If you have a concern about the brand, why don't you ask the KD why she recommends them and why she used the other brand for the kitchen you saw. Maybe there was something about the style, finish, or color on the other kitchen that required the other brand. That said, we are using Holiday Cabinets in our kitchen. Our kitchen designer owns a kitchen studio and he carries two brands of cabinets - Downsview and Holiday. The KD was recommended by our builder - he did the builder's kitchen and has won a ton of awards in our area, so I feel comfortable with the cabinets in his shop. Downsview cabinets were about 25% more expensive than the Holiday ones and both the builder and KD's comment was that it was worth this if I wanted ornate cabinets or some kind of fancy glaze. However, since I want shaker style white cabinets, there was really no need to pay the extra. So, we are getting Holiday cabinets. I have been assured by the KD that they are good, well-built cabinets with high quality drawers, boxes, etc. The KD also assured me that they have the features I want. I hope this helps.

your budget isn't huge (i know that dosen't sound right...given you can buy a car for that amount of money...but cabs are dear) so first off i think you need to think about priorities for the spaces and your design hopes. if blue granite is your dream...you're going to need to go with a simple and pretty basic cabinet to keep your costs down. inset doors for instance...they're about an average 20% upcharge...paint, ditto that. but if you want formica, or a less expensivee granite say prefab from china, you can do more with your cabs. keeping your door styles simple saves a lot on the budget. my son's bathroom cabs were rediculously expensive...but thats because i fell in love with a very expensive finish and door style...thank god he dsen't have many cabs! personally i went with the best built cabs i could afford. i like the look of those simple consoe sinks, but is there enough storage in a kids bth with those? an idea to keep some costs down are to use unusual items for your vanety...like an antique dresser or other cabinet. its an easy retrofit to a pretty oak piece to make it work well...add either a well finished top, or a simple marble top...and you have a lovely piece.

If you go to the Finished Kitchens Blog you will see all sorts. Some people like pulls and knobs (and cup pulls), others have mixed finishes, some have wide drawers with 2 pulls while other have 1. I'm doing a small kitchen so we are keeping the pulls small and as we have a lot of upper cabinets and lower drawers we are using only pulls, all in the one size. Boring but we wanted to keep a pretty sleek look with the off-white shaker cabs that will lead away from traditional towards the transitional look we are hoping to create. Time will tell.

Any local custom shop producing cabinetry the equal to a national custom brand will be priced above that national custom brand. If they are not, then they aren’t giving you something that the national brand is giving you. You have to figure out what you are not getting. And what you’re willing to not get. A slapped on housepaint finish in your house rather than a conversion varnish in a clean booth? Pre cat or post cat if catalyzed? Ask about their finishing processes. Ask for a sample, and perform your own KCMA texts on it that the factory cabinets will pass. A limitation on door profiles or materials because they don’t actually make anything in house and just assemble parts and pieces ordered from others? Ask about doing a reverse raised panel in sapele or lyptus or a veneered slab rift sawn oak. Ask for examples of past one off projects. A 13 lead lead time because they do all the work themselves vs an 6 week lead time for a production cabinet? No one does everything well. If he’s a great woodworker, his finishing skills are likely to be adequate at best. And vice versa. If he hires in his own help, does he still perform the quality control on every cabinet before it leaves his place? A tail light warranty vs a lifetime warranty? How long has he been around? How many new pieces of machinery do you see in his shop that he is paying for? A new truck? Has that expenditure just put him into losing more money than he makes because he isn’t a good business man, even if he is a good cabinet maker? If his prices are too low for what he is doing, that is generally the case. Most small cabinet makers go under in less than 2 years time. Those that make it either adopt production techniques, or raise their prices enough to be able to take their time and craft a job. There are other things, but that’s the easy questions, even if some of it is educated inference rather than outright questions.