Hated my old cabinets simply because they were builder grade and not at all my style (Century cabinets). There are many upgrades available, but what I wanted was not offered by our builder. I love my new ones, brand is called Dutch Made.

I just did my second Ikea kitchen in 16 years and love the cabinets. The cabinets in the old house that we sold 3 years ago still looked like new.

Just bought a home and there is a bank of 24" or so floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets and I hate it. They are so deep, yet narrow. Everything gets lost if it's not at the forefront of the pantry. Roll out shelves would help massively. Our last home had a small pantry with a door, yet too small to be considered a "walk-in," and it had loads more storage compared to the "pantry cabinet" we now have.

Hope this helps in your planning for layout.

@megs1030 - Thanks for the recommendation! I'll look into it! :)

@sushipup1 - That's pretty impressive for IKEA! We have three cabinets of theirs in our kitchen now (we renovated and only needed to add 3) and so far they've held up but were are only 2 years in. This is good to know!

@User - Thanks for thank advice! We've never lived in a house with a closet style pantry and is going to be on our "wish list" for a custom build! We renovated our current kitchen and took out a floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinet (hated it immediately! Lol). Actually we cut it down to be a regular base cabinet! I 100% agree with you!

@Patricia Colwell Consulting - That's impressive!!!!

Thomasville brand from Home Depot in my galley kitchen. All base cabs have self-closing full-extension dovetail drawers, 75 pound-rated Blum glides and thick wood drawer bottoms. No upper cabinets. A bedroom closet style "pantry" with bypass doors provides ample storage, everything easy seen and accessed. Vertical pull outs would have been my second choice. I dislike any cabinet that has doors opening into my workspace. Homes built before WWII had walk-in pantries, the majority had shelves on both sides of a narrow aisle for efficient use of space.

@chiflipper - Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate utility and efficient use of space. I really loath wasted space. Of course it can prove challenging when trying to marry style with utility.

Omega -- mix of Dynasty (semi-custom) and Pinnacle (custom).

Cherry wood, stained.

Soft-close is standard on all drawers.

There are all kinds of "bells & whistles" available for cabinet inserts -- a lot more today than when we remodeled.

I love my cabinets! They're over 10 years old and still look new! Yes a couple of dings we did here and there, but the finish has held up wonderfully well -- it's not wearing off anywhere nor does it look "old". In fact, we had a get together in our home this past June and those who hadn't seen my Kitchen before thought it was brand new. When I told them it was over 10 years old they were amazed.

Most of the door styles are available in both the Dynasty and Pinnacle lines and our budget really liked the fact that we could use semi-custom for the majority of our cabinets and custom where it was cheaper than modifying a semi-custom cabinet.

Omega has wonderful customer service -- very important, in my opinion. We had an issue with our KD's company when we ordered extra shelves for our cabinets...they ordered the wrong sizes twice and lost them another time and told us they weren't going to order any more and they weren't going to refund us our money. In frustration, I called Omega and told them what was going on -- they told me not to worry about it and that they would send us, free of charge, the correct shelves and that they would deal directly with the KD's company. The shelves were delivered in less than two weeks and they fit perfectly!

My plan is to use Omega again when we build again in a few years.

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I hated our Aristrokraft cabinets that were in our old Kitchen. They were painted and the finish started wearing out in less than 5 years. In addition, the door hinges on several cabinets had to be replaced, the drawers became very difficult to open/close in about 5 or 6 years, and we had to glue the fake drawer front back on several times on our sink base. The only cabinet that was as good as new when we remodeled (13 years) was the lazy susan -- it worked smoothly, no sagging, etc.

I love my Medallion cabinets.

My Medallion cabinets are about 22 years old - still looking pretty good though I have never liked my drawer boxes as they are too short on the sides inside - hopefully that's improved in 22 years:) We did the "middle grade" option and have solid wood stained doors. I bought a "spice drawers" small cabinet from Shrock in a mini refresh and it is solid wood too - the whole thing - I was impressed.

American made companies like Medallion and Shrock - and others that make standard size cabinet can be a good deal. They are less then custom because they come in standard sizes and can be mass produced -here in the USA. Custom cabinets are more because they are made specifically to fit your kitchen and offer more options. That specialization comes with a cost. The non custom cabinets do come with options - glass door inserts, wood hood covers and different special cabinets too, but might not have the bells and whistles that custom would.

I have two friends with newer painted cabinets - one custom by a local company and the other I don't know. Both have paint chips on the pull out garbage cabinet. It is the most used cabinet in many homes.

Patricia Colwell Consulting -- with Ikea cabinets do you think high gloss is best for wear? Do they get marks and scratches easily, though you implied they don't...

I have never had a scratch and never a mark thet I cn’t remove. I do nott hink you need to go high gloss to get good wear I have many clients that went the painted fisihes with good results. I like high gloss because I like contemporary kitchens.

Check local cabinet makers as they can be price-competitive depending on style desired. If you want painted wood make sure they have a spray booth and heat baking capabilities. Educate yourself on drawer construction and glides before buying. The more you know, the more confident you will be when shopping.

Bought our house and lived for five years with the crappy RTA faux cherry cabinets the former owners installed a few years before our purchase. We had custom cabinets built, maple painted off white, with inset doors and drawers. I love them. Our cabinet company has been in business for 50 years, everything is made from scratch in their shop using local wood. I was surprised that the cost was not that much more than some of the semi-custom cabinets we priced.

14 year old slab front wood finish IKEA cabinets....they are going strong and I think they still look very good. Love them. Have a few lowers that have doors with pullouts and if I had to do it over, would get more drawers.

Have Shiloh; love the inset style and drawer base cabinets.

DS has pantry similar to this; love it, can open 1 door and see everything.

DF has pantry cabinets like this; hate it, have to open several doors and pull out drawers to try to find something - PITA!

I own 4 IKEA kitchens, ranging from three to seven years old, the oldest two being in rentals. All look new. No damage at all. The very many cabinets I own are straight, square, and have no finish problems that I hear so many complaints of on this forum. I have 4 different cabinet styles from painted to wood. The rentals have withstood much abuse from toddlers and college students, to a chef wanna be that never cleaned. They still look new. I meticulously clean them between renters and can not be more pleased. They are also a major selling point when I am showing the apartments to rent. I rent these apartments quickly, and certainly would not if I put craigslist finds in my kitchens. The kitchen in my own home has 22 IKEA cabinets, including a 4 1/2 x 8’ island and they have functioned beautifully for the past five years.

It may take a lot of time, but you should spend it reading through the gardenweb forum which is now Houzz. There is years of history and pros and cons of many cabinet lines, as well as cabinet construction pros and cons. Don’t assume Ikea is improper construction because of what you think is a flimsy back as stated by you in another thread. If you’re looking for all wood and heavy plywood, go for it. I love all of my IKEA kitchens and will have no problem putting them in my forever home.

You might also pay attention to the very many issues that way too many people here have experienced with some expensive cabinet lines while you’re looking for your ideal.

We just finished our remodel last week and have Signature Custom Cabinets. I'm very happy with them.

Omega/Dynasty - maple, solid wood, quiet close, part of them stained and part painted white. Love them! Good quality cabinets are an investment worth making.

I have 25+ year-old Kraft-maid cabinets in the dreaded honey oak, and I love them. They still look like new, and they give my kitchen a warm, cheerful glow. What I'd do again: My cabinets don't run all the way up to the ceiling, so there's room above for wallpaper and a few items on display. Not currently en vogue, but it suits my style.

we have shaker style. I like how they look, but the frames catch crumbs, dust, drips, etc. and it takes more effort to clean. looking forward to getting plain slab front doors one day. (we have a midcentury house so slab front will look appropriate in this space.)

they're some kind of beautiful, solid wood. they look good from afar, but sadly, they're quite damaged when looking close up (mostly from water and other things that dripped on them). they're going to need to be sanded deeply or painted if we do decide to keep them.

we used to have old school formica cabinets in our former home. I didn't love them, but one thing great about them was that I could scrub them with chemicals and not worry about messing them up!

Merrilat cherry cabinets in the last house. They were ok at best. Door would become loose if it was opened often but could be tightened up. Kraftmaid Vantage in painted maple in new home, which is a few months old. Really like the construction, soft close and overall look. Have to be fussier about taking care of painted cabs and would probably not get them if I still had little kids. Scratches in wood hide better.

My experience with Merilat cabinets is just the opposite. We installed Merilat Harvest Oak cabinets 42+ years ago, raised a busy family, and they still look beautiful and have held up very well. This year we hope to replace them only because we are knocking out walls and a sofit, replacing laminate counters, and totally reconfiguring our kitchen. Also, we want something lighter snd brighter . However, I have heard that Merilat quality today is not what it was when we selected ours in 1976. Can anyone verify? We are in the very early planning stages and are nowhere ready to select cabinets, but we would appreciate some up to date advice.

Hello: as a pro in kitchen and bath remodeling, I would say there are so many different cabinet lines you actually choose from Merillat. I used to sell Merillat products and it's still pretty popular and reasonable price point. Also, you can checkout Masterbrand Decora as well.

Dura Supreme for ten years now. I am very happy for the most part. There has been chipping (near the dishwasher) but I use touch-up paint. Now Dura Supreme has a more upgraded finish.

We are doing a new kitchen in our Florida home. We are going with Kitchen Craft.

About 12-15 years ago, I tore out the old birch cabinets that were in my previous home, and had American Woodmark/Shenandoah Cabinetry installed (same manufacturer, same line, just different branding depending if bought at Home Depot or at Lowes). There was nothing really wrong with the old birch cabinets - they were original to the house, built in the 1950's, but I needed more space in the kitchen and ripped out walls, etc. The American Woodmark/Shenandoah held up well, but several years later I sold my house and moved. I intensely miss my old kitchen. I got it in a spice Cherry stain, with a super susan, a few roll-out shelves, and I absolutely loved it.

My current kitchen LOOKS nice... but the functionality is terrible. I don't know what brand it is because there's not a single manufacturer's mark that I can find. The shelves in the wall cabinets are not adjustable, they are literally cut into the framing of the cabinet. As a result, anything taller than about 7.25" can't fit in a wall cabinet. I only have a couple of non-drawer base cabinets in the current layout, and one of those is a blind corner under the sink - a bottomless pit where things disappear into. Even the previous owners lost stuff in there - I'd been here about 4 years when I finally managed to get the blind corner completely emptied out - and found their old 1960's belgian waffle maker - a victim of the black hole of the blind corner. (And the layout doesn't work for us, now that we're also raising a family).

Like you, I'm hoping to redo the kitchen. Budget is an issue, so I'm trying to find the sweet spot where I can buy cabinetry that will hold up for a few decades (by which time, I'll probably be dead, being that I'm in my mid-50's), without breaking the bank.

Purchased Signature Custom Cabinets made in Pennsylvania. My first experience was with them in my master bath. Two years later I did a kitchen with both stained cherry and painted cabinets. I did drawers with full extension and soft close. Put in one glass front cabinet which is stained cherry but had the inside painted to match the painted cabinets. Bottom line I would highly recommend them for both painted and stained cabinets. P rice a little higher than stock but able to maximize space. Love the pantry with 2 drawers on bottom and 2 rollouts and fixed shelves.

I used a kitchen designer for cabinets. Contractor for job said they were very good quality. Needed molding for bottom of island and company sent it out within a week no extra cost to me.

Love my custom built cherry wood cabinets. It was hard to find a cabinetmaker who specialized in inset shaker style cabinets. I love my drawers to hold items, instead of opening cabinets to pull outs. I would put cabinets with glass for displaying to ceilings to avoid the quarterly cleanings.