Hi all.... Asking for a friend. Anyone have experience with this brand of cabinet? It's being recommended by her designer and I don't recall having heard about it here before. Thanks!

Normally, apples for apples, Medallion will price out slightly more....not less than KraftMaid. The two doors you have picked out are not apples for apples. The Lindsey door is one of KraftMaid's most expensive doors. The Brookhill door is a basic raised panel door w/ matching 5pc drawer front. KraftMaid's equivalent to Brookhill is called Marquette. Have your KM salesperson also quote you Marquette. With a standard finish, the Brookhill will quote out just under KM. But with the premium glaze finishes, Medallion should be a little more. Factory incentives may also affect the price. KM usually has more discounts. Here's my input on quality: 1. Medallion has a slightly better finish than KraftMaid 2. Medallion has better quality control. 3. When you do a glaze finish with Medallion, it's a matte finish and is really nice! KM's will still have a standard semi-glossy sheen. Which is fine...but I really like the matte finish better. 4. Medallion has a higher upcharge for premium finishes 5. Integrated matching doorstyle end panels are SO much nicer with Medallion. I could post two pics on Tuesday if you're interested in seeing the difference. 6. Medallion offers custom height mods....if that's important. 7. Soft close drawers are standard on KM. An upcharge with Medallions middle line (Designer). Will add about $35 per drawer w/ Medallion. 8. I recommend that you upgrade the end panels to wood....whether you go with Med or KM. I would only upgrade the EXPOSED end panels to save $. 9. Medallion has one flaw that annoys me. They only offer 3 drawer box heights. So, some of their drawer boxes can be shorter than the actual opening in the framework. KM has taller sides of their pot/pan drawers. Overall....if all things were equal, I would go with Medallion over KM. Just a nicer looking/feeling cabinet. It looks more like a custom finish! Here is a photo of a maple Brookhill bathroom with one of the glazed finishes. Notice the integrated matching end panel on the wall cabinet??? I like how Medallion does them with corner mitre joints! You don't see a vertical 'seam' along the side of the end panel. This is nicer than how most factory high-end cabinets do this. Some competitors will argue it's not as stable....but we've never had issues with separation at all! . Both are having promotions right now. KM: 10% off. Upgrade to all ply construction and receive a free premium finish upgrade. This sale might have ended this weekend. Medallion: 5% off (except for Silverline...has free sink base)

I have the shrock (trademark) cabinets with the maple chocolate slab doors. I have only had them installed for about 4 months but I haven't had any issues yet. They installed perfectly with no damage to be seen. The finish is excellent and they are very solid (plywood construction) Drawer glides are soft closing and work very well. The only issue I had was the toe kick drawers I had installed are a little harder to glide. Stiff feeling. Not a huge issue though and they are loosening up over time and use. We are a family of four (6 year old and 16 year old) avid cooks and make almost all of our meals from scratch. I have had friends with kids over several times to make cookies and such and the cabinets still look as good as they were first put in. Shocking considering when our youngest ones get together it is complete mayhem. I would purchase these cabinets all over again though in retrospect I would not get a four drawer base just for size issues Wishing I would have gone with the three drawer. But if that is all I have to complain about then I will consider myself lucky. We will see how they hold up over the years though.

I agree with smalloldhouse on the RTA cabs. Barker might be a good quality at a cheaper price, but not a great solution if you don't have the time to assemble. My husband would have killed me if I ordered RTA cabs :) I have said this before in another post because I just researched cabs myself. It seems like there isn't a cab out there that people are not complaining about. Pick 2-3 cab makers you like, compare the specs & go for it. I read another thread where someone basically said mid grade cabs are generally the same (except for what Adorion said - make sure you are comparing apples to apples) and to buy from someone you like & will help you through the process. Not sure if that is helpful. Reading reviews for months will make you nuts and will paralyze you into no decision at all. Who knows what some of these people are doing to their cabs that are writing reviews?? I have had builder grade cabs for 20 years!! And there isn't one thing wrong with them, except that I hate them :) I know a few people who have medallion & are happy with them (except the silver line for reasons stated above), my dad got Starmark without a minute of research & they are really nice.