I don't know the cabinets, but I do know Costco, and that's the company I want to deal with if I were to have issues of quality or contractor performance with this kind of product. I also suspect that you will get very good value for your money.

The use of Mortise and Tenon construction on the boxes, the integrated toe kick and the dust cover top are all characteristic of Fabritec Kitchens in Quebec. They do a few lines for Home Depot Canada including a semi-custom line called Expressive that slots in just below Thomasville. They also do an RTA line which is supposed to be going into US HD's called Eurostyle. Because the stains are wiped and not sprayed their product has less variation than a lot of stained wood cabinetry I have seen from other companies. All the doors in the lower priced line are probably birch. My Mom used the Stock line they produce called "Instant" in her kitchen and she was very happy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fabritec Kitchens

Thank you both for your insight. I do agree that Costco is a great company to deal with, and my experience with them has always been positive. That can't be a bad thing. :)

Cary, I think you have nailed the source on these...I followed your link and noticed that the names of the door styles are the same, and some of the photos of finished kitchens match exactly. Thanks so much for clarifying that for me; it will make my research much easier.

Since you are familiar with these cabinets, can you tell me how they would compare to IKEA? That is one of the options we are considering, and wondered if there were any glaring differences in quality. I expect that there would be a price difference as the Xpressions cabinets from Costco are assembled rather than RTA. Do you know how they might compare to one another?

If anyone has any insight, I'd appreciate hearing it. It will be a few weeks before I am able to see what Costco is displaying in their stores (a kiosk, I'm sure) so I'd love to hear what you might know. :)

As Fabritec has its' own RTA line that is going after the Ikea market I did talk to a Contractor who had used both RTA lines and liked the Ikea better. He said he thought they assembled more easily and were machined more accurately. In terms of the assembled lines like Expressive\Expressions the veteran installer we had from Home Depot liked the Fabritec product a lot more than Thomasville and thought the finishing was better than Thomasville and Kraftmaid. Both Expressive and Instant were produced by Maax who sold to Fabritec a few years ago. HD staff in a few locations were very impressed with the improvements made by Fabritec since they took over production and they were supplier of the year to HD Canada a couple of years ago. Construction on the cabinets is pretty unique and they are much stronger than most frameless cabinetry before installation (they don't rack at all). All the cabinets except the sink base have solid backs made of the same material as the sides (Ikea just has a 1\4 inch cover you nail on). Fabritec uses 3\4 for their RTA line but only 5\8 for the assembled. I don't think you can get the ply in Canada, upgrading to ply is really a US thing and isn't really that desirable for frameless in my opinion.Fabritec Edgebands (in a PVC) to match your door colour. Hettich makes good hardware. My Mom didn't get full extension hardware (it isn't standard on the Instant) but I have seen the hardware in store and you can't notice any difference from displays using Blum. My Mom did a thermo finish but she only returned a couple of fronts and it wasn't a problem.

Here are some pics of my Mom's kitchen. The cabinetry lined she used is called Instant and is stock line not semi-custom like Expressive\Expressions. Her kitchen isn't fancy (thermo, resilient sheet flooring, laminate etc.). Still the cabinets had some thoughtful details - the interiors were colour matched to the doors, the one piece MDF doors have a second routered edge that makes the corner appear to be square not rounded like many thermo door styles also they do all matching drawer fronts (no slab drawers, they always match the door style even on the RTA product). I contacted Fabrited directly with some questions and they were very responsive.

I hadn't heard of this new line of cabs Costco is carrying. I wasn't that impressed with the finish on the allwood cabs. You need to remember that if you have problems you won't be dealing with Costco, but the company. It's not like you can return to the store for a refund. Checkout the policy.

You are correct, Doraville. Costco is simply the retailer, and that is certainly something to keep in mind. I promise to be careful! :)

Cary, thank you so much for your detailed information. You have certainly gone above and beyond to answer all of my questions. Because we live in rural Wyoming, "hands-on" comparison shopping is difficult and we must travel some distance to do so. You've been so helpful, and I very much appreciate your insight.

Your mother's kitchen shows great use of color and practicality. What a lovely combination!

Cary

What are the countertops, backsplash and wall color in the pictures of your mother's kitchen? I'm getting new countertops (Santa Cecelia granite) and keeping my white cabinets. Having a hard time deciding what to do with backsplash. Didn't think I would like the small tiles but your mother's backsplash appeals to me. I'm really surprised! The wall color might also help me stop focusing on decorating over the upper cabinets (which I really don't want to do) as saturated color fills the space so much better than a light or even medium neutral.

I called the design center and talked with one of the designers Ana. Xpressions is produced by Fabritec from Quebec. The line was developed for Costco based of all the features of their other brands. Main differences between the basic and Plus is Plus takes longer to get 6-8 weeks, but all size modifications are free, choice of drawer systems (Hettich), matching veneer sides and wide range of cabinet options.
They do offer green plywood as an option that is Urea formaldyhyde free and comes with natural wood veneer standard. The extra is about 10% for the green alternative. As for warranty, they claim to stand behind it 100%, and if you don't like that, Costco is always there, I call it the Costco insurance policy
We are planning at renovating in the spring and I will interested to see how the design and price stacks up with my local suppliers.

Hello, Iceman. I see by your profile that you are located in Canada. Are the Xpressions cabs available through Costco Canada, or will you be dealing with Costco US? Please do let us know what you hear back from the designer. I'm anxious to hear all the details. :)

Currently they are only sold thru Costco US so they must make delivery to US address. They hope to be able to sell Canada soon (seems inevitable I hope), otherwise I have a friend with warehousing in Buffalo that can bring it back for me. I would rather not deal with the hassle of the border unless the price makes it that attractive. Like I said earlier, we will be taking a serious look in the spring, hopefully things will have changed by then.

The post seems to have stopped in late November 2010. Has anyone purchased these cabinets? If so, any thoughts, opinions? Will be sending my measurements within a day or two. Thanks

I obtained a quote from them for Xpressions Plus - plywood construction, slab maple veneer doors for Small U shaped kitchen separate wall across (walkway through kitchen)for over $10,000. My goal for cabinets was to stay as close to $5,000 as possible, so I'm still obtaining quotes. I'm thinking of ordering a sample door. I'm going to check to see where their metal drawers (like ikea) fall price wise because I really like those. I'm finding their pricing to be in line with Cabico's pricing so far. The cabico dealer is local so that is swaying me. Cabico gives me the option of a solid wood slab door or veneer slab. The Xpressions representative has been very nice on the phone. I gave them a layout, but her rendition of it on their software is stunning, the best yet.