Nothing?

Is Frameless is your hill to die on? Because it’s not ever going to be a budget purchase in the US.

IKEA with custom doors will be as much as Omega, and that’s with you doing the assembly labor. If you have to pay for that, you’re much better off just going with Omega from the beginning.

We are finishing up our Ikea+Semihandmade kitchen project, and Ikea boxes & drawers + Semihandmade fronts & panels came out to <$5k for an 11x8 space (with only 3 upper cabinets). It's a small space, and obviously that doesn't include assembly and installation, but still seemed like a good option price-wise.

What you are experiencing is the nature of this kind of project. You are going to have a lot of options and a lot of pros and cons and only you can decide what is more important. Get organized, make a list and weigh what's important to you. Or hire a designer to make your decisions and get out your checkbook. :D

If you want frameless on a budget, I think IKEA is your only option. Why don't you throw it in the IKEA planner and see what you come up with? If it's worth the hassle factor (and there is a significant hassle factor with IKEA), is there any other underlying reason you wouldn't want to go that route? Can you and do you want to build the boxes and/or install yourself, or would you hire a pro to do it?

After doing one kitchen with pricey semi-custom cabinets and one with IKEA, my opinion is that for the price difference, IKEA is hard to beat. But it can be a pain in the posterior to deal with them.

Have you checked out Barker? We used them for our remodel and have been happy with our cabinets.

Barker is only about 15% lower than Omega. And again, unassembled.

Thanks. Was reading on barker's website and they look nice but why need for 2" filler on the sides? Or is that with any cabinets?

Ikea wise I just don't like their boxes and their shelf supports. I have no problem dealing with Ikea as they are only 45mins away and one is opening soon right next to our home. I looked at Ikea boxes with doors from other places but it seems they as expensive as going directly with Omega then.

I called in one custom cabinet guy but he reminded me couple of times on the phone, it is going to be pretty expensive. I understand the costs etc. specially in the bay area but I have some basic wood working experience and making these cabinets is not a rocket science and what is being charged and more so without consumer knowing what the actual prices are.

I also checked local lowes. Their KraftMaid looks good, same with the Diamond line. The lowes's lady starting quote was $15k but she said they will have to come measure before they give more detailed quote. Maybe time to work with the Omega guy and see what they can do.

If you want to do the work IKEA is a good option. If not, there are a lot of semi custom cabinet lines that will come in between IKEA and Omega. Look at Medallion, Diamond and Bertch For starters. All are good companies that build quality product in the US. I have personally owned both Medallion and Bertch and would buy either again (just put Bertch cabinets in our new kitchen).

@kazmom - Do you know who else carries Diamond besides Lowes? Thanks.

We got a quote on Dianond from Pro Source. Not sure if they have independent dealers or not, but their website may say or you could contact them to see who in your area carries them.

Medallion is at Lowe's but they use a different name, forgot what it is....Starts with an "S"

@isabel98 - Schuler?

I think so. Same product as medallion

Medallion's lower end line is a great value: Silverline. Lancaster door is the most popular and available in several woods and finishes. I think what you should also be looking for is an experienced kitchen person...whether at a box store (cringe) or a dealer. It sounds like you need some guidance and help to sort out your budget.

@The Kitchen Place - I agree. Problem is finding the right kitchen person. Last night we looked again at Lowes near our house as they have Kraftmaid, Shuler, Diamond Intrigue and couple others. They all looked the same to me. Now I wish there were places where one could find cabinets side by side and look at the inside, how they built, but probably not going to happen. And much harder to tell how good the finish are.

The LF pricing also seems way off (of course it has the word starting from xxx). The Diamond, Schuler were like $250/$300 LF. For 10x10, that should be starting from $6k. I think I would be happy if I got these at $12k. Anyways I am going to price them through Lowes. Only costs $100 or so for them to come measure and price the options.

We also tried another local place called Demetra Cabinetry. Rough estimate is $22k.

Which cabinet maker did you choose? I'm in the similar place right now with my kitchen, and would like to have some input!

I am in bay area too. Will like to know which cabinet you decided?

We ended up buying from cabinets.com. I have had them for 1 yr now. Finish could be better but other than that they are nice. We were able to get cabinets all the way to the roof. And added decorative crown molding. The sliding drawers are nice. It cost < $15k. Lowes with their 20% or more discount was $30k.