DIY Kitchen Cabinets - what's your favorite budget brand?
graywhitehome
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
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kriii
5 years agomabeldingeldine
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Sink & Stove on Same Wall? Show Your Favorite Cabinet Pictures
Comments (5)I love that milk box! Very cool. And someone will acquire a gem with those cabinets! What size stove are you considering? How wide will your sink be? How wide is the space between the sink and the wall? My concern is that not only will you have little space between the sink and the stove, but also between the stove and the wall. You won't want to have the stove right up against the wall; I think it may even be against code (not sure). I guess I'd rather have a little more space on the left even if it meant a compromise of space between the stove and sink. How far will the peninsula be from the sink run? (Have you considered making it an island instead of a peninsula?) Will you have counter space that can be used for prep on the peninsula and have it close enough to transfer ingredients to the stove? Can you post a layout of the current kitchen? Since you asked, we do have sink and stove together, but we have a wider wall for it. The whole run is 19', which allows for wide counter spaces (I will say that the distance from sink to stove is a little too far, though the prep sink helps; I may have opted to put the DW on the left side of the sink in retrospect); the wall itself, including the door, is 25'....See Morefavorite cabinet brands at different price points
Comments (47)I actually drive a Honda Fit and spent more on our cabinets than I did on the car. I hadn't considered it in those terms, but -- yes -- I will spend more on my cabinets than I did on my car. I've also heard that men are like automobiles. That Porsche is gorgeous and SO exciting, but the maintenance will be VERY high. That Taurus sedan is functional and ordinary and will never stand out in a crowd. A Suburban is highly functional and will last forever if maintained. I married a Suburban. I think my husband is a Jeep or a good, solid truck. He's solid as a rock, highly functional, can stand a little abuse, and will last a lifetime. Incidentally, that's one of our goals for the next two years: Buy him a Jeep as we head into retirement, a very real possibility being that he will never buy another vehicle. I drive an Audi Q5 - I lease it as I can't afford to buy one. You bring up a good point: A lot of people are leasing cars they couldn't afford to buy ... others are making payments that are probably beyond what's wise for their incomes. So how does this "game" work for those people? A person might have "Lexus taste" but a "Ford budget". In general, I think semi-custom is probably a good option -- not cheap but not horrendously expensive. You will have many, many options in a semi-custom line, including unusual sizes to fit your space, if needed, as well as better finishes, etc. I agree with you. I started with the idea that I'd go with Custom. My current cabinets are Custom, and they're pushing 50 years old. They really did last well for a lot of years. However, as I've become better informed, I've realized that Semi-Custom will give me 95% of what I wanted ... for not too much over half the price. My agreement with my husband: I'm allowed anything I want in this house, but I have to be sure it's good value. I probably send out a bunch of mixed signals. Currently driving a Hyundai Santa Fe, pre-owned. Previous car, Subaru Forrester, gave up the ghost alas at 184K miles. Unfortunately with my back, SUVs are the only comfortable vehicles. House: quartz counters, IKEA sleeper sofa. Cabinets, custom, but competitive price with standard big box cabs. Currently live in southwestern CT. Moving to rural MA. Clothing: whatever fits comfortably, I have no concept of style when it comes to garb. At any rate, i do high end very selectively, when I think something may call for it. So I would want to know price ranges. We are the same person....See MoreKitchen Cabinet Brand Suggestions for $10-$15K budget.
Comments (22)My Medallion cabinets are over 20 years old and still holding up. When I first joined this forum, most said the best boxes are plywood, but I have seen that change and many pros now say that a good MDF box is fine. Mine are not plywood - I think they are MDF - and not the best MDF, but still solid - I know because I tried to cut one apart to change it up. Painted cabinets, even high end cabinets, are often MDF or a combo of MDF and wood - usually maple because it paints well. Wood moves with changes in temp and humidity which can cause hairline cracks in the paint at joints. For this reason, most painted cabinets have MDF parts - it is more stable to changes in temp which helps prevent the paint cracks. A good stained cabinet will have solid wood doors and frames - not veneer. If you do not need to go custom, stock cabinets made in America can give a good quality at a reasonable price. The ability to factory mass produce makes stock less than custom. Be sure to be around if possible for the installation. Cabinets can get dinged up if installers aren't careful. Check te cabinets as they are unboxed and try to catch problems before install....See MoreWhat is your favorite kitchen countertop material?
Comments (61)My first choice would be a granite or quartzite - choice would depend partly on getting one with a look that we like. It's real stone so you have to choose from the colors as it comes. (Note: "granite" in this case is a market term covering lots of types of hard non-reactive stone including many that aren't granite to a geologist.) We have quartzite and it's bullet proof. At times we have a lot of cooks in our kitchen and some aren't very neat. It cleans up so easily even if someone has missed a drop of something the night before. We make bread and it provides a good smooth surface for kneading and for forming the dough into loaves. Upsides of quartzite: it is very hard and durable, it doesn't react with acids so it doesn't etch, it is a smooth continuous surface (as is granite and quartz); some fabulous looks - some have patterns similar to marble, ours (azul do mar) looks like the ocean. Downsides of quartzite: cost (both because the slabs are more expensive than the average granite slab and because fabrication of such a hard material can cost more); inaccurate identification - because some quartzites look similar to marbles/dolomites, sometimes those soft stones are mislabeled as quartzite so if you don't know what you are doing, you could think you are buying quartzite but end up with a calcium containing stone that etches. Quartzite varies in porosity; some need to be sealed to prevent staining, some don't. Ours has never been sealed and absorbs nothing. If I couldn't afford granite or quartzite, I'd probably go with a large format tile porcelain (e.g 24" x 24" or 12" x 24") to minimize grout lines. Porcelain for a tile that is as durable as possible. Tile isn't simple either, installation quality is important and you want to thing ahead of time about how the counter edges will be handled. We recently had it installed in our bathroom (the first time we've had a tile project other than a small floor area) and didn't know to ask about the edges ahead of time. We didn't like how they were doing them and had to negotiate a change order to get mitered edges. Sabinical mentioned as an advantage that tile comes in a wide variety of colors; unfortunately, that doesn't seem very true right now, at least for large format tiles around here. When recently looking, it seems like almost everything is grey, ivory, beige or brown tones or faux wood and stone. Color is apparently "out" for tile. Just about the worst counter surface ever - when we bought our house, it had "rustic" tile with a bumpy uneven surface and wide gray-brown grout - impossible to clean no matter how hard you scrubbed....See MoreUser
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