Are you sure it's all plywood and not MDF?

One reason for a big discrepancy is that the off-the-shelf cabinets come in a limited range of sizes, which allows manufacturers to crank them out en masse. Custom cabinets can be any size and configuration, which requires more hands-on adjustments during cutting and assembly.

Sorry for the lack of details - i really don't know what to ask for or look out for, hence my post. If it helps, these are the cabinets from lowe's: https://www.diamondatlowes.com/products/willa?prod=22ca81e1-da12-45e5-9f38-98e078c35a4a She assured me there's no MDF in this.

and these are the "custom" ones I'm referring to: https://www.candlelightcab.com/portfolio - it's the "Harmony (maple)" line but their site doesn't let me easily link to it.

Can you tell the quality differences from these sites or are there more specific questions I should be asking of each? Appreciate the patience and help with this!

The Candlelight website gives lots of information about the construction of their cabinets here: https://www.candlelightcab.com/pages/product/construction. I couldn't find any construction details on the Diamond website, which may be partially because they don't have much to be proud of in that regard. It also looks as though Diamond offers several levels of cabinetry - do you know which level they are quoting you? It could be that they are quoting the lowest level when what you want is the highest, etc.

BTW, Candlelight is headquartered in Lockport, NY, so not exactly local to NJ. They are also a well-known cabinet brand, not exactly what people think of when you say "local cabinet maker." That sort of implies an independent shop, some of which are excellent and some of which are total crapola, and most of which are a little difficult to research online because they tend not to have informative websites like the national brands do. Just wanted to make sure you were aware of the distinction!

Thank you so much for the info. I have to admit, looking through that list on the Candelight site, I’m not sure which points are considered truly superior and definite must-haves to ensure a long-lasting product? Is there anything in particular I should ask the Lowe’s rep about the Diamond cabinets since they don’t have much detail?

Yes fair point. I was referring to the local cabinet company that I contacted - Robinwood Kitchens but I guess they use Candlelight products. Is Robinwood just the retailer then?

If you can get the cabinet configuration you want with stock cabinets rather than using custom, then you only need to determine whether the inherent differences between the two lines matter to you. Typically more expensive lines have better, more durable finishes which is particularly important for slab painted doors. Also look at the construction details. Do the less expensive cabinets have full extension quality drawer glides, soft close drawers and doors, thick shelves, strongly constructed drawer boxes etc? Are these things worth paying double, for you? How long do you hope to live in your house with your new kitchen? (ie. will you be moving before the less expensive line begins to show signs of wear?). It might help if you can take home sample doors and compare them.

Also, cheap plywood is not as good as quality MDF so don't be lured by the promise of "all wood".

One last thing, If you're doing slab doors with full overlay, consider looking at frameless construction. You'll get lots more space in drawers and roll out trays with frameless.

@cheri127. Wow! That gives me a ton to think about and research. Thanks so much for all the details!

Not impressed with Candlelights specs. Much hype. Production cabinets. Diamond probably not much different. Then again I only do true custom where you‘re not trying to cut corners to save pennies or Ikea with quality custom doors for a budget friendly version. For people to say they use soft close slides and hinges and that makes a quality product. Those items are so common and so inexpensive these days for somebody not to use that they shouldn’t even be in the game. The quality, style and finish of the fronts (doors, drawer front and panels) the part you actually see and the interior drawers themselves are what matters most.

Keep reading this forum. I know nothing about Candelights cabs but Diamond is a meh to me. Quailty to detail is not there. If you stuck on big box store cabs check out Shuler at Lowes or Medallion at Menards, same company. They too offer three different priced lines and younget what you paid for. I had Medallion in my old home and it did great for years. Still looking good cept maple yellowed out, normal thing to happen.

Medallion is semi custom so you have choices.

Ikea has good cabs at good price if you looking for painted ones.

@jdesign_gw, I actually just heard about doing custom doors with IKEA but haven't looked much into it. It sounds like you're saying that would actually be better quality than Candlelight or Diamond? A friend told me about semihandmade.com for custom doors that fit IKEA. Are there others you'd recommend instead? Thanks!

Yes this is something we do also. We have anything the others have and much more. If you would like more info just contact me through this Houzz site (That’s the way they want you to do it here) . When you click on someone’s name theres a tab to message them. You have to enable that feature on Houzz to receive messages directly from other people.

My family in the UK all have Ikea kitchens and love them. Of course, the downside is you have to assemble them but they have a family member in the trades so no problem for them.. They even used the Ikea doors/drawer fronts but I think the UK has better options than here. If the size of the boxes works for you they're definitely worth considering.

My kitchen cabinets were made by the local Amish. They are super high quality. And the cost was reasonable. If you have local Amish in your area, this may work for you.

Another vote for Ikea. Our Ikea cabinets, installed, were about $7,000, are a couple years old and are still in perfect condition - they are beautiful, well-constructed, sturdy, function perfectly. You could have new Ikea cabinets every few years for 4 go-rounds for $30,000. But my mileage may vary because I really have no desire to keep kitchen cabinets for 30 years, I like having the freedom to replace them in a few years with something more current or just different. Not saying I will replace them but if I paid $30,000 I would feel like I was stuck with them forever.

IKEA makes fine quality cabinets.