I have never heard of them. I agree that budget wise, the ones you recommend will most likely not be in your price range.

Many have luck with IKEA.

I would go to a big box store for just research. Get ideas of what you will actually need. Look at quality of cabinets.

Go to as many show rooms as you can.

One thing we found interesting. We just did a kitchen in our Florida home.

When it was being installed, my husband became friendly with the installer.

He told my husband that we were lucky to get Dan as our sales rep. The bottom line was that Dan generated 3 kitchens to one. This surprised me as our kitchen would have been priced higher with someone else.

I did a price comparison on lower cost cabinets a few years ago that is still valid. There’s a certain basement level of product that I would not recommend going under. If you are on an extremely limited budget, repurposing existing can make more sense than new if you contribute the DIY labor. Just be wise in that regard, and don’t get caught up in DIY always being a bargain. It can be, for some things. Not everything. Good luck!

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5647040/white-shaker-battle-ikea-vs-the-rest-of-the-cabinet-world

Medallion Silverline is a great option! They are in the lower price point...but not so low as to be considered off the shelf box store junk. They have a sale going on right now til the end of december. I recently quoted this against J&K and Silverline was just a few hundred more, yet I had quoted 39" tall uppers with the silverline and only 30" tall uppers with the J&K. Hands down, Silverline by Medallion wins! And they offer some gorgeous colors. Check out the Jackson or Lancaster doors....the most popular right now.

We have been to a big box store and have a quote for Kraftmaid cabinets. We also have a quote for Fabuwood. The Kraft maid quote was 5,000 LOWER then Fabuwood. From looking at the reviews online from Mainline kitchen cabinets review, we were not expecting that. Also the quote for Kraftmaid we in the range we were looking to spend on cabinets. We are waiting on a quote for Bertch cabinets shortly. We didn't think they were going to be in out budget but if they are at a similar price as the Kraftmaid, they sure will be. We have not heard back from the Mantra rep. they carry Diamond as well. We were hoping to get a quote from them so we could compare that to the big box store as well.

Is anyone else surprised that Kraftmaid was cheaper than Fabuwood? I always thought Kraftmaid was a better cabinet that Fabuwood. Also, the Kraftmaid cabinet is the upgraded to plywood with Maple doors.

Thoughts?

Since this discussion, has anyone installed or read reviews on Mantra cabinets? I’ve also looked into Cabinet Depot in New England area— They are approximately the same price as Mantra—but now I’m reviewing the quality and durability for them. Welcome any feedback on this. . The general price for these two brands is between $11 to $12,000; I priced Kraftmaid at local big box store and that was $17,500 – – so a significant difference in price for same configuration..

Mantra is super builder grade level stock cabinets. Think off the shelf at a box store, but with a few more options. Fabuwood emerged from bankruptcy with new owners and the tariffs creating a higher price, and realized they had to charge more if they were going to stay in business. But they don’t offer a good enough quality product to play at that higher priced level. They have no customizations, and are just marketers, not cabinet makers.Low quality marketed well though!

So You’re saying mantra is good quality for the money? I really like the Kraftmaid cabinet upgradeed to 3/4 inch plywood shelving, and have had good experience with them in the past – good quality, durability, etc. I’m just concerned downgrading to mantra may be a mistake. Mantra is sold by our local Hancock lumber. I’ve read some reviews on mantra that were not very promising – saying they received damaged goods and replacements arrived with touch up paint on them, etc. I’m trying to find a review on how the mantra compares to Kraftmaid – – I know as the 3/4” upgraded Kraftmaid is very durable and of excellent quality – – but the cost is much higher. If the mantra is comparable to the Kraftmaid in durability, then I’d prefer going with the mantra because it’s more cost effécrive. My fear is that I do not want to be putting expensive quartz countertops in a cheaply made cabinet that won’t last.. Thank you in advance for your valued feedback.

I too would like to know more about the quality and durability of the Mantra cabinets. I've heard their a budget line from Masterbrand, the same umbrella corp that has Diamond. Our local lumber yard carries, Diamond and Mantra. Their kitchen specialist is telling me that Diamond is substantially more expensive than Mantra. They do only offer two colors in their "Omni" (shaker) door style and have limited sizes and configurations (but certainly enough to design a full kitchen). The Mantra cabinets are full plywood construction with 1/2" ends, 3/8" top, back, bottom and i-beams, 3/4" Hardwood frame, doors and drawer fronts, 5/8" Solid wood dovetail drawer box, soft-closing, under-mount, full-extension drawer guides and 3/4" natural plywood adjustable shelves.

They're hitting all of the sought after features, but I'm wondering about the fit-and-finish quality, their durability and if it's worth looking elsewhere.

Would you mind posting a picture of your kitchen? We are looking at Mantra and trying to devide between Omni and Spectrum.

Just installed Mantra in our basement wet bar. Still waiting on countertops. I didn't want to install anything too high end in a basement. I was pleasantly surprised how nice they were. They will not be used on a daily basis as a kitchen would but they do appear to be well made for the price. My only complaint is the lack of accessories offered. In building a bar height ledge, there are no options to install a large panel in the front where the bar stools will be.

I was trying to decide between Omni and Spectra as well. I think I am going with the Spectra in the snow color with Giza enigma counters. I just can't be sure of the wall color. Has anyone painted the walls white next to the Mantra white? Which Bm paint works better, Simply White or Dove White?

Mantra is a decent cabinet. Put a 30" base cabinets side by side and they are very similar to Fabuwwod in build and finish quality. Fabuwood comes in from somewhere in Asia pre finished, Mantra New Mexico. Both are assembled here. Get whatever you like more , quality wise you are splitting hairs. I have handles many boxes from each of them , both give you a lot for the money.

* Fabuwood does offer more styles and sizes.

Mantra cabinets for the price are very good cabinets. I have been selling/installing cabinets for over 10 years, and I would say for the cost you get a quality cabinet. Fabuwood is not worth it for the cost. The only thing with Mantra is you don’t have a ton of options.

Curious if you went through with the Mantra cabinets and if so - are you happy? I just received this recommendation but am leery based on reviews re: warping and arriving damaged. Any follow up to this thread is greatly appreciated!

We just spent almost 38k on cabinetry in our new construction. the majority of the mantra line came in damaged and we are being told that is normal and they just use a touch up kit!! unacceptable! of course that cost is with markup from the builder but I am absoluteky disgusted with the response!

Leddy Home Improvements , Must depend where you are located, Mantra and Fabuwood are very similar in cost for me.

I have seen a reduction in quality in the past year in many lines, we have been using Fabuwood and Cubitac.

Mantra is box store stock off the shelf low quality, Vietman made, flatpack imported, low quality, junk. Assembled here, poorly. No real customization options at all. 38K is full list price, and no one pays list price. Thats just criminal to charge someone that much for that low level no options quality. 50% off of list would still be a high price to charge for that stuff.

Stay away from these cabinets! I'm so disgusted with them after an insurance contractor installed them. Multiple units had to be sent back because of damage and some were touched up with a paint stick before they were even installed. Seams on the door panels are splitting already after only one month. We only agreed to these cabinets because we were told they were off the shelf items with only a two week wait time...7 months later still waiting for replacements.