Sophie wrote: KM or Diamond from a dealer

Sophie, I'm going to sound totally ignorant here, but I am hoping that you can tell me what you mean by dealer? Could you give me an example of a dealer? Isn't the product the same no matter who sells it?

A dealer is a private kitchen and bath showroom that employs folks that specialize in kitchen design. Instead of a giant box that sells lawnmowers, roofing, ceiling fans, and has some poor semi trained, or completely untrained apron manning a computer and who sold paint last week.

I recently remodeled using Kraftmaid. I'm very happy with them, and I believe the quality will last.

Sophie, thank you very much for the explanation. Do I understand correctly, that if I buy Kraftmaid at a local private kitchen showroom, I'd get a better design than I'd get buying the same quality Kraftmaid cabinets at the Home Depot? Or are the Kraftmaid cabinets themselves lesser quality at the Home Depot as well, even though they are the same brand? I really appreciate your sharing your knowledge.

You will get a better design, fewer mistakes that create delays, and a lower price. If the box store is putting you in the same level of KM. There are 3 different box store levels, and the box stores don’t know the differences, and don’t always tell you that they are putting you in the junior line with lesser specs, just to fit you in your budget.

People think KM is KM, but it isn’t. It is a like buying a Chevrolet, and thinking you’re getting a Cadillac level and you’re getting Buick or a Pontiac. Or a Daiwoo. It’s all General Motors. Just like it’s all Kraftmaid.

And dealers get the better options and customizations that they do not allow the box stores to have, because it’s too complex and they’ll just mess it up.

So, yes, the cabinets are the same, and they are different. It’s clear as mud to most outside the industry, because that’s how the companies want it. They take advantage of the name they have developed for their flagship, and dilute the product down to fit smaller budgets in order to not have a customer walk to another cheaper line. Not realizing that the strategy for selling lesser products with the same name ultimately dilutes the name for quality that the flagship developed in the first place.

Sophie wrote: It’s clear as mud to most outside the industry.

Sophie,

I took your advice and went to a dealer, but after I got home, I saw that they did just what you said the big box stores do - they put me in a junior line with lesser specs: Schrock Entra. I said just what you recommended: 1/2” furniture board is more than fine (don't need plywood). I also said that I wanted soft close doors and drawers and full extension drawers. I assume the rough quote they gave me at this initial meeting was with doors and drawers soft-close and full extension as I specified, but it wasn't until I got home that I saw in the catalog that the standard cabinet is only 3/8" furniture board and that soft close and full extension are upgrades.

And from what I read here, you pay a lot for upgrades - it's often more cost effective to go to a better line with those features standard.

This dealer doesn't sell KraftMaid, so it's impossible to compare apples to apples, but at least when I walked out of the Home Depot with the KM catalog, I could read that 1/2" side panels, soft-close, and full-extension were standard.

So, you are quite right, it's clear as mud to me. This all makes it very difficult to make an educated decision about cabinets!

Yeah... cabinet shopping sucks. I've never had such a hard time researching products. Even the local dealers here seem to sell brands with bad reviews. Is there a such thing as an affordable mid-range cabinet?!

I am a big believer in Kraftmaid quality and the competency and objective input of Home Depot kitchen design staff. Each homeowner should be doing their own research in kitchen remodel/design and go into shopping without some basic knowledge. This is to avoid being gullible puddy in the hands of "designers" in dealer showrooms who go overboard recommending upgrades and extra bells and whistles to clients.

Those fancy slide out drawers and organizer features are available as DIY installs through online specialty stores and Amazon/Home Depot, etc. at a fraction of what cabinet dealers will charge.

Do not do Wolf! They are poorly made and arrive with dings, dents, and unpainted doors. Biggest regret I have is we tore out our kraftmaid to wolf. I'm just sick about it.

Same here, the Wolf cabinets order arrived and all are junk!