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 used Fabuwood - affordable and better quality than Lowes or Home Depot.

This is what cabinet discounters recommended to us. Didn’t do it yet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We used Fabuwood - affordable and better quality than Lowes or Home Depot.

We used Fabuwood too. For painted cabinets they are hard to beat. If OP wants stained oak, they may not be the best choice.

Their cabinets don't seem to off stained wood finishes.

Anonymous wrote:We used Fabuwood - affordable and better quality than Lowes or Home Depot.

We used Fabuwood too. For painted cabinets they are hard to beat. If OP wants stained oak, they may not be the best choice.

We used Fabuwood - affordable and better quality than Lowes or Home Depot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IKEA

I have looked at 3 different series of Ikea. All use particleboard for the structural cabinet box. Care instruction says not to get them wet.

Are there any Ikea cabinets that have an actual plywood box -- instead of particleboard or MDF?

No, they all use the same boxes. I've had Ikea cabinets installed in my rentals for over 10 years and I honestly can't see how this is a legit issue. Sure, plywood is better, but is it really necessary? The doors do differ significantly in quality and price.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IKEA

I have looked at 3 different series of Ikea. All use particleboard for the structural cabinet box. Care instruction says not to get them wet.

Are there any Ikea cabinets that have an actual plywood box -- instead of particleboard or MDF?

I don’t know the specifics. But the IKEA kitchen I installed in my previous house survived 13 years of daily cooking with 3 energetic kids and 2 rambunctious dogs, and still looked great when we sold.

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked at this site? They review all the brands and talk about how semi-custom or stock cabinets can we good quality. We got e line they recommended from Lowe’s for some secondary places in the house and they were solid wood. I think Kraftmaid was a brand that came up a lot.

https://www.mainlinekitchendesign.com/general/cabinet-reviews-ratings-for-the-top-100-cabinet-brands/

Helpful. Thanks!

Have you looked at this site? They review all the brands and talk about how semi-custom or stock cabinets can we good quality. We got e line they recommended from Lowe’s for some secondary places in the house and they were solid wood. I think Kraftmaid was a brand that came up a lot.

https://www.mainlinekitchendesign.com/general/cabinet-reviews-ratings-for-the-top-100-cabinet-brands/

Anonymous wrote:IKEA

I have looked at 3 different series of Ikea. All use particleboard for the structural cabinet box. Care instruction says not to get them wet.

Are there any Ikea cabinets that have an actual plywood box -- instead of particleboard or MDF?

Do you already have an installer? Maybe ask them for brands.

Wood cabinets tend to be higher priced than painted.

Anonymous wrote:IKEA

Ikea is not plywood.

IKEA

Go to Lowe's kitchen center and get Diamond Express Jamestown line.

Looking to buy a set of new _stock_ (not custom) kitchen cabinets. We are middle middle class and simply cannot afford either custom cabinets or "high end". We do want a plywood box, solid wood drawers, and solid wood doors. Probably want stained oak. Soft-close hidden hinges are desirable. We are in NoVA.

Which brands/models should we look at?
Which retailers should we look at?