We purchased Kraftmaid cabinets through HD and we paid in full for them when we ordered. We just assumed that because they weren't custom, that's how it was done in the industry. We had a few doors come in with some imperfections and Kraftmaid and HD have been VERY helpful in getting everything resolved (this was my one worry because at that point they have ALL of our money and could have turned their backs on us). As for granite, when I tagged my granite I didn't put anything down. The stoneyard slapped a "SOLD" sticker on the two slabs we picked and then I went through my fabricator. They require half down when we signed the contract (after the granite was picked) and before setting up an appt for templating. The balance is due the day the job is complete.

All the JSI RTA Cabinets I put in had "Made in Vietnam" stickers. This was late 2020. Two doors were warped and two doors of a mismatched chamfer, but Walcraft is great at sending replacements. I have issues with their assembly style, (you have to get your angle bracket screws dead centered with no pre-drill to keep them square) most seemed to be decent quality, but a bit of slop in the tolerances took a bit of extra finagling to assemble a few of the cabinets properly. PS - love the ~1/2" plywood backs, made it easy to put way too many screws into the studs!

I don't think you can paint ALL Amish with such a broad brush, at least not in Maryland. We have a lot of Mennonites in my area as well and most are hard working and wonderful people. Unfortunately there are plenty of puppy mill people in the community at large so I don't think it's only an Amish problem. I've recently donated to and am on a foster list for a group trying to save over 200 dogs taken from a non Amish woman out West who was involved in a puppy mill producing herding breeds like my two dogs. Having said that, it's like anything, you have good and talented craftsmen/women in their communities and you have not so good ones. I would ask for references to see any cabinets produced by the people you are considering. My parents had Amish made cherry kitchen cabinets installed over 30 years ago and they still look wonderful today. I've also seen furniture pieces made by some craftsmen in my area that are crudely made and rough to the touch with very poor staining on them. So just like anything, you will want to see their work to determine if they are truly an artist and good at what they do, or just able to create utilitarian but not very attractive cabinets. I wouldn't go to anyone to construct cabinets or anything else for that matter, that wasn't what I consider a decent human being. But I don't think you can say ALL Amish are puppy mill operators. It's too bad for the Amish in general that they have some bad apples in the bunch, it gives those who are honest hard working people a bad name. Kat :)

We used cliqstudios cabinets in 3 projects in our last house. 2 were stained wood, 1 was the painted wood (linen). The painted cabinets withstood 2 children coloring on them with non washable crayons, colored pencil, 3 cats who loved to rub their faces on the corners and a very VERY busy work area. After pricing the cliqstudios cabinets, the same kitchen in IKEA, and KountryWood Products (available through a local dealer), we've decided to go with cliqstudios again. The prices were exactly the same, IKEA doesn't come with plywood sides, they were only available as an upgrade on the KWP's and they come standard on the cliqstudios cabinets. Plus, I don't have to build the cliqstudios cabinets. As for the finished - my parents went with a VERY high end custom cabinetry company (apologies, I don't remember the name) - white painted inset shaker style - the finish on their cabinets started looking like crap within 5 years. Places where the cabinet finish has chipped, or flaked off, discoloration, etc.