Thanks so much for posting this! Very helpful!

To get 7.5" drawers, you are using the regular small (5") IKEA drawers and then having custom 7.5" drawer fronts made?

Thank you! Very helpful in seeing how the companies relatively compare. Did you by any chance price out Barker Doors? It's super easy pricing out doors and drawers with custom sizing and upgrades online.

Suprised SemiHandmade doesn't offer any paint options and also how much lower Scherr's prices are to what I thought them to be!

fabulatrice - I'm hoping to use the medium drawer boxes, which normally would be used for the 10" drawer. Haven't quite figured that out yet.

avocadogirl - I did not price out Barker Doors. I'll do that for a cross-reference when I get a chance.

Thank you. Scherr came in much lower than I expected. I have 29 cabinets so it will be interesting to see how Conestoga compares ballpark.

Oops I forgot to tell you that my IKEA quotes were $25 to $45 per cabinet so on the high side, it's lower than your estimate.

Beachem, what kind of doors did you get from Scherr's?

I didn't. I'm getting quotes from Conestoga. It should be done this week.

I'm doing more detailed doors with mullions on two and custom painted.

It's always fascinating how different results we all get. We are going with a cabinetmaker which will end up around $17k installed. I only looked briefly at the custom door ikea option because it was going to be over $14k (assembled and installed). Given all the extra work I'd have to do with ordering/coordinating the Ikea and doors, the fact that once opened they still look like Ikea cabinets, and the lack of customization it was a no-brainer for us to spend the extra few thousand. I can use the time saved to do DIY some other things and make up some of the difference that way.

freeoscar, I would definitely have made that same call if it hadn't been a $10k price difference. I wonder what factors made your price difference so much less?

Maybe it's regional? I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and things are definitely more expensive around here. Also, the custom cabinet quote I got was for plywood boxes and wood dovetail drawers. And the door style I'm having custom-made is probably the most inexpensive type (slab MDF), so the additional cost vs. Ikea doors is not huge.

Just an FYI, I am looking at both Barkers and Scherrs for doors to IKEA cabinets. I haven't decided yet which one to use. I have determined the following for doors (excluding the trim).

Barker - cheaper but limited to certain door styles. They have two white paints, clear coat and espresso stain. Barker does not have IKEA measurements and you must use their website to get and estimate which can take some work.

Scherr's - more expensive but many more door styles. They will paint any SW color or clear coat. They will stain Oak doors only but use any SW stain. Scherr's will make doors specifically for IKEA and IKEA hinges. They will estimate based upon IKEA layout.

Both have SW Dover White, but Scherr's sample came and it was much more yellow than the Barker sample.

So in a nutshell, Scherr's is easier but more expensive.

Hope this helps.

@Kim - probably a combo of all of those things. I'm in NJ, and just within the delivery area for several of the Amish-area cabinetmakers so there's competition among quality providers - our cabinets are also going to be all plywood, dovetail, etc. And we are probably going with walnut (though in a basic shaker), which was a huge upcharge from the ikea custom door providers, but the cabinet maker doesn't charge all that much more than his cost difference vs. maple (though it's still a meaningful amount - trying to decide if its worth it)

I'm really surprised that SemiHandmade was unwilling to do custom size doors. They made us a few and we found them fantastic to work with. I wonder if there policy has changed or you got a bum salesperson. Also, the SH price varies drastically depending on what finish you want. I agree for custom colors, their product makes much less sense.

Freeoscar, did you check cabinetnow.com for walnut pricing? That's who vsalz used for this great kitchen.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2422346/finally-finished-walnut-quartzite-idea-kitchen-with-pics

Kim, thanks for posting this summary. Very helpful! I'm in SF bay area as well -- I imagine you have checked out the store at East Palo Alto... In that case, I was wondering if you got your kitchen designed from Ikea folks at all. How was your experience, and is there any particular person that you would recommend? Any pros/cons on their design process?

Thanks (in advance) for sharing!

Freeoscar - we live in Philadelphia. Can you share the name of who you used in Lancaster County and how their prices compare? Thanks.

Certainly. We used http://www.weaverscustomwoodworking.com/

Mark (Weaver) is the main contact. I highly recommend them. We finished up our reno (it was the whole house) a month ago, so we've been living with the cabinets for only a few weeks. We ended up going with the walnut, inset with slab drawer fronts and shaker doors, and they are absolutely beautiful. He is totally custom so he can do whatever you want. Our GC and the countertop guys (we used local ones) were very impressed with the quality. The fit is perfect - they didn't make a single mistake with any of the measurements or appliance cutouts.

I'm not home now, but I can send over some pics when I get home if you'd like.