Anonymous wrote:We recently bought very expensive cabinets from a small high end designer as well as cheaper Brighton cabinets from Cabinet Discounters in Gaithersburg (Arbuckle Road), and it turns out they are about the same quality. The expensive ones look high end but after four months of install they are wearing much worse than the cheaper ones. As for Home Depot and such, I find that by the time you pay for the necessary upgrades (eg plywood boxes) the price is not cheap at all. And since the second-most important thing after construction quality is the competence of the designer who is measuring and ordering, I would avoid the big box places unless you are working with a designer you know and trust.

Anonymous wrote:We have installed ikea cabinets in a few houses and they are fantastic. I’m not sure what you all are doing with water that makes them an issue but a few things on that front:

1. Whatever is water damaged is easily replaced and inexpensive.

2. Plywood cabinets use mastic which is water soluble and really no different whether mdf or plywood. So if you aren’t using solid wood then, well, you get the point. And, solid wood warps. Pick your poison.

3. If you have water issues affecting your cabinets you need to address the root cause which isn’t the cabinets.