To me, there's nothing wrong with mixing "high end" and lower cost, functional good-quality kitchen components. More important to me is to avoid the waste implied in buying things that will not last or that will certainly become unfashionable. I live in a working class neighborhood, mostly little 1950s houses with lots of retirees, including myself. Although our lot is on a lake, this property will NEVER command top dollar because of the settlement pattern of the community. The recession has really hurt home values here; I thought our house was $275,000 to $300,000 because of previous improvements, but I believe that it's now $220,000 and that was before we launched a major addition, geothermal, and new siding, etc. No matter what we sink into the house, it's for us, not for resale or peer pressure. We have decided to retain the 30 inch refrigerator we bought last year (an emergency purchase) but to put it in a position where a larger unit could some day fit. No wooden housing around it. We are keeping our old electric range, but are adding a portable induction burner that can be set out on the countertop to increase functionality. There is room for another oven on a wall outside our new G shaped kitchen, but I don't think I will be the one to buy it (unless my grown children move back to live nearby); a portable roaster oven will suffice to augment the baking and roasting for large gatherings. We use our outdoor gas grill in all seasons for grilling. My husband enjoys the ritual of being the griller and he shovels the access space before dinner parties. The broiler in the old range suffices if he doesn't want to venture outdoors. We are retaining our existing dishwasher. Our big innovation is to add a second sink to the kitchen. All sinks and appliances are white. My muse is the idea of a "workshop kitchen." I am not trying to reproduce any particular theme, unless it is a farm kitchen that processes a lot of food in season. I do hope to make the kitchen work as a functional, welcoming space for myself and husband now that we're empty nesters and for events when we have visitors, whether large or small groups. Laminate for countertops is sufficient and my ego does not require anything more dazzling on the countertops, although there will be slabs of butcherblock on either side of the stove. Hubby decided to go with hardwood floor and install it and finish it himself, although I was ready to order the vinyl. We have found a local cabinetmaker who said he would meet the price of a sample plan of readymade cabinets from the Big Box home stores. Now, we're adding custom touches to the cabinetry plans, not in decorative features but real utility features, such as tapping the space that was wasted in "spacers" between boxes. All materials are American made, or American harvested. Except for the old siding and walls and flooring, very little is going to the landfill. Furnace went to the scrap metal guy. My own eccentricities will add all the "pop" and pizzaz that this kitchen will need. Fabric, color, laminate choice, color of stain, art, displays of collections-- a creative outlet without a high end price tag. We have splurged on a bank of windows and a few light fixtures (No, we're not putting in "cans" because the ceiling feeds to an attic where we're fighting heat loss.) We are working very hard to live within our means, following the requirements of good sense and ignoring consumer manias. When I get myself too fired up about making a more upscale purchase, I remind myself that the photos, the ad copy, the home shows and the open houses, are all there to facilitate SELLING, not living. Here in Minnesota, where granite is quarried, I know that some of the rock countertops are fairly reasonable, but as I have declared elsewhere on this forum, I refuse to purchase anything that is sold with a "how to care for it" bottle of something and some warnings about how to protect the finish. In many ways, by definition, I am free from the pressures that other posters feel in order to keep up with the neighborhood, to make a kitchen that defines a house value, or to prepare for the brutal house market. I don't envy the young and broke. But I was there once and I not only survived but thrived on it. The original kitchen in this house was painted baby blue without concern for the cathair? gobs in the paint and the kitchen 'table' had a hinge so we could access the refrigerator. My hubby and my carpenter father and a different local cabinetmaker came up with a sufficient re-do that we have appreciated since right before the Bicentennial. I raised two sensible daughters in that modest kitchen. This doesn't mean I'm not agonizing over choices today, though. "Leave me alone, I'm thinking!" is a common mantra right now. Today's musing: Do I want to order fancier cupboard doors? It's always something. Enjoy your day. Florantha

We have what I guess are "high-end" custom cabinets from Plato Woodwork. I can remember asking myself the same question - what is the difference. Some of the first cabinets I'd seen - that were very nice - were Durasupreme. I later visited a friend's KD showroom where she had a nice display with three different cabinet lines in three different price ranges - including Woodmode and Brookhaven. Woodmode had thicker doors/drawers than Brookhaven and she said there were more steps in the finishing process for Woodmode. Neither of those things really seemed to make Woodmode worth more money to me - it was that Woodmode allowed more custom options. She now also carries Durasupreme line which is more moderately priced - and likes that line because it is good quality, more economical but does allow for more custom options. We recently looked at some newer homes - potentially relocating. These were generally pretty nice homes - not cheap by any means. That is when I really realized the difference between "high end" and what I can only think must have been "low end" cabinets. The doors/drawer fronts were practically paper thin compared with mine. They just seemed cheap and flimsy to me - there's just a lot less material there. They looked nice at a distance until you opened a door or drawer. Of course the drawer boxes are completely different as well - as others have pointed out. I probably would never have noticed this before I redid my kitchen and became TKO - though my 30 year old cabinets were not thin and flimsy either.

Have you searched the Kitchen forum yet? There's an absolute wealth of information on that board -- several KDs, planners, and tons of folks who've researched their cabinets for their own renovations. Two recent threads immediately came to mind: Relative cabinetry prices: brand vs. brand and those doing ikea kitchens HTH

PLYWOOD - Thin layers of wood veneer glued together alternating the grain of the wood for strength. - Plywood possesses a cross-grain pattern and much stronger and more durable than particleboard. - Plywood is more water resistant than particle board. - Holds nails and screws well. - Physically lighter than particle board. - More expensive than particle board. - Environmentally friendly. PARTICLE BOARD & MDF (MDF - Medium Density Fibreboard is made from smaller particles and particle board larger.) - Wood fibers glued and pressed together. - Gives a smoother surface allowing laminates to be added easily and giving a better finish. - Can swell when exposed to moisture. - Brittle and may not hold nails and screws well. - Physically heavier than plywood. - Cheaper than plywood. - Even more environmentally friendly than plywood.