I agree you have to be careful, as creek_side said. Our Lowes KD was top knotch, informative, helpful and very professional. He spent a ton of time working out every little detail and advised me in things I never would have thought of. He also said he would only let one installer do my kitchen. He admitted that it can be a crapshoot if you just go with comes up on the computer when the order is put in. He kept putting in my order until the right installer came up. And that installer was incredible. I found out he was the top installer and had the highest satisfaction surveyed. It was obvious in his craftsmanship, professionalism and attention to detail, even to the point of doing custom detail work. If you are not comfortable with the people you are working with, you probably won't get what you want. It's the same with big-box or custom cabinetmaker. Do your homework. My GC was blown away when he saw the install, at the quality of the cabinets as well as the quality of installation. He kept asking "Lowe's?"

We used HD Thomasville as well, and Silestone via HD. Do a search for Quartz and you will see the finished kitchen pics. Same thing here - we got numerous quotes, and in our area, we got the best deal via Thomasville. We did use our own contractor for install, as HD contractor prices ate up all other savings we got by buying materials through them. We also got an 18 month same as cash which was the deal maker for a bunch of reasons. Hd contracts out with a local Silestone dealer / installer. These people were amazing! They templated via lazer, a fascinating process, and the install went without a hitch. They were very intentional about making sure all was ok. From what I've read here, I don't think every quartz / stone contractor HD uses is as good as what we've got here...not sure about that one. We got our sink via the fabricator, facets and bs via other vendors. But, we got our stove via HD by doing a cost match. We found the item online via another vendor, cheaper than HD online price, and they honored the cheaper price we found. One of a bunch of ways they helped us lower costs. Oh...and we did purchase our counters and cabs during sales. That made a big difference as well. Sometimes they are HD sales, other times the sales are generated by the product,s manufacturer, I.e., Thomasville and the quartz dealer. The only place I felt HD wasn't a good deal was on their install / labor prices. We did work with a KD at no additional charge. She came to the house, and worked with us for hours. She was very experienced, and taught us things we didn't think about despite getting about 6 other estimates. So, we are happy campers. We love our Thomasville cabinets. Our contractor's friend is a high end home builder. He was here often during install and was impressed with their quality. (I'm not skilled at evaluating such things.) One cab was damaged during transit or at the factory, and we got a no hassle door replacement delivered to our home. We wanted more shelves, thinking they shorted us a few, and they sent us extras. Very responsive. Have fun deciding!

As others have noted it depends on what your goals are for this remodel. (1) How long will you be in your current house (the one you're remodeling)? [If a short time 3 years, remodel based on YOUR needs/wants] (2) What is the goal of your remodel? What kind of kitchen are you going for? Take the "The Sweeby Test". (3) How much do you plan to DIY? If at least some DIY, how good are your DIY skills? (4) What is your budget? (5) Look a the Finished Kitchen Blog to see sample kitchens and their various elements. (6) What is important to you? (I know, the best of everything you can afford!) You've already defined your kitchen's feel (Sweeby Test). (7) Now, armed with what you want out of your kitchen, your budget, and ideas from the FKB, list your priorities for you kitchen. Some people really want a granite or soapstone counter and will compromise on cabinets or flooring or appliances. Some want solid wood doors and all-wood door boxes while others want top-of-the-line, the-best-money-can-buy appliances. What are your priorities? To consider: Cabinets: ...Do you want well-built, well-accessorized cabinets or will basic (but still solid) cabinets with only a few accessories be fine? ...What style of door do you want...modern or traditional? ...Also look, at the style of drawer fronts...if you have mostly drawers in your base cabinets then drawer fronts will be a major part of the look of your cabinets in your kitchen. ...What type of doors do you want...wood, wood-veneer, metal, MDF? ...What construction do you want in your cabinet boxes...plywood, particleboard, metal, MDF? ...Do you need/want full-extension drawers and/or pullout shelves? ...Look at drawer & pullout shelf glides...are they plastic or metal? (metal is generally stronger and lasts longer) ...How much DIY do you plan? Some cabinets, like IKEA, come ready to assemble (RTA). Most come assembled. Other elements to consider: Countertop: granite, soapstone, quartz, solid surface, wood, laminate, recycled glass or paper, etc. Flooring: wood, tile, stone, laminate, etc. Backsplash: none, partial (continuation of countertop material), tile/stone, paint, etc. Lighting: recessed, undercabinet, pendants, etc. Appliances: You can spend 5,000 plus dollars on a range or refrigerator or you can spend One thing to keep in mind is that some things will last longer than others. Generally, appliances will need to be replaced long before cabinets and countertops so yes, you might go "light" on the appliances initially or even re-use what you already have. That would leave more of your budget for higher-end cabinets, countertop, and flooring--items that you change much less often. Backsplashes can be delayed. All these things are subjective...based on your needs and wants. You will get many opinions here; read them knowing that everyone is different and everyone (1) has different goals for their kitchen and (2) has different priorities. Filter comments through the lens of your goals/needs/wants. Good luck!

Hmm, long ago we walked in and talked to Home Depot asking to get some idea of prices and the cabinet person encouraged us to sit down and do a plan right then based on our measurements. If we wanted to proceed with ordering cabinets, we could either do so off our measurements or pay for them to come and measure to confirm. We walked out with a plan and prices. This was about 13 years ago though so practices may have changed. Or they may vary by store? edited to add: we did not use Home Depot. We were young and broke and ended up diy painting the existing cabinets (and diying new floor, new countertop, new lighting) because that's all we could afford at the time.