The first thing I would ask you is: the quotes you got from Lowes, are they for wood or furniture board boxes? That makes a difference when you are comparing wood boxes to Ikea oranges. Also, make sure you get the *complete* quote because finished ends, trim, etc add up. Also, Lowes runs those specials all the time, so don't feel too pressured to get it because of the promotion.

Have you received quotes from a custom cabinet maker? You should really look into that. And have you looked into other RTA's?

Hi, have you run all wood RTA's past your husband? If he's thinking Ikea you may also want to get a price for the Conestoga cabinets from cabinetmakerschoice.com. My kitchen is not very big but I did go up and stack the cabinets (19 kitchen cabinets total) mostly all drawers on base, top of line hardware, three pull-outs and some painted and others stained with a glaze for $8,000 (if you don't include extra gallons of paint stain topcoat ect). You may want to get on the above sites and learn what they are about...very very nice quality!!! If you fax in your floor plan with a rough idea of sizes and ask for a rush on pricing because you need to possibly make a deadline on another cabinet line sale I think they will work with you.
My best

To be clear Kraftmaid and Diamond offer an upgrade to plywood boxes not wood. Whether you purchase that upgrade or not you get the same guarantee from the cabinet company which should tell you something about the advantages of plywood boxes. On a small budget I would think twice about spending on this upgrade.

Conestoga offers a nice range of product with a lot of flexibility.

IKEA cabs are rated very highly by Consumer Reports and there are many people here who have them and love them. There is a site, IKEAfans.com, dedicated to people who use and like their IKEA stuff.

I ordered my cabs and counters there yesterday and am confident about the quality and durability. There is a special running that gives 40% off of your counter top if you spend $2,500 on cabs and/or appliances. I don't think any other cab company is going to offer that. You don't pay tax on IKEA counters because they are done by them and it is considered a capital improvement. I ordered Corian counters and am paying approx $40 a sqft, installed, and for an upgrade choice, Rain Cloud. You can do a granite from them for even cheaper than that. Their laminate counters would work out to even lower than both those choices.

If you are looking at RTA where you need to put the finish on, that is not comparing apples to apples. With the IKEA, you get a factory finish to your cabs, very uniform, and you don't need to put in the labor or materials to finish them.

When you are laying out your cabs with the kitchen planner and you click on each one, you choose the door style and there are fields below where you can put in for cover panels. Just tell it exactly what you need (i.e. back, left side, right side). The computer will figure out what you need for small details such as interior fittings. When you go to IKEA to order, the people there go over everything and ask you questions and point out options. It is not a 5 minute process, so be prepared to spend some time with the IKEA person. If you are considering doing it before the promotion ends on the 28th, I'd try to get there asap (today) before it is crazy crowded with last minute orders. If you have no choice but to go on the weekend, be the first person there when they open the doors.

You can delay delivery or pickup so don't think you need to rush things. You also can return/exchange anything if you change your mind about sizes, styles, etc... I was a little panicked while placing my order about if I make any mistakes, despite having literally years to plan. The guy assured me that if I need to switch something or make changes, it is easy to do. I won't be stuck with a custom cab that does not fit. They take anything back if need be. You can always order more if you forgot something. The beauty of IKEA is if you decide to add to or change your plan, it will match and it is generally in stock, unlike dealing with a cabinet company.

We are having their cabinet people install for us, which is currently another 10% off.

There was supposed to be a promotion for another 10% off the purchase if you open a credit card account and there would be 24 mos to pay interest free, but they said they were having a problem with that so could not offer the card/financing, but gave me the 10% off anyway for asking.

All in all, it is a really hard bargain to pass up. I have the budget to order more expensive stuff, but why do it if you can get quality stuff for much less? It gives me the freedom to spend the difference on other things or just plain save the money for a rainy day. BTW - our Lowes/HD cab estimate was $17k for the same style and color (white slab front). My IKEA kitchen, with more cabs, came in under $4k. When you add in the savings for the cabs and counters, it really is incredible. I will have my cabs, counters and installation all for well under what the cabs alone wold have been.
Don't forget to check out their sinks and faucets as well. They have some very nice choices and variety.

I don't know much about their appliances, but you could also consider those after researching customer reviews (we hadn't done that, so I just can't speak from experience).

Where do you live, sumnerfan? I had gotten a quote from HD for Thomasville, which the KD told me were cheaper than Kraftmaid. Only plywood on the end cabinets, and it came to about $14k w/the special they were running. Found a local guy selling Kabinart (American made, all wood standard)and it came in at $10k for their most expensive door w/glazing and upgraded, soft-close drawers. I have found, as everyone said I would on this site, Lowe's and HD rarely have the cheapest price!! Take your time, research and get other estimates. We too are in our forever house so I don't want to rush and in 2 yrs find out I could have had what I really wanted if I had researched more!

If it is KraftMaid or any other brand you search the internet for on line dealers. We saved $7000.00 from the H.D. price by shopping on line. We then had many phone conversations and fax's with the dealer until we were happy with the design . They are being built now. You can track the progress on line by going to the KraftMaid site which is interesting.

Good Luck

I don't have much time before I head out the door to work, but wanted to add that Ikea has a 25 year warranty on their kitchens.
~Missy

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea warranty

If you are even slightly considering Ikea cabinets I would highly recommend going to IkeaFans and posting a copy of your layout. There are several designers there that will not only walk through your design but adapt and tweak it for you until it is perfect. I know it sounds like a pain, but personally if the store is within 200 miles I would consider driving and picking up the cabinets. A moving truck and gas will cost significantly less and if they have your door style in stock you can walk out with everything that day.

Summerfan, I agree, don't rush. Tell DH that there is more to explore and that Lowes will have another sale in a few months.

I also recommend getting local cabinetmaker quotes. I did a new kitchen in 2003 in maple cabs and the local guy did everything I needed for my custom cabs- no trying to fit the wrong size cab in a spot or paying extra to get the cabs a little higher than the standard 35 inches or so. Go to the link below and see all the cabs I got for about $13,000. All of them! (except the window seat that my carpenter made.)

As much as I loved that kitchen and the experience of working with the cabinet makers, I did a Green Demolitions kitchen in my current house. Heck- I never was going to leave that kitchen, I spent $36,000 (structural issues, new roof over part of it...) on that kitchen and then we left that house after 2 years because we added an unexpected family member (my father-in-law) and needed a second bathroom and more room. I don't want to ever make that mistake again, so we got a good-quality set from GD and refinished the doors ourselves. This is also supposed to be our forever home, but times have taught us that plans can change.

If all you want to spend on kitchen cabs is $6-8000, there are a boatload of beautiful kitchens at GD. If you are anywhere east of the Mississippi, you could save a bunch -after you include airfare to get to the kitchen and drive it home. I know you have been considering and watching for used kitchens. Give it more time. Don't let a sale force you into giving up on the other options. I would hate to see you regretting the $$$ you spent on your cabs.

Part of the reason I am vehement about this is that the cabs at Lowes do have drawbacks that you may not get on a GD or local cabinetmaker kitchen. Look at the depth of those top drawers at Kraftmaid. Two and a half or three inches? Go look at a local cab maker's drawers. Probably full depth. No potato masher or soup ladle will get stuck in their drawers. Look at the photos of the cabs at GD. Some of these are premium quality. I cannot imagine why someone removed some of those kitchens!

Look more before you let a sale force the issue!

Here is a link that might be useful: My maple kitchen from 2003

enginerd has a great point. I had a plan and went there, the tweaks were amazing. I am greatful for their information and assistance. I don't think our kitchen would be as functional as it is now.

We spent less than $10k on our kitchen renovation (the countertop 40% sale really was amazing). I would have preferred to take more time to find something recycled or other finishes/products but we had mold/must problems in some cabinetry that made them unusable. Luckily it was just in the cabinets but we never would have known without gutting our kitchen. Ikea really made this unexpected renovation affordable and really beautiful.

I want to echo a couple things that Nancy said.

Take your time and don't rush your decisions. You've said that this is your forever home and you've been thinking about what you want for years. You may be better off deferring your kitchen reno for several more years until you can save a little more money to get what you really want/need.

Explore local cabinetmakers. I had my cabs custom-made locally and it was cheaper than the quotes I obtained for Kraftmaid, Aristokraft, Medallion, and a couple other lines. I got very good quality cabs with exactly the features I wanted, which I couldn't have done with the lines above.

Good luck!

I have had three new kitchens during my twenty-five year marriage.(Three different houses) My husband likes to say that we got a new kitchen every eight years! This is not exactly true. My current kitchen took fifteen years! My question to you is, is your current kitchen so terrible? (Mine was cheap painted over wood, original to my 1950's split level) But, I raised my two daughters and bascially lived my life despite that ugly kitchen. So, can you wait a year or two, do more research, save more money? The problem with renovating is that there are always extra hidden costs. I wouldn't want you to wind up with a very low end kitchen that you will not be happy with. Seems like there is tension in your household over this decision already.

I was against IKEA cabs until I really inspected them in person at the store a couple of weeks ago. I have to say I was impressed. The looked and felt better than some of the display kitchens at HD and Lowes.

Also, like others suggested, try to find a local custom maker. Don't automatically assume they are expensive. And, check out smaller independent cabinet stores or lumberstores that sell Kraftmaid or Diamond. They are often cheaper than HD or Lowes. And yes, those big box stores have "specials" regularly so don't feel rushed.

Maybe I missed this, but are you getting a paint finish--like white? There is a substantial upcharge for painted cabs. It's worth it to me because that's what I've wanted for many years.

I started very early in the year drawing my kitchen and getting cab quotes. We wanted to start reno in April. Well, it's now November and demo is finally complete. I spent many months here studying layouts, cabinets, sinks, etc. so I'm the reason we stalled. People here told me back then to relax and not rush it. As much as I didn't want to hear it, they were right. And this is not worth battling with DH. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Just throwing in another thought--Lowe's and HD will try and beat each other's prices. Take your Lowe's quote to HD and see what they can do for you. They both have the same cabinets (with different names).

I've never heard anyone complain about their IKEA cabinets. If this was my kitchen, I'd look into them first.

Usually, but not always, both lowes and HD will meet a price you found on the internet if you bring it in.

The layout you do in the ikea kitchen designer doesn't generally include fillers, or matching color end panels (called cover panels). Or decorative trim like crown or light rail. You buy cover panels for all exposed ends. The cover panels are in the designer, but you need to add it to the appropriate cabinets. If you want a door panel, you buy a full height door for a 24" or 12" cabinet. The designer not let you select this piece but your ikean order clerk can. Because they are frameless, you might need to start a run with a small filler - called a starter molding - if the side of the cabinet is against a wall. This insures that your doors and drawers won't hit the wall.

The kitchen design price list also includes toe kick covers, countertop and hardware unless you specify not to on each cabinet. Things like hinges, drawers, wire pull outs or shelves show up as separately priced items. Refrigerator enclosures can be made from oven side panels.

If you don't like their door styles, you can buy the doors, cover panels, moldings and toe kicks from another company. We bought our doors from scherrs as have many others. The doors took about two weeks to make and ship. For the doors and drawer fronts and a decorative end, we paid about three hundred dollars more than ikea would have charged for the doors and drawers, but we got all solid wood, mitered cherry doors and drawer fronts. We bought the doors finished, but not stained. We added some fillers from a local source.

You can also design up your kitchen in the ikea designer or any other way you'd like, but get scherrs to make better quality cabinets for you. The thing with going that way is you can customize the width, height or depth of any cabinet and/or get special pieces made or fancy trim. We had scherrs cabinets in the kitchen that was destroyed and I loved them. They used to be about 1/3 less than Kraftmaid. We ended up doing the blended ikea=scherrs because ikea is less than 30 minutes away and I didn't want to wait even an extra month to special order.

I have heard some disheartening info lately about the mortgage market, foreclosures still heading through the system, new housing starts down, unemployment still horrible, etc. etc etc. Although there is a sale price deadline looming for you for cabs, I suspect that there will be good deals in future as well, esp. after the federal energy credits expire at end of year and energy-improvement work dries up for construction materials sellers and mfg laborers and installation laborers. This economy is not going to heal itself any time soon and those who can afford to go into the market as buyers are in the catbird seat in many ways. Don't let today's sale price push you too fast, esp if it's by a major chain. The typical annual pattern of monthly special sales in the retail world has been dismantled and sellers are likely to continue having sale on sale on sale.

You can buy when you're ready.

I just wanted to echo the comments about checking out a local cabinet maker (especially if you can find one running a sale).

We're getting our cabinets made locally including installation with more bells and whistles then what the BB store and a "custom kitchen showroom" type place could do for us including sale prices that didn't even include delivery or installation.
And I never thought they'd be that competitive, much less cheaper!

Good luck!

Ikea cabinets can look really nice. Sarah Richardson used them in her farmhouse kitchen, on HGTV. She had them painted gray and cream for the lowers and uppers and yellow on the island. She stacked the uppers to give it a more custom look...and put the drawer under the sink.

Here's a link, with some pictures of the kitchen, part way down. If you want more details, you can watch the entire episode on HGTV :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Sarah Richardson's Farmhouse

On 11/19/2010 I ordered rta cabinets at http://www.toledocabinets.org/ for 5,712.94 including shipping compared to the BB store price of just over $13,000. Both cabinets were solid wood construction, Maple Cherry and have dovetail drawers. I ordered two door samples and was impressed with both styles. The style I choose has mitered doors and was an upgrade. My drawers have the soft close feature another upgrade. I expect to receive them in next week but getting them assembled will be another story as I don't think I want my kitchen demo during the holidays. If you can wait about 2 months, I will give you the good, the bad, and the ugly of my experience of assembling them and any comments my contractor has about installing them off the design I received from the rta store.