"We're just not going to be able to do a lot of the things which are currently popular in the decorator world." Not a loss, since the decorator world is more about fads and trends in fashion than it is about quality. Spending your money on quality construction will be more satisfying for far longer. Keep in mind that anything which is not structural can be changed down the road, which means that you can get comparatively low-cost fixtures, counters and appliances now and replace them in a few years. Whenever possible, choose what appeals to you without looking at the brand or price tag and then if downcosting is required, you can often find very similar for fewer dollars. For an example, I have two friends building very similar new-old houses. One has a nearly bottonless purse and the other is OB/DIY because she has almost no purse. The first admits to spending over $50K just on lighting fixtures, the second has spent less than $5K. No doubt a lighting store specialist could tell the difference, but not too many others will notice.

I am a cabinet dealer in Raleigh, North Carolina. I mostly sell KCD (River Run and Carriage House are the same cabinets) and Fabuwood RTA cabinets. I have used both for about 5 years. I have been very pleased with both lines. The KCD line is less expensive than Fabuwood by quite a bit. The only real difference that I see in them are the pullouts (also a huge difference in price). Both lines are easy to assemble and both lines have a video to show you how to assemble them. I have never had a customer tell me that my quote was more expensive than any line of cabinets at big box stores. One thing that helps out a little on that though is that most of my customers can pick them up or have them delivered from the warehouse (located in Raleigh, NC). Shipping is fairly inexpensive as well (usually round $350). Of course that depends on how many cabinets, and where they are being shipped to. It is also more expensive to ship pantry and oven cabinets (requires a double pallet). Both lines are full overlay but, they do not have center styles so when you order a 42" cabinet, you get a 39" opening. KCD currently has 9 cabinets (two are furniture board) and will be adding more over the next few months. The next one to be added will be a white painted Shaker (very white....beautiful). It will be fully stocked by mid February.

We're in the middle of assembling a Scherr's kitchen now. We had planned on an IKEA/Scherr's combo for a long time, but in the end felt that our tiny kitchen would be best served by going the all-Scherr's route, so we could customize things as needed (and because the closest IKEA is almost 5 hours away). We ordered sample doors (unpainted and two wood types) and went back and forth with Leon, the owner, over the details. When we were finally ready to place an order in late October, the lead time was 10-12 weeks. However, there was a last minute cancellation/delay of an east coast Scherr's project due to Hurricane Sandy, so Leon pushed us up and we got our cabinets in 4 weeks. Cost for our 10x10ish kitchen was a couple thousand more than IKEA and a couple thousand less than a local cabinetmaker (also frameless cabs). As I said, we're still sorting through all of the boxes and assembling cabinets, but communication and customer service have been great so far.

I am with you RTA is an option. I have a older friend who is a cabinet maker, trained by his father, he makes incredible cabinets! They are amazing, but I can't afford them and would not ask him that big of favor. But, when they first came out with waterbased cabinet top coat, he used it on my parent's cabinets. UGH, it only lasted 2 years before we had to sand them and recoat. Fortunately he had used amazing materials and they are gorgeous still 25 years later. BUT my parents also chose slab doors (not at all popular back them, but high style now) and no stain, just beautiful wood. There is no joints to seperate and once we added the extra coats of top coat, they will outlast us all. The deal is that processes and products change, due to epa, supply, carb, health concerns, etc. I myself sanded and painted (slab) oak cabinet doors with oil based paint and got a mirror finish that probably out lasted the kitchen, but I doubt I could find that kind of paint now! I think it is a balance between the look you want and cost and durability and safety. I think I could take old lead oil paint, cover an expensive slab door and it would last forever, be dangerous to do and to have, and I would hate the look! I also hesitate to spend money on "forever" anything because I might just hate that look in 15 years and have spent so much I can't afford new. I look at it as buying a car, I want to get something nice, but reasonable, if I buy a luxury car, I won't be able to afford gas or even fix it, because I spent so much on it, so I ended walking as my luxury car sits in the driveway. It is not going to do me much good to spend so much on cabinets that I can't afford food. (No Ikea...everything I have bought from them broke long before it should and it too is made in China.) If I can't look into rta from China, then I must live with ugly, peeling painted cabinets with boxes that are made of particle board and fiber board (not even MDF). Why, yes, they were custom made in the USA, by local craftsman!