Hi Bardzil - I highly recommend getting the best cabinetry your budget allows for (custom if possible) in the kitchen and in the master bathroom.

You can then use semi custom and stock cabinetry in your secondary bathrooms, laundry room, study, mudroom, etc.

You get what you paid for doesn't always apply to every situation, but I personally feel that high quality custom cabinetry in the kitchen and master bath is very important.

This of course is based on your budget, the value of your home and neighborhood, and what makes sense for you financially.

Thanks. I actually am leaning toward custom cabinets in the kitchen, great room and master bath. However, my concern is that the finish may not be as strong as from a larger cabinet manufacturer. That is why I am also looking into manufacturers like Bentwood... mainly because I'm worried about the finish of the custom cabinets not being as strong.

You're welcome. I have not personally used Bentwood cabinetry in any of my projects but I am very familiar with them. They are a custom luxury cabinet manufacturer along the same lines as Clive Christian, Christopher Peacock and Smallbone of Devizes. I would expect nothing less then excellent quality from them. Of course your kitchen designer and cabinetry installer will both play pivotal roles in the success of your project as well.

Many years ago I had interviewed for the Senior Designer position at the Bentwood Chicago Showroom but ended up taking the same position at the Clive Christian of England showroom in Columbus, Ohio.

Please let me know if I can answer any other questions for you.

Christopher

@Columbus Custom Design I am looking at harmoni and Brentwood. I am wanting a painted shaker cabinet but I have concerns in regards to the cracks with painted cabinets. What do they look like in 10 or 15 years? Thank You.

I got Harmoni in the whitest color finish and I hate it. They use MDF for the panels vs. wood stiles on the shaker style, and although they claimed the finish would look the same on the two different materials, there is a slight tone and depth difference that it's noticeable to a detail oriented person like me in the lighting in my kitchen. Perhaps in a kitchen where there is bright bright sunlight always shining on the cabinetry at the same angle, it would look fine, but that doesn't exist. Because of COVID, the Harmoni rep would not come out to the site to look at it in person, even with everyone masked, and the cabinet retailer just kept telling me that it was because of the way light reflects on it, despite all pieces being in the same "plane" that the light was hitting it. It's a huge regret and will not recommend this brand to anyone.

Also, the shaker style has really ugly detailing in person (I don't know why I didn't notice from the sample door), but it is a shallow relief and curves in such a way where the stiles/rails sit against the recessed panel that already, the construction dust is settling and getting into it in such a way that will be impossible to clean. So I can only imagine what will happen when I start cooking. The cabinetry "feels" a lot cheaper than I expected. It's the thing that I hate most in my kitchen and my biggest regret. I cook a lot and the kitchen is visible in my open floor plan, so it was very disappointing.

I don't see really any threads on Houzz about this cabinetry line and I've found Houzz so helpful for so many things that I wanted to post my experience with this cabinetry line. I think Bentwood is the old name for the company and they are one and the same.

@DH

I was just planning on ordering Harmoni Cabinets in the color Cotton and shaker style until I read your post. What color did you get and shaker style? I was under the impression that Harmoni is the same as Bentwood the only difference being you get more color options for cabinets and custom designs. The way my kitchen is set up, I don’t need any of the custom items that Bentwood offers. My memory is, one shaker style is a bit more curved, and another is more right angled. Can you post pictures of your kitchen for me to see? A cabinet up close? I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

@Dana ugh. i just wrote a long posting that got deleted due to tech error. Here are photos of the cabinetry. the one with the hood is more representative of the color -- yes it is Cotton (one shade down looked too dingy for me in my kitchen lighting). The other photo of my refrigerator surround/cabinetry is where you can most easily see the color difference. The cabinet color on left, is slightly different from the finsihed end panel on right. It's subtle but a detail oriented person like me would notice. Also, overall, when you look at the kitchen, it makes it seem slightly less polished because my eye "reads" it as slightly different.

If you're not picky, it might do fine for you. Personally, I find the Cotton too bright of a white. my walls are ben Moore simply white, which I absolutely love as I feel it is a bright white shade but slightly warm so it gives a cozy bright warm feeling as opposed to the very white of the Cotton (leans towards blue undertones). the ben moore simply white color does not feel "dirty" or drab at all. it looks very white but just takes the "edge" off the super white shade that is evident in the Cotton.

i forgot to mention that because the cabinets are full overlay, you have to be careful when a cabinet is placed over something that needs more clearance. the typical clearance of the door/drawers is only 1/16" to produce a 1/8" reveal. this became a problem for my above the refrigerator cabinet and my cabinet guy did not order it right which was super frustrating. Harmoni could also not get my tall cabinet right which had a built in oven and microwave cubby. I paid $200 for a piece of wooden frame for a microwave cubby and they couldn't even attach it or space it properly. it was super frustrating.

Also beware -- I ordered expensive crown molding specifically to match the cabinetry because I was having such a difficult time with the finish, but yet again, I don't feel that it matches exactly to the cabinet doors or finished end panels.

hope this helps. good luck. I would never ever buy this cabinetry again, personally, after my experience. I did not find the service up to par, but that may be with all manufacturers. I felt that the retailer and Harmoni promises a lot of things (more customization, nice hard finish, etc.) but I do not feel they lived up to those promises in the end, and it was those promises that I based my decision on.

let me know if this helps. I just want to help someone else who may be as particular as I am to avoid this huge mistake.

@DH Thank you for your pictures...I can see the difference on the side panel..I have one exposed side panel not counting island. Hopefully it will not show up much as it will have windows all around. It looks to me that you have the shaker panels that have the 90 degree angle vs the curved shaker. I will ask what it costs to go with Bentwood but I’m not sure it will help me any in quality. I had a custom paint made to go with the cabinets and changed my quartz also..LOL I was also concerned about the lines that will show up with painted shaker cabinets so maybe I’ll look at wood stain options. We’re on the water and I am painting walls, ceiling, molding all the same white as it’s a 1960’s renovation and most rooms including kitchen are only 8’. If you don’t mind I would love to see pictures of your kitchen if it’s finished. I was going to do some open shelving then nixed it...maybe I’ll change that also. We are putting in a 6’ galley sink. Thank you again!

Dana

@puterputz when it's all finished, I'm happy to post.

yes, my shaker is a squared profile.

Although it's not a great thing, I'm relieved to hear that you can see the difference in finish, because I felt that my kitchen cabinet person was gas lighting me, telling me that it was just "lighting" and reflection of light.

If I had to do this all over again, I would go with a good custom cabinet builder, and spend the extra money. The other more affordable custom option I would have taken in a heartbeat if I hadn't been committed past the point of no return was Crystal Cabinetry. I think perhaps the reveals are not as minimal, etc., but functionally it would have been better for my needs and I would have been able to get the color that I wanted. I don't know what the reviews are like on their finish, though. Their walnut cabinetry was beautiful in the showroom, but even the retailer warned me that over time any wood finish would fade and yellow (and they showed me the evidence from the inside of cabinet vs. outside of cabinet). this is not unique to them, but all wood finishes, and I also saw the Harmoni walnut finish had done the same. and in my personal opinion the Harmoni walnut wood grain or finish stain options were not nearly as pretty as the Crystal. that was my other probelm with Harmoni -- their wood stain finishes were not very nice, in my opinion.

good luck with your project!

@D H Thank you! I ook forward to seeing your finished kitchen!

@D H How is your kitchen now that its finished? Are you happier now that its all down? I will be putting our order in 1st of Sept. I dint know if this matters, but the company is a high end custom home builder. i am thinking of oinking up to Bentwood.

Dana

Hi Dana, I'll post a photo tomorrow.

It's ok. I don't really look at it now that I'm living in it. however, when I do look at it and notice it, it kinda annoys me. LOL. I'm most annoyed that neither my cabinet retailer nor the Harmoni rep (who never took a look in person) would acknowledge the difference in finish.

also, I really really regret getting the shaker door style. The way the stiles are framed together, it's very difficult to clean dirt and grime from the inner frame edge as it is kinda curved making it impossible to really get into the cracks to clean. I always disliked the shallow depth of the shaker frame on the Harmoni cabinets as well, but I wanted more of a classic shaker door style, and didn't like the other Harmoni choices which had very wide stiles, etc. so I chose the "shaker style" which I don't love. In comparison, I really love the deep shaker profile of the Semi Handmade door/drawer fronts that are used in conjunction with IKEA cabinetry, but couldn't find one as deep as those unless it was custom cabinetry.

It's liveable and somewhat functional, although the inserts, etc. available through Harmoni I did not personally find useful for the way that I cook. From a functional perspective, I tend not to just adopt the latest trend in new "gadgets" and kitchen features, unless it truly is functional and practical for the way that I cook, though, and I am very specific in what I want. In retrospect, I really should have just gone for the less expensive custom cabinetry.

as far as the quality of the working hardware, it does seem to be fairly sturdy so far. I am still irked also about how my tall oven cabinet was bungled by my cabinet designer. Its still unclear to me whether that's Harmoni's fault, or my cabinet designer's fault. I could only take my cabinet designer's word for it that they couldn't manufacture what I wanted, despite seeing an example of it on the Harmoni website.

We renovated our kitchen in 2012 and put in Bentwood cabinets. After 9 years they still look brand new and all of the mechanisms are in perfect working condition. Highly recommend this company.