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!

IMO if apinted is what you want go MDF for all painted cabinets with a factory finish for sure . All painted surfaces can chip but the factory baked one less often. Painted wood has no advantage IMO and MDF just works better since it does not expand and contract so no issue with seeing the tiny spaces in a painted wood form that movement.

The drawers are close enough in size that the pulls could all be the same size and look good. But if you have any doubts about which size pull, you can either make aluminum foil pulls in the two sizes and hold them up against the drawers, or you can buy one of each size of the pulls and see how they look. That should not be too expensive. Some of the hardware websites such as Top Knobs, allow you to get 2 or 3 samples, and then when you place your order you receive credit for the sample items you did not keep.