We need more details....

Kitchens are expensive. I don’t know your brand but everything is expensive right now. Cheaper cabinets often sacrifice quality. On another note… giant drawers are much more useful than cabinets that you open and then pull out a shelf drawer… if that’s what you are describing as a pull out.

best to show an overhead./ where do doorways lead.....this looks like a big circular path you are creating....the long sink wall and adjacent ?peninsula? is unclear as to how it fits in..what are the cabinets there....and why is the fridge/oven so far away? I could perhaps see ways to clean this up and have a single more moderate to large sized pantry [tall cabinet] instead of the single small one by fridge..... would consolidate things and maybe give you a better footprint.....and end up with some cost savings. DIY cabinets or Ikea cabinets with other doors are ways to save money. its hard to get a feel for this space ..how it works....so if you work on that part then there are probably ways to save some on the cabinet price tag.....

Post a 2-D overhead plan because it looks like there’s probably a better, cheaper, more functional layout.

Your kitchen is twice the size of the average 10x12 kitchen. Why do you not think 2 kitchens worth of cabinets should not be twice the price of 1 kitchen? Are you not aware that construction materials have increased at least 30% over the last 2 years?

Plus, that’s a horrible horrible layout that needs ditching, no matter what.

I have an 8x10 ft galley kitchen. I went with Kraftmaid Vantage, all plywood, painted maple. 11 cabinets (2 with glass doors), trash pullout, one cabinet pullout, and one 36" drawer bank were about $11.4. I paid in Nov. just before a price increase.

But I had to pay a lot more for a countertop than what I'd planned because I dilly dallied and couldn't decide at that time and there was a price increase.

Here is overhead shot. It's not really double a 10x12 kitchen and I've never put new cabinets in so I don't have a reference point for "twice the price of 1 kitchen". Yes I'm aware costs are higher but not more than triple costs I've heard from others in the past 18 months. The layout is dictated by trying to keep costs down and stick with existing floor plan of duct work and plumbing. There is no other storage in the house so was trying to cram in as much cabinetry as possible. When I say pull out - I mean a you open the door and then you can pull the inside out for easier access. That was recommended for the right side cabinetry since there is a bit of overhang so people can sit there and interact with those sitting in sunken tv room below. I wanted the fridge away from the oven range so family could access and not get in my way while I'm cooking. I'm terrified to hear what counter costs are going to be but the cabinets are falling off the existing soffits and the linoleum is also falling apart and therefore new counters are needed. The brand I'm questioning is Kemper Emerge but again, i have no reference point for other brands hence the inquiry. I've been advised to steer away from Loews/Home Depot cabinets as they don't last as long (will be falling apart in 5 years when servicing a family of 4?) and don't have good warrantees but since I've never done this before - I was looking for advice from people who have done this recently or do it for a living. Thanks to all for thoughts! Much appreciate thoughtful advice! There aren't a lot of drawers I didn't even think about that - I need to address asap! THanks again!

Not a pro, but in 2021 I built (with a GC in charge) a basement ADU with full kitchen and renovated my main kitchen and bath. IKEA cabinets are solid and well priced, although there may be supply chain issues… perhaps that’s true with all cabinets these days.
I used IKEA in the ADU and custom cabinetry in my main kitchen. I personally did not experience significant delays with materials or appliances, FWIW, but it took two years from the initial decision to proceed to completion. And I’m still waiting for inspections.

Allyssa, I almost cried when we received the quote for our cabinets. It was double what our contractor thought "should be in the ballpark." By then we had already purchased our countertops and appliances. We used a custom cabinet maker as we were trying to use the existing floorplan so that our fairly new floors wouldn't need to be changed. That was about a year ago. After receiving that quote, we got an additional quote from another cabinet maker that our tile gal suggested. We talked with him and told him we wanted another bid on the same job. He did beautiful work and seemed as good as the first cabinet guy we were talking with. He did his best to give us a quote based on exactly what our first quote was based on. It came back another $7K higher. However, he had different ideas than the first guy and he gave us a few things to think about. It was time well spent and we made a few changes based on that.

Also, as someone above mentioned, large drawers really are a lot more useful than cupboards with pullouts. I had pullouts in my old kitchen, drawers in my new kitchen ... and I am so happy I made that change!!! I have only 2 cupboards on the bottom; one under the sink and the other with the garbage can. They take a little thought to put things away that had been in a cupboard before, but it's so worth it. You can see everything in the drawer and no pull out is needed.

In the end, you'll be loving your new kitchen.

Truly appreciate. I definitely need to rethink the cupboards vs. drawers. I'm getting the sense the quote might not be so bad...although no one seems to have heard of this brand. Thanks again and congrats on your new kitchen!

If you post measurements and floor plan… you’ll get a lot of good suggestions.

by the time people come up the steps from sunken living zone which presume has to remain that way...or come down the hallway from another part of the dwelling I'd want a seating island, reduce the depth or remove the stuff on railing wall........take the cabinetry off the 2nd window end of wall..I guess leave the sink there if you refuse to plumb elsewhere ...but get an island w seating on the railing wall side of space...overlooking den below . Probably a square island w a little sink? and leave the single sink under the window then for your clean up area.

The only way to find out whether a specific quote is out of whack is to get other quotes.

Since you have a basic design it would be relatively easy for you to go to various kitchen design stores and have them provide you with the cost for the cabinets. This is what I did when I was researching my remodel,

You should also take a bit of time to familiarize yourself with cabinet construction. You don't need to know how to build or even install a cabinet but you should know enough so that you understand what is involved in a better quality cabinet and which features to look for.

Keep in mind that some cabinet lines have features which are upgrades in other lines so that what appears to be a less expensive price turns out to be more expensive when you add in the "upgrades".

Lowes and Home Depot are not necessarily the cheapest place to buy cabinets nor are they the best. While it might be difficult to find a true "independent" kitchen designer, better, more experience and more talented kitchen designers generally work at independent kitchen stores. When you are making the rounds of various kitchen stores you will also get a chance to meet with and evaluate various designers and so your final choice might be because you want to use a designer. A good designer can design a great kitchen and a mediocre or lousy designer will produce mediocre results even with the same cabinet line.

Spend some time reading about kitchens and features. Your lack of knowledge of the difference between deep drawers in lower cabinets indicates to me that you haven't really taken the time to learn about the best options for kitchens and which ones work best. Roll outs aren't necessarily bad in a kitchen as I have a few but those were a deliberate decision. You can access the back of cabinets with roll outs but the difference is that there are two motions - you need to open the door (or doors) and then pull out the roll out versus one motion for drawers. For aesthetic reasons I used rollouts in some cabinets but those are used to store items where the double motion isn't as critical.

ETA - Kemper Cabinets are owned by Masterbrands which also manufactures Diamond, Dynasty and Omega among other brands.

Brands include Aristokraft, Capital Cabinet, Decora, Diamond, Georgetown, HomeCrest, Kemper, Kitchen Classics, Kitchen Craft, Maple Creek, NHB, Omega, Dynasty, and Schrock. In addition, MasterBrand produces Thomasville cabinets on an exclusive arrangement with Home Depot.

I would recommend at least considering layout changes. Changing some plumbing and gas connections might cost less, and give you a better layout, then buying so much cabinetry to fit the current plumbing. Is your kitchen on slab or crawl space? Can you give us more info about where the important ductwork is?

We are in the finishing stages of a kitchen remodel (on a slab). We too initially planned to "work around" some existing ductwork and plumbing because we thought it would be horribly expensive to move it. We ended up re-routing some ductwork and moving a plumbing pipe. This really didn't cost all that much and gave us a much better design with more options for cabinetry layout. Even moving the sink across the kitchen (which we didn't end up doing) was much less than we'd guessed ad wouldn't have cost all that much (we got a quote).

I skimmed over this post....is that $46K for cabinet alone? It's a big kitchen...but that does seem high to me. I just quoted this kitchen in Kraftmaid shaker white with plywood construction ends and KM Vantage APC upgrade to the island. $18,500. 54" high uppers to the ceiling with crown. oh and 5pc drawer header upgrade to match doorstyle.

Thanks to everyone who gave their input. I'm going with a different, more budget friendly cabinet line. While it doesn't have all the bells and whistles and customization options I had hoped for, my contractor has told me they've had good experiences with the line (Mantra, under Master Cabinets) and my contractor will build custom work arounds such as pan/baking sheet dividers inside cabinets. In lieu of drawers, I've decide to keep the roll out/pull out cabinets - mostly because there is a counter overhang for seating which will not work with drawers. It's also for bulky equipment like pressure cooker/crock pot etc. It was interesting to see most people commented on layout vs. actually answering the question re: sticker shock/brand inquiry. I actually really like the layout as it allows for separation between myself/cooking and the kids working at the counter (with great access to fridge/micro). We can stay connected while we do our own thing! Enjoyed different perspectives! Best to everyone.

Mantra is builder grade. Low end, Vietnamese built, then imported and assembled here, with almost no options. A terrible choice.

Kemper is mid grade, and puts out a decent product. Do not cut off your nose to spite your face here and cut back that low. There’s tons of options between the two. Like Kemper Choice and Echo.

you seriously dont see a problem in that small corner between fridge and stove as the only landing ...a shared landing between cooking and fridge use? and sink practically remote from this? and kids obviously stationed at the island as you describe. if the island were bigger you could have the seated kids and maybe a 2nd sink and more general use for others. At minimum get rid of the pantry next to fridge so the basics can be done between cook and persons in/out of fridge in the corner there.

it must seem crazy. I dont see it as a problem. the island doesnt have seating. The seating is on the far counter (opposite side of stove) as that is an open wall looking in to tv room. its hard to visualize as the kitchen designee didnt capture that room. The pantry in place is literally the only pantry in the house and its the only place we could figure putting it with current windows, doorways, vents and plumbing. The island is where I will do most of my work ans will act as a landinf too I guess. i personally like space away from fridge and sink so othees can get food as Im cooking and do dishes while Im making a mess. i dont subscribe to the traditional triangle work flow as the only way to go. Each family, household has different needs and works in different ways. But again, I appreciate the pov as it raises questions and forces reevaluation.

Home improvements can be more stressful than fun. Just a couple more things to think on… as you go about your project. How much space is between your island and the wall cabinets? I know mock ups don’t necessarily look exactly like reality. If possible, you might want to think about widening the island a bit here or there. It seems just a tiny bit small for the space… but it could be the mock up. Our counters are 4 feet from the island and it’s more than enough space. If you can at all work in one set of large drawers, you will thank yourself every day. It’s been a game changer. And a picture that I always attached to the kitchen threads because I love drawers so much. Best of luck to you.

This has to be a troll thread. No one settles for a horrible layout like that and disposable cardboard tinkertoys in their kichen. They’d just keep what they had and paint them rather than flushing 40K down the toilet.

When you are on a budget, you recycle first, and keep saving for better, for later. It’s called delayed gratification, and not childishly indulging your wants over your needs.

Everyone keeps telling the OP that the layout is bad (it is), but no one has offered any detailed explanation of why it's bad.

Allyssa, if you'd like to understand why folks are dissing the layout, remember that this board has designers (and those like myself who are just interested in design) as members. You can read the following threads to do some research. If you decide to keep your layout, at least you'll be informed and won't have regrets later.

NKBA guidelines

New to Kitchens? Read me first.

Discussions--all drawer bases

Discussions--dishes in drawers

Custom kitchen cabinets run $500 and $1,200 per linear foot. So, the price for cabinets can add up very quickly. As others have said prices have only gone up for most all building materials. You might consider adding some open shelving to your cabinet layout to decrease some of the cost.

I don't get this: In lieu of drawers, I've decide to keep the roll out/pull out cabinets - mostly because there is a counter overhang for seating which will not work with drawers. It's also for bulky equipment like pressure cooker/crock pot etc.

You have a whole kitchen where drawers would work. Why do the annoying rollouts? With roll outs you have to open the cabinet door and then pullout the roll out, then push roll out back in and close cabinet doors(4 steps). Drawers are pull out, push back in (2 steps).

Crock pots fit in drawers:

AS far as explanations provided to her from Houzz participants: she's provided no reference to actual collaboration she's had with a designer./ her goal: "cram as much cabinetry in as possible" "keep with existing floor plan with ducting and plumbing" was told Lowes and Home Depot cabinets wont last as long.......as long as what? You have to argue that feedback provided WILL remain on the light/brief side when someone is operating at this kind of a baseline level. It's a process and that means information and knowledge has to flow in all directions. Has this poster received ANY professional help AT ALL? People who have a preconceived idea of what they want...dont engage either with a pro or the talent here will end up with a lot of expenditure and numerous compromises. There is no reason in a space as large as this a better work triangle and proper zones cant be constructed. She is not interested in improving her plan. Thats fine. Her money.

herbflavor, I agree with you, and I agree with your previous posts, but as someone who used to post here was fond of saying, "You don't know what you don't know."

I'd guess that most folks (or quite a few) who post a layout and ask opinions are invested in the layout they've spent time developing. Or, as in this case, are invested in not changing the layout due to cost concerns. It just takes a few seconds to provide the links I posted, so homeowners can do their own research. If they aren't interested, then as you say--it's their choice and their money.

I'm new to Houzz so maybe I have not used properly as I'm surprised by the level of snarkiness with some comments. My original question was asking for opinions about a cabinet brand and pricing. I only posted the layout because someone said I didn't post enough info. This is not a childish indulgence project, rather I bought a fixer upper I could afford and the current cabinets are falling off the wall and in poor condition so new ones need to be installed. I was hoping for recommendations on cabinet brands and reality check on pricing but sadly, instead - I have to be insulted despite trying to remain positive and polite. Thanks to those who provided thoughtful/non judgmental input and useful links/articles. Advice is much appreciated but not name calling. Verbo - I hope you find happiness somewhere.

Verbo is a nice guy..he helps people .

Eh, Verbo is always salty, but often their advice (if you take it that way instead of as an insult) is generally spot on.

The pros really want the layouts so they can point out any issues that may exist, and how to make it better. It's always helpful to mention your budget if you're comfy.

Some folks have unlimited room and budgets and then there are folks that have very little budget and a small space. The folks here are generally helpful, and I hope you're able to glean the info you need from amongst the snarkiness!

I think some folks recommend you talk to more than one place to get quotes, and compare the quality between them. I went with a shop that a coworker had used. We have similar incomes so I knew his choices would be within my range. The line that I choose from that shop was good, but it may not be available in your area. So it may be good to shop around and not just at the big box stores to get an idea of what lines are available in your area. I'd love the Plain and Fancy brand but they aren't available around here and I'm not willing to pay for something I haven't seen in person. Once you've looked around, come back and ask if the lines/prices are worth it, and then expect to get some solid answers!

Good luck on your project!

(also, I'm going to echo the recommendations to switch to drawers. It's just really more useful than the doors with pullouts, but you've probably seen that advice so many times that you can just ignore this last comment)

That is good to hear and hopefully he can be more mindful of what people may be experiencing on the other end. I appreciated your time and input.

Coming in late, but a number of thoughts:

- Yes, this is a large kitchen ... you can't expect to get this much cabinetry cheaply.

- I agree that the layout could be improved; you say you're concerned about moving ducts. I'd check/verify just how much that would cost. You want to work with solid numbers as you make decisions.

- If the price is higher than you expected, consider what details you could change in the cabinets: stained cabinets are cheaper than painted ... the uppers appear to be stacked, and, while I much prefer to-the-ceiling, that's two uppers to pay for ... roll outs and other fancies are quite expensive. Everyone's saying "drawers, drawers, drawers" (and I don't disagree), but they are more expensive than simple cabinets.

- What kind of cabinet doors are you planning? Inset is more expensive than overlay or partial overlay.

- Consider skipping the refrigerator surround/the above refrigerator cabinet. This isn't what we see in magazines/Houzz pictures, but it's a perfectly decent choice.

- You could cut out some cabinets /replace them with a small pantry. That's way cheaper than storing large items such as -- what did you say? a pressure cooker? -- filling up a whole expensive drawer.

- Islands are incredibly expensive because they must be "finished" on four sides. You could consider a small table meant to be used as an island ... something like this:

- Consider, too, that your drawing includes oversized, expensive appliances ... they will be considerably more expensive than standard-sized items, and a family of four doesn't "need" oversized appliances. Be sure of your appliance choice before you order cabinets ... once you've ordered your cabinets, you've committed to those oversized appliances. Not just now, but for the life of your kitchen.

- The countertops looks like marble, which is far from a budget choice.

- The point: you have some big ticket items coming up, and you need to be sure you're prepared for this cabinetry bill AND those bills.

- Last random thought: This is a large, upscale kitchen ... is it in keeping with the rest of your house?

There is no other storage in the house so was trying to cram in as much cabinetry as possible.

Thing is, cabinets (topped by expensive stone) are the most expensive place to store things. A simple pantry (just a closet, really) is so much cheaper for storage.

Those on limited budgets are the ones who can least afford to waste that limited money on poor quality anything. Including design.

- Agree. My mom had custom maple cabinets built 28 years ago (I'm sure because I was pregnant with my first child at the time), and they still look brand-new. Quality is expensive up front, but long-term it's a bargain.

@Allyssa DelPiano - @Verbo said the following: ”Kemper is mid grade, and puts out a decent product. Do not cut off your nose to spite your face here and cut back that low. There’s tons of options between the two. Like Kemper Choice and Echo.”

Then you said ”I was hoping for recommendations on cabinet brands and reality check on pricing but sadly, instead - I have to be insulted”, with a specific to @Verbo.

SMH over that. She gave you the exact advice you asked for. If you think this crowd is hard - despite all the time and advice given you here - just WAIT until you start dealing with a GC and contractors. You’re going to have to get a thicker skin or you’ll not be able to complete this project. A mind more open to suggestions would be a good beginning.

check your timeline of feedback. my comment you referenced came after i was sick of the ”trolling” ”childish wants” comments. if the thoughts on kemper brand was the initial feedback - i would have been delighted as that was exactly what i was looking for. i thought advice based on peoples experiences was what this forum was for and ive thanked everyone repeatedly. my skin is just fine and I dont have a problem letting someone know when they've been rude.

It’s too bad some people can’t deliver advice without being condescending and rude.

Please excuse my question-

What is a rollout? How is that different than a drawer?

When I googled rollout I got pullout which led me to sliding shelf and rolling shelf.

That looked okay for certain types of appliances like a rice cooker, and for pots and pans.

Is that what you mean by a rollout?

I'd rather use a rollout than a drawer because the item is right there, your arms don't have to reach in.

Of course, the down side is that's all that space can be used for.

You can't use it for dishes because it doesn't have high sides, so if you don't have uppers, you are sunk.

Anyhow, can you please tell me what the rollout is?

Hi! im clearly not an expert eithee but to me - roll out is just what you said - you open a cabinet ans there is a pullout shelf. so it is a 2 step process - you have to open the cabinet and then pull out the shelf vs the one step of opening a deep drawer. Seems to be a great debate! I currently have roll outs and have found them very useful for crockpot, toaster, and other small appliances. ive also stayed in a few home with deep drawers that house plates and mugs. i guess its personal preference as i still like the flexibility of space and easy acees of the roll out despite everyone telling me im crazy and ahould have all deep drawers. i landed on a mix of both. hope that helps!!

✔

Drawers = 1 step, open drawer

Roll-out = 2 steps, open door & pull out shelf

Cool!

I'm helping my son with remodeling his 1940's kitchen. First off, your floor plan does not have the refrigerator in front of a window like my son, so in my book whatever works for you. Personally, I like the sink in front of a window. With the two windows in awkward spots, you really don't have much of a choice for your other appliances.

Second, pricing out a basic kitchen with basic cabinets for a small kitchen, drawers are much more expensive than putting pull outs in your cabinet. Sometimes buying them separately and putting them in yourself instead of ordering with the cabinet, might be a bit less.

Personally, I think having your range next to your pantry (where you get food) and the fridge (where you get food) actually makes sense. You can even put some pull out shelves in your pantry and put small appliances in there.

Without moving walls and other things, you have to work with what you have. I do agree with a bigger island, but again, whatever works in your budget.

Having said all that, my husband is a GC and he has worked with Home Depot and Lowes cabinets. Kraftmaid is a decent quality cabinet and someone above mentioned MasterBrand of which Lowes carries Diamond. https://www.masterbrand.com/our-cabinet-brands Read up on how each is made. I would stay away from thermofoil. You want dovetail drawers. Another place to look is Cabinets.com and KabinetKing. Some of these places also help with design. Good luck!