mentioned on here I think they are more than "decent mid-level".

Not cynical, just cautious. Our contractor and KD both came with cabinet companies attached. I got quotes from all and did my own research as well. The contractor's 2 recommendations came in much higher than my KDs or anything I found on my own, so it was easy to tell him 'no thanks'. The KDs came in pretty close, so I went to see an install and was unimpressed. So that was an easy one too.

As my contractor told me, talk to as many people as you can reasonable stomach. Even if you don't use them, you might get some valuable suggestions. (We did.)

Good luck.

-Jeana, who's schedule is revised to be done in 2 weeks!

It depends on how much you trust your contractor. I did, and do, trust mine; he came highly recommended by several friends, and he did lots of little jobs in my house, then put in floor to ceiling shelves for our library, before we started the kitchen. I'm sure he got a cut of the cabinet cost, but that's the way they do business. He got us excellent cabinets at a price we were willing to pay, so I don't see that anyone was a loser here.

I realize that there are two school of thought: one, that one should seek to pay the least that one can for the quality one wants, and two, that one should seek to find the quality one wants at a price one is willing to pay. I'm in the second camp. I had a budget, he met it. I probably could have shaved some money here and there, but this remodel went off very nicely and I feel like I got what I paid for.

In other purchases, I'm in the other camp. I resist telling salespeople what my budget is, because I know that they'll try to spend it all, and sometimes I want to spend the least amount possible to get whatever it is that I'm buying. But I trusted my contractor not to spend my money stupidly, but to spend it getting the best that was available for that amount. I think he did. With appropriate profit to himself, because, after all, I was also paying for his expertise.

Wow, probably a longer answer than you wanted!

I don't know where you're located...but...

We bought Dyansty Omega for our first kitchen 11 years ago. They were and are fabulous cabinets--have held up so well both in fit and function. So well in fact, we are reusing many of them in our new master bath. We used a KD at the time-and in hindsight I realize now how unique she was because she really appreciated our budget constraints and worked very hard with us to realize a project with those cabinets.

Now, 11 years later, with a much bigger kitchen went back to a few folks who sell Omega Dynasty, thinking that would automatically be my choice (old KD no longer around). The salespeople were awful--I walked away and on a whim walked in to Cabinet Discounters one day. They carry several lines, the top of which is a company called "Brighton." In the showroom these cabinets looked exactly like my Dynasty-and very high quality. Salesperson was fabulous, no pressure, good info and ideas, including cost saving advice. Jury is still out on the whole deal because they get delivered next week--so I'll report back on how the back end of the whole deal goes...
But at least for now, if you're anywhere near MD or DC I would recommend Cabinet Discounters in Columbia, MD-Brighton Cabinets, and Matt Simms in particular as a sales point of contact. At a minimum--I echo Jeana--shop around as much as you have the time and heart for...
Good luck!
B

As all others have said , do your research. Yes it will take time, but you will feel much better when you make a decision.

Ask for references from the contractor's cabinet guy. The contractors I have interviewed all have given me the names and addresses of clients I can go to visit to see their work. Go and see the cabinets installed and ask the previous clients what other cabinets they looked at and why/why not they made the choices they did. This will give you some valuable insight - you can also ask about how the whole job went etc.

When I remodeled our previous kitchen, I went to a house the KD had done to see her work and the cabinets she was selling (I don't remember which ones they were). In her photos, this kitchen looked great. Well, in reality, it was awful! The cabinets were not the quality she said they were and the layout was not very functional (I asked the homeowner if it was her layout idea or the KD and she said the KD - which is what the KD had told me). We didn't go with that KD or those cabinets.

Just want to echo the advice to do a site visit. I didn't see the same product (a number of examples were available to me in the showroom so I wasn't too concerned) but I did get to see the installer's work. I think there are benefits to working with a product that the Contractor knows and is familiar with if all other things are equal between what you have seen and what he is recommending. Shop it until you can't anymore and get the specs on the cabinets your GC is recommending.

As a KD, I rep 5 different cabinet lines from budget to higher mid range. I can place a customer in any of those lines with a successful design if I am made aware of their budget up front. I've done kitchens where the cabs cost $4K and $64K, so it's all about the individual customer's needs vs. wants. vs. budget. I have to say that if your 10K budget includes the labor to install, that you're probably out of your range considering Dynasty for a mid sized kitchen with actual functionality as well as some aesthetic appeal. If you were in my showroom, I'd guide you to a lesser expensive line of cabinetry, and I'd explain the tradeoffs of doing so: less sizes and options available, less colors, less door styles, not quite as good a finish, etc. But, I'd let you make the decision whether or not to increase your budget or to go with a less expensive line.

Now, as far as installers go, you'd be welcome to engage the services of any contractor that you desired for the complete oversee of the job, or just for the cabinet install. However, I'd tell you why I like using my installers to install my designs. They don't have to have the design explained to them is the biggest one. Every KD has a certain "style" of doing some things that they've learned works in their cabinet lines. Someone not familar with that cabinet line or who hasn't done an install of cabinets for me may not be familiar with a technique or install method that I regularly use. For instance, I reguarly use a 6" tall filler as a horizontal filler in between 36" cabinets and the ceiling and float my crown from that. That makes any ceiling height discrepancy virtually disappear. This is a technique that is very familiar to most experienced cabinet installers, and I wouldn't even have to explain it to mine as they've done it on virtually every job I design. I designed a kitchen this way for a customer who wanted to use their own contractor to install, and I had to have 2 hours of meetings with that contractor to explain how to install the design for the customer. That's 2 hours of work that wouldn't be necessary if I used my installers. So, yes, they cost a bit more than some "finish carpenters", but if you have to pay me and your carpenter for the extra 2 hours of consultation plus he's a lot slower and not quite as good on some things, then you really haven't gotten a bargain even though he may look cheaper on the front end. So, this is one reason that KD's and contractors may have a partnership and like to work together and discourage any outside labor or design being used.

I hope I've helped you understand the "other side" a bit better and not feel so "manipulated" by the trades partnerships that many have developed over their experiences together. Many contractors or designers are great at what they do, but are lacking in communication skills to be able to explain their roles and their interaction to the customer.

First I think it is unfair to suggest that a contractor only recommends a cabinet company, or any other trade, because he gets a kick back. I recommend lots of other trades if I know a good one. I have a granite company that has done several kitchens for my customers. I don't get a kick back. What I get is a great job and a happy customer. This is where I get future work. Every happy customer brings me at least 1 good referal job. When the whole experiance for the customer goes well from basic demo through the plumber, electrican, cabinets, etc. the job has a happy ending. For many people those recommendations came from their contractor. He's seen the good and the bad on these projects. He only wants to work with people that help make his job go smooth. We all have formed relationships in business that we are comfortable with. Take advantage of the referals the contractor offers you. But shop and verify that the prices and quality are where you want them.

Thanks for all the posts! I ordered my Dynasty maple cabinets today. The price came to $9300. My contractors price for similar cabinets was $8700. For that small of a difference, it was an easy choice to go with Dynasty. This contractors open to my decision on what I wanted. Let's hope the rest of the kitchen goes as well.