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mtpo

Please advise on cabinet manufacturer

mtpo
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago

Please advise on cabinet manufacturer and quality line within the brand.

The KD and builder asked me to quickly decide on a new cabinet manufacture for our custom build house. It is being dry walled this week and the original cabinet manufacturer closed due to COVID-19. The KD works for a company that has its own shop to craft some special features, but they order the boxes, doors etc from the big manufacturers. Our builder does the install. I had selected a white Shaker full overlay door for my kitchen cabinets — but the plan mostly calls for drawers. I am attaching photos of our kitchen plan. I’ve read lots of old posts on this site about quality and things to consider. Taking those things into account:

1. I want a quality cabinet — full open drawers that will support heavy pots and dishes (upgraded glides? ) — clean finish — without unnecessarily going overboard on price.

2. I may need to custom paint cabinets to go with countertop selection. (Also... My builder uses SW for house trim - I want kitchen cabinets and trim to match the color of the trim and bookshelves throughout the house.)

3. Need fully integrated panels for fridge, freezer and DW.

4. Wood end board for cabinet side that faces the dining area.

5. No plywood or other materials from China. No formaldehyde.

6. Cabinet plan has cabinets (with trim) going to 9’ ceiling.

7. Plan has lots of drawers, tall oven cabinet and tall dish cabinet — no other top cabinets.

The KD suggested using the Aspect line of Shiloh ... customized by the KD’s company’s in-house carpentry shop. I saw pretty favorable reviews for Shiloh ... not so favorable for Aspect though. What do you think of Aspect?

of upgrading to Shiloh?

Is there a big price jump from Aspect to the Shiloh line? Worth it?

I saw lots of good reviews for Wood mode and Brookhaven.

is there a big price jump from Shiloh to Brookhaven?

Can I custom paint Brookhaven if necessary?

I saw some people mixed their order...getting some from Brookhaven and some from Wood Mode. Why do people do that?

I know I get what I pay for, and if $$$ we’re not a consideration at all, most people would probably recommend Wood mode —- but I have no idea what that would cost and all Wood mode may be out of my budget. However, the kitchen is the heart of this house so I really want it to look nice and wear well.

Someone I know recently used Cabico and is satisfied. My KD also suggested Decora. I have no idea how the quality of Cabico and Decora fit in with those discussed above. Are either worth considering?

I don’t plan on reconfiguring the kitchen. It is laid out with a really wide aisle near fridge, microwave and eating area of island to accommodate DH’s mechanical wheelchair. I know it’s not the best work triangle but that’s OK. At this point, I’m focused on getting this built. I appreciate all of your help in picking a manufacturer.





Thanks!

Comments (17)

  • Aglitter
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    The Harmoni cabinetry line by Bentwood would be a quality addition to the home, though depending on the supplier it could be out of price range, but ask your designer if he/she can become a distributor. This is a growing manufacturer that does impeccable work with durable finishes.

    I don't know about Cabico, but I see you've already posted on a thread about that. You might bump up that thread with a new post and see if you get any more comments. I did a quick search and saw about 5 very poor reviews for this company just on the Google reviews system. Complaints include early cracking and chipping of paint, poor overall build quality, and impossible customer service with warranty fulfillment refusals. I'd look elsewhere.

    In case you hadn't heard, Brookhaven and its parent company, Wood-Mode, went into bankruptcy around this time last year. Customers' orders were stuck in production lines for weeks with no notice because the doors were shuttered and all the employees laid off. Dealers weren't even communicated with. The company just went dead silent, which created much angst on the comment boards here at Houzz, as you might imagine. A new buyer revived the company about 9 months ago and opened the doors on a basis of limited production runs. There has been little recent talk to my knowledge about how the company is doing under the reorganization, but when you have another close competitor in quality and price like Bentwood, Harmoni, or Plato Woodworking (check out their Prelude semi-custom line) that all have outstanding customer service, why bother?

    Shiloh gets fairly good reviews, and there are plenty of discussions about the Aspect line here at Houzz with opinions if you want to research the archived posts. They aren't at the top of the pile for quality, especially for the inset doors. Many people have commented that the inset designs do not feature the close tolerances seen in other higher-end cabinetry lines. However, your layout looks to be full overlay, so that shouldn't be an issue. I've seen a few reviews on Shiloh about quality issues, and again you should be able to research those yourself here at Houzz or online, but overall they are above average as far as quality complaints go. There are a few contributors here in the Houzz forums who recommend Shiloh over and over because they have had such a good experience with their own kitchens in recent years. If your designer is accustomed to working with them and will back up any warranty claims, then that may be a good option for you.

  • User
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    No one can do the foot work for you to know the local dealers in your area, and the lines that they sell. You’re asking for upper end design details, in a questionable design to associate with the word budget, without an upper end price. That’s nonexistent.

    I would t pick any in your list. I’d find someone who sold Omega. They’ll have what you need. And a few trickle down lines.

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  • mtpo
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Thank you Belaria and Live Wire— I’ll look into the brands you mentioned. My builder uses a company that employs the KD and sells the cabinets to the builder, so I am limited to the lines that company represents or is willing/able to get.

    Live Wire— The builder was originally going to build this house as a spec house and he probably budgeted a low end kitchen so he could keep the advertised price of the house attractive (for the area). Like a car dealer advertising a Mercedes with no radio or AC to get people in the showroom! We understood this and knew we’d be upgrading from his baseline pricing. We are OK with upgrading and so is the builder and KD (they both benefit). However, neither the KD or builder has given us pricing yet on the things I’ve selected and I’m totally in the dark about what our Kitchen plan would cost from one manufacturer to another. The builder deals with places that he finds stand behind their products (big, old school plumbing supplier, local electrical supplier, large local cabinet supplier) so I’m limited to dealing with those places. I respect that. Even though I‘d like quality, I don’t want to pay just for a ritzy brand name. I’m more of an Audi person (buy good quality and drive the same car till it dies) — not a Mercedes person — and definitely not a Bentley person.

  • PRO
    StarCraft Custom Builders
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Try you local cabinet shop. You will usually get better quality and much more flexibility for not a large difference in price.

  • Aglitter
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I'd like to add that if you aren't planning an accessible sink, you might want to. Basically you'll elminate most of the bulk underneath the sink and let the sink float as much as possible. Maybe your builder can use Centerline brackets to help mount or some side attachment brackets mounted to the cabinetry on each side. Access to water is one of the most critical things for a wheelchair-bound person, as you know.

    Also, Omega and its sister brand Kemper, both of MasterBrand cabinet company, used to be among the top-rated cabinetry brands and often mentioned in threads here dating back to the old GardenWeb posts. A past expert contributor here at Houzz/GardenWeb who went by "Sophie" often recommended Omega and Kemper, and virtually nothing but the best would do for Sophie who was a cabinetry aficionado. However, Omega and Kemper have had more recent issues with their finishes and some of their construction quality control. Be sure to do research on real-time customer experiences with any brand you select before moving forward: https://kitchencabinetsreviews.com/reviews/omega-cabinetry.html

    mtpo thanked Aglitter
  • millworkman
    4 years ago

    Belaria, Sophie is no longer longer around, major health issues, Definitely not L_W_O.

    mtpo thanked millworkman
  • Aglitter
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    @millworkman My comment was only to point out that past recommendations by experts may not apply in 2020 due to recent changes in manufacturing and quality control practices. Yes, I am aware of the strokes, physical relocation, and Houzz controversy in late 2018. https://www.facebook.com/groups/AuntSophiesCorner/

    mtpo thanked Aglitter
  • millworkman
    4 years ago

    My bad, I misread and thought you were "speaking" to Sophie.

  • User
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Bremtown Cabinetry in Indiana is open and making cabinets during these times. I found their cabinets to be of excellent quality with the ability to have them painted in any color in the BM paintwheel. https://www.bremtown.com/

    mtpo thanked User
  • PRO
    Creative Design Cabinetry
    4 years ago

    Check out your local cabinetmakers.

    mtpo thanked Creative Design Cabinetry
  • PRO
    User
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    There are more than 100 local custom cabinet makers in the area. Your Kitchen Designer should know at least a dozen of them. I‘m sure that one would love to pick up the project. The timeline won’t be a short one though.

    As far as manufactured lines, it’s only MN and PA produced lines that are currently fully shut down. Many others elsewhere are still operating, but at slower lead times and reduced capacity production. That impacts timelines as well. Picking one out of the 100’s available locally is going to be tough. You need your KD’s advice on cabinet quality, and ability of the line to achieve your design specifics.

    You may need to change some things there in that design in order to fit into some manufacturers capabilities. Or a specified budget. Translating a design into a line that it wasn’t designed in will take some time, experience, and a willingness to have a price increase. Timelines won’t be really known until an order is placed.

    Talk to your lender. They know about construction slowdowns. And budget increases. Your builder should not be forcing you into a decision because of that. Yes, you should be making a decision, but you should have at least a couple of weeks to talk over the options and decide the best approach with your Kitchen Designer. Otherwise, you might as well do an online order of IKEA, and get it rudimentarily fitted out so that everything else can move forward while you plan for a later redo. If the house would appraise for the loan amount done that way.

  • Zalco/bring back Sophie!
    4 years ago

    Try the lower priced line from Crown Point.

    mtpo thanked Zalco/bring back Sophie!
  • PRO
    The Kitchen Place
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    If you want mostly drawers, consider Shiloh's frameless line called Eclipse. You will get more storage capacity per drawer. It's a bit more than Aspect(their entry level) but less than their traditional framed line. You can get custom sizes, custom SW paint colors and they use Blum drawer guides...the best in the industry. Eclipse is a great price point! I would do a standard color and then get the house trim paint to match the cabinets.

    https://www.eclipsecabinetry.com/

    mtpo thanked The Kitchen Place
  • Deborah Hook
    4 years ago

    Good evening. I hope your project is more exciting than nerve wracking. Although I agree with many other posters, in that, custom is the way to go, it sounds like that may not be an option for you. In this case I Highly recommend Dura Supreme cabinetry. They are a semi-custom manufacturer who will create full custom pieces upon request. Your KD just has to submit a detailed drawing and they will build it to spec. They are very easy to work with and they care about the finished product as much as the KD and the client do. It is truly the best of all worlds. You can save on standard cabinets buying from the semi custom line, spend a little more for full custom, and the finishes are exactly the same. Did I mention the quality is great? If my clients can't swing custom we design with Dura Supreme and honestly, no one will ever be able to tell the difference. I'm not sure what the current lead times for their products are, but, if your KD calls them I'm sure she/he will find them very nice to work with.

  • User
    4 years ago

    Dura is MN based and shut down. Not essential. Playing catch-up is going to take that 8 week lead time and double it. When opening up ever happens.

  • User
    4 years ago

    There’s supposedly a skeleton crew for the plant, according to the rep. But all the reps and execs are at home.