Well, I am still confused. I looked at the Mannington Adura in a store, and it looks pretty good. I don't think my husband will go for it, he doesn't like the repeat you get with laminate and I think this would have the same problem. Our contractor, who has stellar references, thinks hardwood is the best choice for this lot. It is not below grade, and he says if it is installed properly there should be no problem. He does not like the glued down wood products. It sounds to me like he is "old school" and prefers "real" wood, and the fact that you can refinish it later. My neighbors have not had problems with hardwood, which is encouraging. I think we will put carpet in the family room, and just do the wood/laminate/vinyl in the kitchen/dining area, so it's a smaller area to worry about.

Ikea uses metal boxes. My guess is that it is the lower grade of Tandembox from Blum since Ikea uses Blumotion for drawer runners. Tandemboxes come in lacqured metal or stainless steel. Tandemboxes can be used with their Orgaline of drawer inserts that look very much like Ikea drawer inserts. I am not sure if Blum makes the ones that Ikea uses or not. But... If you wanted to change the standard dovetail hardwood drawers with Tandembox from Blum, a typical custom cabinet maker considers that an upgrade and charges quite a bit for the Tandemboxes. So what you are getting with the Ikea is an upgrade from the standard drawers. HOWEVER, you do get the MDF boxes which is considered "less" durable than plywood. (I am just quoting the industry saying.) So Ikea boxes/drawers are a mixed bag in terms of "perceived" quality... Having said that, I really like the Tandembox drawers and I only looked at custom cabinet makers that offered that option. I think it is a HUGE functional improvement from the standard dovetail boxes because the accessories are so well designed and easy to use. I would say to go for it with the Ikea boxes with custom fronts. Let us know how it turns out. (I considered that option seriously for us. I actually picked the custom route for myself.) http://www.blum.com/pdf/BUS/3063_tbx_fb/3063_tbx_fb.pdf

Melamine is the cover material, what will the substrate be? Melamine won't crumble if it is exposed to water it is a type of high pressure laminate that water will pool on top of. Usually melamine is fused to a furniture grade particleboard (ANSI M-S or M-3 rated) when used in cabinetry. If you are concerened about the sink base you can always order the sink base out of plywood however one of The KD's here has mentioned that in a situation with extreme water exposure she didn't think plywood would be of any great benefit (plywood is still porous and does de-laminate if exposed to water and my guess is the polyurethane coating on plywood interiors is probably less water resistant than melamine). To be clear you are really choosing between plywood construction with a polyurethane coated interior or particleboard (maybe MDF but I doubt it) construction with a melamine infused interior. Two of the pro KD's have both indicated they don't advocate ply upgrades as they feel for the end user the money would be better applied to functional or layout upgrades rather than an element that doesn't generally impact on the function or enjoyment of the kitchen. Most manufactures offer the exact same warranty for particleboard construction as they do for plywood. I think melamine makes an excellent cabinet interior (it is easy to clean and durable. From experience I know poorly made cabinets of a low grade particleboard often are remarkably durable. I am attaching a link to Cabico's gallery because they include the construction of the cabinets in their information Go through it - there are a lot of beautiful high end kitchens with particleboard construction it isn't something that you should associate with the quality of your new kitchen it is really a matter of personal preference. If you need to make some savings this an excellent place to do it with virtually no impact on the finished kitchen. Here is a link that might be useful: cabico gallery

Kraftmaid replaced a batch of drawer fronts, and we'll see how they hold up over the next couple years. Of course the labor to install them was on me. I have a couple doors by the dishwasher that are now peeling up paint from the bottom. The side panel next to the dishwasher is also looking pretty bad. I really think the painted cabinets and panels would be best if far from the sink, dishwasher, or frequently wet countertop.