Ikea

Rita, have you used Ikea before? I've seen lots of threads in the past that speak of buying the Ikea boxes and getting your own doors but then more recent threads act as if the quality of Ikea has deteriorated in recent years. So confusing!

Ikea boxes and innards and hardware are excellent. Only thing is that they have few door/drawer front selections.

One of my best friends got Ikea cabinets almost 20 years ago. They have held up beautifully. I am in this woman's kitchen almost twice a month helping out with various projects. I cannot praise the quality enough. The fit and finish is astonishing. I have much more expensive cabinets now (I used have much worse stick built cabinets when she first installed her Ikea), and while I would not trade, I would never spend more to get something that is in the middle between her cabinets and my Crown Point cabinets. Mind you, in general, I am opposed to buying things in the middle tier of quality. I want the best minimal viable product or the top of the line. I cannot bear to pay extra for mediocrity.

@shead IKEA has its fans, and nothing you say will convince them otherwise so I shall not engage on that topic for now. You can go to a showroom for yourself and assess it or read other threads of debate. When you say mid-range just be aware that price goes up quickly for full overlay and custom colors. If you want true quality in construction and finish you have many more options if you are located in the north or northeastern USA where many top cabinet manufacturers are located and have dealers. If you are in the south or southwestern USA, check out Plato Woodwork (especially the entry-point Prelude or frameless Inovae lines), Bentwood (especially the Harmoni line), and Wood-Mode (the Brookhaven line is the frameless for this one). Some of the brands you mentioned are worth more checking, especially Omega, Kemper and KraftMaid. You will tend to overpay if you order at full price through the big box stores so wait for sales to take advantage of lower pricing.

@Rita, did your friend use the drawer and cabinet fronts that Ikea provides or did she do custom on those?

@Inspo, I'm in the southeast and the nearest Ikea is over 5 hours away...lol...so I'd rather not have to use them. I'll check out the brands you mentioned. Thanks!

Check out Shiloh Cabinetry. A member here by the name of Anglophilia has Shiloh cabinets and they’re beautiful. Here are some of their kitchens:

@Sammy, I actually sent them a request yesterday for a dealer locator for my area and have never heard back....hope that isn't a premonition. I do like their colors, especially that they offer Repose Gray.

IIRC Holiday can do any color from Ben Moore or SW. They might be worth looking into.

“I'm in the southeast and the nearest Ikea is over 5 hours away...lol...so I'd rather not have to use them.”

I’m (practically) in the same boat, shead: I live in the Southeast and MY nearest IKEA 3-1/2 hours away! If we’re talking about the same IKEA, we could go check it out together; their Swedish meatballs are delicious! ;)

@shead Check Plain & Fancy and Crystal Cabinets if you are in the southeast. Both have stellar reputations and offer the customization you are seeking.

shead we used Wellborn cabinets in our recent kitchen remodel. We have been very happy with them and they were very responsive with the replacements that we needed.

Kim H, beautiful!

Kraftmaid Vantage series when it's on sale is a no brainer. Very nice all wood construction, even the interiors are real wood veneer instead of melamine printed wood look. I doubt Lowes has this....you may need to go to a KM dealer....which I would recommend anyway. KM has custom paint color options. I would stay away from the lower end brands you mentioned: Homecrest, Aristokraft..e.tc, if you want a good mid-grade.

Menards has a new line called Klearvue, they own the Cabinet manufacturing business, I bought the Gray shaker cabinets they also come in multiple colors, all cabinets are soft close at no extra cost, they are very similar to Ikea. I have bought them but yet to install them since they are just finishing drywall this week.

Where in the SE are you?

@cpartist, Kentucky.

I believe there are Amish and Mennonite communities in areas of KY. My cabinets are from the Mennonites and are fabulous and were half the price of Shiloh cabinets. And they're 1000x better in quality.

Yes, there are several of those in and around me. In fact, one contractor we’ve been talking to is Mennonite and his son builds cabinets. If we decide to go with the dad, I may talk to the son but I am not sure if I’m using the dad yet :/

My BFF used an Amish guy and her cabinets are awesome but he’s very hard to get in contact with and I’m not sure if I’m up for that hassle, either...lol. Plus, his wait list is forever long.

I was hoping a factory cabinet would be less hassle in the long run and better ensure consistency in quality and finish. Maybe not, though :/

We’re building down at Nolin Lake and used the Amish for our Metal roof and gutters, they priced us $20,000 for cabinets went to Menards in Jeffersonville In. And got everything I wanted for $5000.

Just finished kitchen remodel with Kraftmaid Vantage through a local cabinet shop. Natural Cherry. Very happy with quality for the price. Amazing designer. Able to customize several cabinet sizes to totally minimize filler.

@jesusrojo,

Yes, I've known the Mennonites and Amish to be quite expensive sometimes. That's not to say their work isn't stellar many times, but sometimes they "overkill" - that was reflected in their bid for doing our house remodel/addition :/

I'm not familiar with Menards cabinets, though, and the closest one to me is Owensboro, KY (2.5 hours away).

We ended up with quotes from Omega, Kraftmaid Vantage and custom made. The quality of the all three were similar (plywood boxes, all-hardwood doors good hardware), but getting exactly what we wanted with custom made up our minds to go that way. Prices were similar.

I used Kemp Cabinets which are supposed to be Mennonite/Amish built in Indiana, however they have multiple dealers in KY. I've only been using my new kitchen for a week, but so far I like how it all looks and is holding up. They make custom sizes, doors, etc. and use blum hardware. They will do frameless and framed, overlay, etc. I felt they were affordable for the quality and I was able to get the look I wanted that other places couldn't offer.

Thank you, Cook's Kitchen! Great info to have!

I'm overwhelmed and feeling like maybe I should give the local guy a chance to at least bid them as to be able to compare with factory cabinets. I'd really like to have drawers in the corner and I'm not sure if any factory cabinets can deliver that but it might not be worth a huge premium just to have those.

Corner drawers waste a TON of potentially usable space. Especially compared to a super susan. But most mid grade lines do offer that as an option. There are better options from everyone to that though.

@GD, I’ve had a Super Susan before and I don’t particularly care for them. I know some love them but drawers would be more beneficial for my needs (knife drawer, small appliances, Yeti cups, etc.)

Corner drawers waste a TON of potentially usable space. Especially compared to a super susan. But most mid grade lines do offer that as an option. There are better options from everyone to that though.

No they don't. They make the corner space MORE usable because you don't have to bend down to reach in to turn a lazy susan. Then you don't have to worry about stuff falling off the susan. I'll take my corner drawers over a lazy susan any day.

cpartist, that was exactly my experience with the super susan. Every time I turned that dang thing around, something fell off and would get lodged. Heck, even my 5 year old daughter managed to "fall" into the susan one day and got herself wedged in the back of it and I had to take the thing apart to get her out....lololol. (The story for years was that she "fell" into it ;) but it eventually came out that she thought it would be a good hiding place for hide and seek...lol)

Based on the companies you listed, I would suggest the Kraftmaid Vantage or Omega / Dynasty ( same company - Omega is the more custom side of the line ) - they will do the modifications to 27" deep bases on most cabinets. All the lines will do a modification to 15" deep wall cabinets. Both of these also do custom colors so you can get the color you want.

Good luck!

Super Susans:

1) Don't put small stuff on the shelves like cans or tippy piles of bakeware; put big stuff there like woks and food processors. Do not store your small children there; it's so embarrassing to have to call the fire dept. to get them out.

2) If you don't like 'em, you don't; go with one of the alternatives.

@The Cook's Kitchen, I just looked at Schuler's Appaloosa finish and oh my heavens, the Buckskin is exactly what I want for the island and possibly the range hood cover!

Then look for a local Medallion or Yorktown dealer too, as it’s the same line, and they can do inset, plus other things that the box stores aren’t allowed to do. .

OP, Have you decided whether you want framed or frameless cabinets? That will make a difference as to which company to use.

ETA: I did a Schuler kitchen about 10 years ago. The kitchen turned out beautiful. Schuler (and my local Lowe's) were great to work with.

@jerzeegirl, I would prefer frameless.

That's good to know. That will eliminate some of the cabinet companies you mentioned because I believe they only make framed cabinets - like Schuler.

Dynasty is Omega's semi-custom line. I have a frameless vanity that is from Dynasty. It is a beautifully made cabinet and I think pricewise it is in the same range as upgraded Schuler. The vanity is walnut veneer and the finish is very nicely done. I would definitely consider this company if I redo my kitchen.

Find a Medallion dealer - they are doing frameless as well - then you can get that appaloosa finish

Good luck!!

mcguirks, Yes I finally found someone with Kemp cabinets! I'm located outside of Charlotte, NC and in the process of getting quotes on cabinets and one cabinet company I'm talking to (Carter Kitchen & Bath) is recommending Kemp cabinets to me. They've quoted me Timbercrest, Kraftmaid Vantage, and Kemp. I've thrown out Timbercrest and just looking at Kemp and KM Vantage. They're telling me in their opinion the Kemp is better quality than KM Vantage. My only concern with Kemp is maybe the finishing process and it appears they only have a 2 year warranty on it. Looking at their specs, it doesn't seem like they use a 2-part catalytic conversion process which I've gathered from these forums is what I should be looking for. I'm looking at a white painted cabinet. I'm leaning towards Kemp because they can do a 39" wall cabinet with Butt doors and KM Vantage can't. This is kind of a deal killer because if we can't go 39" with a Butt door then we have to lose about 6" on our cabinets. We want to maximize the space and not lose anything. Anything you can share to help me feel comfortable with the Kemp cabinets?

A two-year warranty on a cabinetry finish would be enough for me to reject a company. The industry standard is lifetime. And yes, a lifetime warranty can be achieved with a two-part (2K) post-catalyzed conversion varnish plus any necessary house humidity control systems to prevent humidity swings leading to excessive expansion and contraction of the wood.

Silverlined thanks. I guess the warranty should be a red flag.

I don't buy into that warranty thought. Plain and Fancy years ago had a 7 year warranty. Their thinking was that if there was a defect in the wood or the paint or drying of the door it would show up in the first year of owning the cabinets. Wear and tear on doors is not a warranty issue. Doors that warp because of uncontrolled humidity levels are also not a warranty issue.

I would want to know what brand of hinges they are using. That is probably the biggest warranty replacement people seem to need.

That is really what the limited lifetime warranties are covering.

I am not familiar with Kemp so I cant help you there. I do sell a ton of Kraftmaid Vantage. They are a great cabinet line and will last for many many years. I would not let one 39" wall cabinet dictate what brand I would purchase. IS there a way to shift your design 3" so the cabinet can be a 36" instead? Or maybe you can break it down into 2 cabinets that would store specific items for instance a 12" bookcase and 27" cabinet or a 15 and 24?

I hope you find an answer!

Debbi Washburn well I actually decided on Shiloh cabinets. I just met with the dealer this weekend and we verbally committed. Shiloh has a 10-year warranty according to their website. They do use BLUM hardware so hopefully that's good enough quality to not have any issues.

@Wes Hunt I believe Shiloh does an industry-standard post-catalyzed conversion varnish, so hopefully the finish will be more durable for you than Kemp would have been. As I'm sure you're aware, there are several different levels of pricing within the lines offered by W. W. Wood Products, Inc., Shiloh's parent company. Shiloh for some reason hasn't amassed many reviews around the web at the time of this writing outside of those on Houzz, but there are several threads here at Houzz that do discuss Shiloh's offerings and warranty fulfillment in depth. One of the things I've noticed is that people who went with the less expensive lines wished they had upgraded to the top Shiloh offering, and for people who did receive defective pieces, it was sometimes an issue getting satisfactory warranty service. If you are working with a reputable sales rep, hopefully they would take care of any issues you had promptly. Plenty of people have been very pleased with their Shiloh cabinetry. The tolerances on Shiloh's inset styles aren't as tight as you'd see from more expensive brands like Christopher Peacock or Kennebec according to some reviewers familiar with a wide range of brands, but for many people who want to save and yet still want that inset look, Shiloh does just fine for them. Of course, as you're aware, inset is not the only style Shiloh offers. I hope your project goes smoothly. Thanks for allowing the Houzz community to have input into your research process.

Silverlined I confirmed with the dealer that we're getting Shiloh's main line, not the Ecclipse or Aspect line. We went with a beaded inset door. Our current cabinets are partial overlay so we wanted to something different. I went back and forth on full overlay and inset and decided the beaded inset would give us a little more modern and different look. The challenge was going out of my comfort zone and not getting the same style we currently have but I think we'll be happy with beaded inset. We chose their "Charleston" door style which will have some detail in it but hopefully not detract from the inset look. Thanks for your input.

Sounds great - I have heard good things about Shiloh.

Be sure to post before and after photos!

Good luck