There are a lot of good vendors out there. There are not as many good Kitchen Designers out there. Find your Kitchen Designer first, and he will steer you through the vast amounts of stuff you don’t know that you didn’t even know existed and didn’t know was important. What’s important in cabinets: US constructed. Not US assembled from imported parts. Imports are cheap for a reason. Do not lie to yourself that you are getting something for nothing. You are just paying in a different way that you will regret. The number of door choices that a company offers pretty directly correlates to the quality of the line. And the expense of the line. There are stock lines that offer a single white, and 3 stains on birch, and maybe 2 in oak. And 5 doors. There are lines that offer 25,000 possible combinations. Plus pure custom. Not kidding. Most people end up somewhere in between, in a semi custom line, that gives a good variety of options. The levels of expense will overlap. A simple door in cabinet line C may cost less than a complex door in line A. This is where you need your KD’s help. You need to decide what is good enough for you, or, what level you will accept. And then your dream level. Realistic dream. Not as in you want 750K worth of antique reclaimed ship deck teak to be made into cabinets. Me too. Not realistic. The average mid grade kitchen remodel in the US, using all professional labor, is 63K. That’s to rip it to the studs and do everything. Wiring for better lights. New appliances floors. Paint. Sinks, faucets. As well as the big ticket items of cabinets and counters. Invluding labor in the category totals, the general breakdown of “average” is. Cabinets: 26K Counters: 6K Floors: 7K Electrical: 3K Plumbing: 2K Appliances: 11K. Paint &Millwork: 2K Demolition and misc labor: 5K Discretionary Mad money: 1K Of course, remodels are individual, as are priorities. You may want a 20K appliance budget and move to stock cabinets to make that happen. And not everyone lives in an average 325K US home. Some are above, and some are below. Which is why you take that figure, and your house, and your location, to figure out a budget. Traditional budgeting tries to keep you from over spending or underspending. 10-30% of your home’s value is what to budget for the whole redo. 40% or so to cabinets. That guideline gets muddy in a high cost of living and a low cost of living. There are certain baseline costs to a kitchen remodel that have to be spent, no matter what. The lower your home is in the area’s percentile, the higher the actual percentage will be needed to be to spent. A 100K home has to really struggle to keep to a 20K budget, especially if they have the latest HGTV want list and not laminate counters and stock cabinets. Whereas a 900K home should be able to easily fit a like for like redo into 110K, unless they have a 40K appliance package. Or a 50K range. Theres lots more research to do in the kitchen forum And with your KD.

Are your floors stained on-site hardwood or did they come pre-finished? I’m asking because I really like how your kitchen has turned out - and I’m thinking about being a copycat (as my mom used to tell me - “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery“ - every time my younger sister would “copy” me - ex. I cut 6” off my hair - 4 days later my sister got the same exact haircut). I might have missed it - but what did you go with for your backsplash? Oh - and I know that you already had your countertops but . . . Are they quartz or marble? Everything really looks nice. I may go a with a little “moodier” blue on my island - but I really like yours too. i just looked back through your photos - the blue island has so many looks depending upon light!

Thank you. The island is not in front of the fridge, it is only in front of the pantry. And I really appreciate you mentioning the fridge door opening - the fridge I picked only needs clearance of 4 inches between it and the wall, so we put filler there. But this is a hot button for me as I spilled something in my rental fridge recently and had to swing the door way out in order to get the drawer out! Thank you!

They went out of business recently and someone else bought them and reorganized, I think. They're also an import line from Asia (China?). Most import lines are VERY limited in sizes. Most don't offer the 39" upper wall cabinets. If you want frameless find a Shiloh (ECLIPSE) dealer in your area. www.eclipsecabinetry.com