Home Depot/Lowe’s kitchen cabinets?

6 years ago

We are in the process of doing a kitchen remodel. I’m at a loss regarding cabinets- is there any harm in ordering from Home Depot/Lowes type place? We are potentially using a kitchen designer who sells a specific type of cabinet, but I fear these are very pricey. Is there anything wrong with cabinets from a big box store? We plan to live in this house a while, and know this kitchen reno won’t be cheap, but we are also trying to be smart about the money we spend. Any thoughts? Thanks!

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chris2000kc

6 years ago

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with semi-custom cabinets from big box store. We purchased Medallion cabinets from Menards that were on sale, and were pleased with the quality. A couple of the cabinets had defects and they were replaced without a problem. Many of us cannot afford high-end custom cabinets so we choose good-value cabinets from Medallion, Kraftmaid, Diamond etc,

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Comments (11)

cpartist
6 years ago
Most times you can get the same level cabinet from a kitchen cabinet place for the same price or less.

As for Lowes or HD, do a search on these forums and you'll see the headaches people have had using them for cabinets.
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The project isn't as simple as it sounds. And labor is expensive anywhere and from anybody. (Run on sentence warning!) If that labor quote includes demo of the old cabinets, appliances, and plumbing, haul off of that as trash, removing the soffits and re-drywalling that area to match the existing ceiling and painting it, re-installing the plumbing and appliances, installing the cabinets with top and bottom molding and back panels and corbels etc. and hauling off all of the cabinet cardboard and packing, then the labor is somewhat high, but not nearly as high as you think for all of that work. If there is any electrical or plumbing changes or flooring demo, leveling, and new flooring install included, then the labor quote is probably low. You're paying for convenience. To get lower prices on the work, you're going to have to do some legwork and DIY. Break down the jobs. Figure out what you can do. Figure out what friends can do. Figure out where you could hire a pro separately (like for the plumbing reconnects, etc.). Figure out what you could do without now and still manage to do at a later time with no backtracking or loss of efficiency. Then decide if acting as your own GC is worth the headaches and time spent away from work dealing with things.
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It's not as simple as is it correct. You'd have to start from the beginning and tell us the design parameters, wants and needs lists, budget, what cabinet line was used , show a floor plan , ect... I could have designed a kitchen for you that had no hinged doors, or no wall cabinets at all, or .. But , it may not appeal to you visually , or meet your storage requirements, or even your budget. It's all about how the details work for you.
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@HU-694292508 I feel your pain. We ordered a cabinet refacing of our kitchen and upstairs bathrooms in mid-February. They were promised in 6-8 weeks. Nine weeks out they scheduled the install for the second week of May. Two days before then, they called to move it out two more weeks. We were getting our house ready to list and the cabinet refacing was the last (and biggest/most expensive) thing left to do. The installer came on the appointed day, did the kitchen installation but discovered that the bathroom materials were never ordered. He placed the order that day but the ETA was mid-July. I was SO mad. But I was very lucky. Our installer was a nice guy who gave me numbers of some higher-ups to call (so I overlooked the HUGE mess he and his crew made). I was very polite but firm to everyone I called. A regional installation manager arranged for a custom cabinet maker to make some temporary doors/drawer for our bathrooms so we could list our house. The installer also found that a pair of cabinet doors in the kitchen had been measured wrong. He had to trim one of them to get them installed. He took the measurements for those too. No one could give me an ETA of those doors. They were ordered on 5/19. Thursday 7/22 we closed on our house. Friday 7/23 in the middle of moving out I got a call from Home Depot Installations to schedule installation of that last pair of cabinet doors. HA! I left a note for the new owners. I am so glad to be done with Home Depot and I won't buy so much as a pack of yard bags from them again.
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Congratulations on your new place! I love a galley kitchen myself. About cost-cutting: If you aren't changing the base cabinet layout at all, I wonder if you could save some money (and create less waste, with its attendant costs) by reusing/refacing just the base cabinets? New wall cabinets would typically make sense for the advantages of running them up to the ceiling, adjustable shelves, etc. I have noticed that those people who do the bargain kitchens often bypass the huge expense of quartz/stone counters, sometimes by using a gorgeous butcherblock wood. And then there is laminate.....the bargain kitchen people might just slip that into their plan and never mention it. Laminate can be super economical in a galley kitchen like yours. Will you be OK with that relatively low cost counter material? It's what I would do to save in an apartment kitchen. (I once used laminate for the counter and ran the same laminate covering up the wall behind it -- a nice cohesive finish and way cheaper than paying someone to install a tile backsplash.) As an example, take a look at this: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/ekbacken-countertop-concrete-effect-laminate-70335655/ (Yes, I am an Ikea fan.) My other thoughts are about the proposed pass-through shown in the photo you posted. I'd be concerned that open space above the cooktop would interfere with proper ventilation of cooking odors and grease by the hood system. Since you are basically turning that area into an "island" perhaps there is another ventilation solution typically used in islands that an experienced kitchen designer could suggest for your space. Finally, since we tend to 'grow into' our kitchens as time goes by, will you one day wish you had not given up the upper cabinet storage in the pass through area? Could the pass through be designed to keep the open area above the counter for stuff and light to pass through, but still retain some cabinets near the ceiling for storage?
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shopping101
6 years ago
We used Home Depot for our kitchen renovation. Kraftmaid cabinets. We love our cabinets. The process was not without problems but we are very happy with the final result.
happy2b…gw
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Definitely consider purchasing Schuler cabinetry from Lowes. Eight years ago I purchased Schuler cabinets, their upgraded line, from Lowes with absolutely no problems for my vacation home. They are painted and look as good as the day they were installed. Besides the current special pricing from the manufacturer at the time, Lowes offered us a corporate discount. Lowes did not do the installation. Recently I remodeled the kitchen in our main home. Initially I wanted Schuler again, but could not find a style and stain I liked. I purchased Brighton cabinets from a kitchen design store. Both Schuler and Brighton are semi custom lines and have the same construction. I am pleased with both.
PRO
Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc.
6 years ago
Years ago, I used to work with homeowners who wanted to get their cabinets from Home Depot. But every single order came in incorrect or with major issues which added lengthy delays to our timeline. I would not trust a big box store with such a large investment.
mtnmom9
6 years ago
Try to ask around town whether people have had good experiences working with your particular local box stores. I really think it varies from store to store. Our particular box store seems to have high turnover and inexperienced staff in the kitchen design department and I've heard some nightmare stories.
PRO
Casa Bella Designs
6 years ago
We used cabinets from Home Depot in our previous home, about 7 years ago. It was a very easy process and I was happy with the quality of the cabinets. Everything came in correctly and quickly.
sunshine home
6 years ago
I got custom cabinets done, Home Depot quoted me 18k for minimal features, I worked with a small local cabinet company and got much much more for just a bit more. Look around your area and you may be able to get custom stuff for a good price.
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Anglophilia
6 years ago
You'll get far better service from an independent store. And the price will probably end up being about the same. The Big Box stores have "come on" prices that include next to nothing. By the time all the "extras" (read, necessities!) are added on, you're at the same price.
PRO
MDLN
6 years ago
@chris2000, Medallion cabinets from Menards was my second choice, glad to hear you had a good experience.

@kerry, what brand does your KD use?
PRO
Casa Bella Designs
6 years ago
A couple more thoughts about our kitchen renovation I posted pictures of above (it was a complete gut as we were working with an original 1915 kitchen that had a few horrible modifications. We got solid wood cherry cabinets (I believe they were Kraftmaid off the top of my head) including soft close, lazy Susan corner cabinet, but no slide outs. For all of the cabinets, the GE oven/range and microwave, the Kohler sink, the faucet, and the knobs and pulls...we paid about 4k total. Since budget was a concern for us and we were fine using "middle-end" brands, it was worth it for us to use Home Depot. We did order everything during a big sale and it was 7 years ago, but it was much less than estimates at some smaller local places we checked out, although it was probably for higher end products. And it was a lot less than my mom was able to get as well (she's a designer).

Home Depot/Lowe’s kitchen cabinets?

chris2000kc

Comments (11)

cpartist

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