If your fridge is 36" wide the 36" refrigerator cabinet is usually not wide enough. You should increase it to 37" wide.

Before I decided to go with a local cabinet maker (https://www.troycabinet.com) I was going to go with Bertch. I did a lot of research and they were one of the very few cabinet makers I even considered.

The others were Candlelight (https://www.candlelightcab.com/) and Vermont Cabinetry (https://vermontcustomcabinetry.com/)

I have Kraftmaid cabinets in our master bathroom. They are fine for a bathroom, but maybe a little lightweight for a kitchen with all the opening/closing/constant use. When we redid our kitchen, more recently, I had heavier-duty custom cabinetry done....soft-close doors and drawers, fully-adjustable shelving, full extension roll-out bottom shelf/drawers for the bigger pots and such.

We have kraftmaid in our kitchen so I can only review that for you, it's the most high end heavy duty cabinetry we've ever had and we've renovated a few kitchens over the last 10 years. We didn't do the plywood upgrade. We went with the Kraftmaid Sonata Evercore. Zero issues. We got 8 quotes for cabinetry from various places before settling on Kraftmaid.

We are building and just signed off on Kraftmaid Ellery cabinets (maple) in our kitchen. Shaker style, simple and clean. Compared to the others we liked these the best.

Diamond in Lowes is the same as Thomasville in Home Depot. Schuler has higher quality than Diamond and KraftMaid. They also have more size options.

The difference is the back panel on the boxes. KM has a thin veneer, Diamond and Schuler have 1/2" or 3/4" plywood panel. The floor of some drawers in KM are thinner. You will see staples behind KM cabinets. Tall doors on Diamond are prone to come apart depending upon which US factory they are coming from. Finishes on Schuler are oil based, in KM and Diamond they are not.

Get a comparison quote on Schuler also from Lowes.

I think one thing throwing me is the woman at the Kraftmaid dealer wasn’t very swift and took forever. The finish and sample doors looked nice. But she also said I was getting bertch lower line which I am not, and therefore I think she’s misleading. Doors are Lexington for bases and Quincy for wall which are both Kitchen Plus in bertch, not marketplace.

Hi Crista, Consider one of these two base corner storage options. KraftMaid may not offer these so try Schuler. If you put this cabinet to the right of the range, it will give you an option to go with a 36" W or 33"W sink base under the window.

Oh... do I need a wider sink base? I have a total dead lower corner now so anything was better. And was trying to keep the sink from that corner. You like that better than the small Susan? I was just going to do cans and blender blend jet in the Susan.

@Crista VH

The island cabinets are confusing in both plans. Crista, can you explain what these cabinets are for? I see that you want to put the microwave there, but the other three nomenclature doesn't seem to make sense. I have a 2019 KM spec book and I couldn't find two of the cabinets in it. Quite possible they're new.

I also don't see any toe kicks on the island cabinets, finished ends of cabinets are not designated. To me, it seems as though the Kitchen Designer is new and not very experienced. Could that be one of the reasons why she took forever?

These is the bertch plan And old waypoint plan. I used waypoint bc they didn’t do the custom size easy reach. Sorry if it was confusing. Kraftmaid and diamond would
Look like waypoint.
The island is the microwave, 18”
Trash, and then a cabinet under island 12” deep. Then one 18” cabinet facing sink wall bc I asked for an easy place to standup cutting boards...

I’m not looking for input so much on the layout as the cabinets lines and MDF/wood door and quality of paint finish

@Crista VH I see. Fieldstone has an Easy Reach cabinet 21" wide, 24" and can increase to 27" wide. The depth can also be increased upto 15". They also have assymetrical sizes for all three widths with customization.

https://www.houzz.com/pro/fieldstonecabinet/fieldstone-cabinetry 

All painted shaker doors will have an mdf insert. The doors are built first then painted. Over time wood shrinks and expands with the seasons. When that happens the unpainted part of the center panel begins to show. To avoid that, cabinet lines have now started to use MDF boards in the center panel. MDF will not shrink or expand. The outside 4 pieces of the door will be painted maple. Just about every cabinet line is now using MDF boards on painted cabinets.

I am working on a comparison quote for you using the same cabinets in the first layout. Comparing apples to apples.

The first brochure is for colors, wood types, finishes. https://www.fieldstonecabinetry.com/FlipBooks/Colors-And-Styles/Colors-And-Styles.html

Page 2 of this brochure shows how Fieldstone cabinets are finished.

https://www.fieldstonecabinetry.com/FlipBooks/Cabinetry-Comparison/Cabinetry-Comparison.html

@Crista VH Comparing apples to apples. MSRP for shaker white cabinets using the Berch design is $21900. The most discount that any dealer maybe willing to give you is 35%, comes to $14235.

Thank you! I’ve been on an airplane and can’t figure out how to comment to a specific person in the app! So in all my quote is in the middle of the MSRP and best dealer discount!
The other thing to note is I asked my Bertch rep today and she said the door is all birch wood. Door and rail and stile. Will try to post the picture she sent. I feel like this will be a problem with paint. Are you suggesting I look into Fieldstone? I have to find a dealer for that in my area. And I need the cabinets by latest mid July. So I need to order them soon!!!

Here is the spec on the Bertch Door.

Woodland will custom make an easy reach where both doors open like a butterfly instead of the hinges kind, which to me seems nicer. Open one side then the other. Thoughts on that??

That's a great idea to have hinges on both sides. I have seen that on a lazy susan.

All birch doors will not have MDF center panel. The Lexington door is a reverse raised door and that's good.

I can find a fieldstone dealer, what is the major city near you?

So it’s good to be all wood? I have Lexington for bases and Quincy for wall. She does Quincy for wall bc it’s same style but I think Quincy is less expensive category.

I’m still confused if I should be buying this from Bertch when all
Wood door or look elsewhere for MDF. The closest fieldstone rep is in cherry hill NJ. I went to them two years ago when I was going to do the kitchen then we put it on hold. Not sure I want to get yet another estimate. But he does or should already have my measurements!

Ok. I think I’m getting it! No the solid wood doors with Bertch cabinets. Any thoughts on woodland or diamond with MDF?

@Crista VH. https://www.bertch.com/support/warranty-info/

Warranty doesn't cover the unfinished wood that gets exposed because of change in temperature and humidity, over the course of time.

@Mavvery_Sure
Thank you for looking that up. I guess at this point I would lean towards Woodland for the customization they offer and the full MDF door. I may try to reach out to a fieldstone rep today as well. Lots of cabinets but I’m starting to get low on time for the July remodel!

I’m in my 3rd house with Kraftmaid cabinets and I’ve been very happy with them (mid-tone maple right now). We are just getting ready to replace the laminate countertops with quartz and adding Kraftmaid cabinets to the dining area (to build in a wine cooler and provide some buffet-top space). We’re doing slate on maple and these cabinets will have the same new quartz as the kitchen (which adjoins directly).
I had an issue with two narrow (12”) base cabinets next to the wine cooler because at 24” deep, it’s too difficult to get things out of the back. So, switched to pull outs which can be configured to hold liquor bottles—an upcharge, but well worth it.
I’ve not ever seen the need for ‘soft close’ drawers, and my corner base cabinets (and uppers) just have the fixed shelves (in the base cabinets, the shelf is stepped back). My previous experience with ‘lazy Susan’ type arrangements has not been great.
We did get thicker walled base cabinets when we bought them so that we could upgrade from laminate countertops to stone or quartz at a later date. Going from a darker countertop color to near-white now as our kitchen is north-facing with one window.
We had white cabinets (builder-supplied) in one house and they were nowhere near as good as Kraftmaid. The finish (especially unpainted) holds up really well. My sister has Kraftmaid painted cabinets and they’ve held up well, but no children.

If you go with Kraftmaid expect to wait. We ordered cabinets over a month ago with a estimated completion of 6-8 weeks. I got a call today scheduling delivery in July, almost 4 months from order date. I wish I would have known that up front.

WOW, amazed, I work directly with the manufacturer, and our prices are half of what you are being quoted. Our cabinets are soft close, wood, and I can have them to you in 5-7 days once you approve the final order and our design work is completely free. Please feel to email me at tom@built2xs.com and text me and I would be more than happy to converse with you in regards cabinets. My office phone is (636) 219-0840.

Crista VH: I took your elevations as the codes are universal for the most part. I looked up the price of each one and the total was around close to the quotes they are given you with very little discount. I have no overhead and I ship directly out of the factory to the client. Shaker White, real wood and the options you choose from the codes I could tell is around 8600, once I converse with you and get some input to ensure i have the codes I will apply my discount. In most cases depending on the time I contact the warehouse and get them shipped out the same day.

This is just an example and it is a rental property but the shaker white are deluxe with soft close and real wood the client did not want handles. As a National Accredited Home Inspector I take pride in helping others get the best possible prices that are available. Have a good morning and hope to hear from you.

Built2xs LLC What brand do you carry?

Noble Craft, made in America my prices are low as I dont have overhead, I am retired software engineer that loves to work and help people and stay business. Find me on linkedin as well. Let me know if I can help in anyway

NEVER buy Kraftmaid. I bought $13k worth of cabinetry and 100% of my order was damaged and they are refusing to replace and/or reimburse me for the cabinets.

The cabinets have paint splotches, uneven paint job, cracked joints, and various other defects. All of which they say are 'standard wear and tear (wear and tear on DAY 1???) On top of all of that, their customer services sucks! Going back and forth with Lowes/Kraftmaid for the last 6 months and I was told today by Lowes that if I wanted a better paint job I should have purchased the cheaper MDF line! How does that make sense????

I plan to put this review up anywhere on the internet I can find asking for a review of Kraftmaid so others do not make the same mistake I did! DO NOT BUY KRAFTMAID FROM LOWES!!

When I had my 3 small bathrooms renovated a few years ago, I had Bertch vanities installed. They are beautiful and well made❣️ I purchased 2 in the sage and one in charcoal. My carpenter and plumber were very impressed with their quality. I purchased remnant quartz slabs for the countertops.

Pam Cox I agree. We are still in the process with Kraftmaid now at over 5 months and still don't have our complete order. Their communication is HORRIBLE and there is zero customer service. Our cabinets were bought through Home Depot. If I could do it over again I would never order from Kraftmaid either.

Wow… I am sorry to hear that. I did end up going with Fieldstone from a kitchen design place. They are just installed and are beautiful. Quality seems excellent. They were delivered one week late as expected with everything right now, but Was warned of potential delays. Order was delivered altogether. Beautiful finish on the paint. My Cabinet guy is great to work with and submitted a warranty replacement to the manufacturer for one door that has a few minor chips on the edge int eh paint and for two pieces of crown that were the darker gray. It was not a problem at all.

Did you go with solid wood or MDF.

Solid wood. In the end I just trusted the guy we used for cabinets. He said solid wood so I said ok. Time will tell how they hold up but they are beautiful right now. Will
Post a picture when it’s all done. Counters are delayed a bit as they are so busy!