Our bathroom vanities are going to be aristokraft. As I understand it, the quality is fine for what you are paying but the selection is extremely limited. (no upgrades available, etc.) If you like what you see in the catalog and in the showroom then it should be fine. The only other cabinet you mentioned that I am familiar with is Decora. They have many many more options and upgrades available(door styles, specialty finishes, decorative moldings,etc.) , which you will pay for. Also I believe their standard construction is all plywood.

All are MasterBrand companies except Bridgewood. I think Aristokraft slots in on the more affordable end of their 12 brands but I have never heard anything bad about them. The cabinet game is sort of dominted by MasterBrand (part of Fortune Brands) and Masco. MasterBrand is #2 after Masco in the cabinetry game in the US. That's the only piece of the puzzle I can clarify, sorry.

Here is a link that might be useful: 2004 who's who in cabinets

We had Aristrokraft cabinets in our old kitchen and they were, to put it nicely, designed to fail (i.e., pieces of c**p).

Let me say right now, though, that our cabinets were most likely "builder grade." However, in a thread a few months ago others, who had "better" Aristrokraft cabinets, also weren't too happy with them. Oh, and like others said, no upgrades were available (I asked!)

In our kitchen, drawers started failing (twisting, hard to open/close, out of alignment) after only 4 or 5 years, the sink fronts started falling off and the finish started failing around the same time (we had a painted finish), the shelves were very thin and bowed easily (no amount of turning over helped). The edges were all very sharp...I was constantly scraping my fingers whenever I brushed a shelf or cabinet side, including getting things out of the back of drawers (only 3/4 extension). Some of the hinges had to be replaced about 7 years in and the insides started peeling. The only thing that didn't fail was the lazy susan...it was still stable, and going strong when we demolished the kitchen...go figure!

Back when Consumer Reports rated cabinets, Aristrokraft were dead last.

There's a reason they were "one of the better quotes"...you get what you pay for.

We made do with those cabinets for 12 years, but the last 5 or 6 years I was embarrassed to have anyone see them. I was so happy the day they were taken out!!!!

Sorry to be so harsh about them...but they were awful and I'd hate for anyone else to end up with them w/o being forewarned!

Here's a picture of our "before" kitchen...the cabinets look better in the picture than they did in person, believe me! (You can see the painted finish wearing off at the sink, the misaligned drawer b/w the sink & range & in front of the sink, etc. The drawer you can't see in this picture was even worse!)

We have Aristokraft in our current kitchen now for 20 years and they have held up great. They are oak and have darkened with age, but Restore a finish has brought them back to life. I only did one of the worst doors, that being one under the sink that the cats have banged into jumping up to the sink and of course water going down the front for 20 years. Restore a finish made it look brand new. Never any problem with drawers, etc. Of course we don't have kids so that may make a difference as to why ours have held up so well.

Our neighbors have them. I know she (the wife) hates them, she refers to them as "Aristocrap". She said they are basically falling apart. Their house was completed when we started ours, so I'd say it's 6 years old, and she told me this a few years ago.

I found this article in an old thread. It is refreshingly straightforward and talks about materials and construction relationally which is what you need to consider. Face frame cabinetry isn't popular here in Canada so the construction of many of the Masterbrand lines with 3\8 exterior materials isn't familiar to me. In terms of the very basic info the Aristocraft sight provides the Standard Construction doesn't sound great. You would need to go up to at least the Select Construction. I would try to get more detailed specs on the cabs. Going to ply is an expensive upgrade in frameless because it has to be a mimimum of a 1\2 thick but if you have face frames it is only 3\8 which probably isn't such a big jump in price from the particle. Diamond is the only other company of those that I am familiar with as they make Thomasville for HD. Quality behind the doors is just OK and I don't know what is standard and what requires an upgrade. You should compare carefully because some lines have things as standard that are upgrades on others so you have to be sure your comparing similar features when evaluating price.

If you are working the lower end I would look for metal drawers with a 5\8 back and bottom (no 1\4 inch hardboard bottoms or stapled assembly). Door and drawer fronts should be 3\4 thick. If your doing a lot of drawers this will be the key feature if they upgrade from particleboard straight to wood dovetail you are in for a big price jump.

Here is a link that might be useful: info on cabinets