DIYbanter - View Single Post - Where to Kitchen cabinets for decent price?

Percival P. Cassidy

On 07/31/07 02:39 pm wrote:

Plan to remodel my kitchen with new cabinets. So I went to home depot
and got an estimate for a KraftMaid cherry cabinet in sunset color.

The quotes come out to be $15k+ just for the cabinets (with plywood
upgrade), which seems like a lot to me. I am in San Jose, CA. I was
planning to spend somewhere around $5k-$8k on cabinets. Our kitchen is
13x14, U shaped (frig on one side, stove on other side, sink in the
middle. The amount of cabinet is average (large window in the middle
above sink.

How is HD's kitchen cabinet price? Is KraftMaid more expensive than
other brand? What other brands of cabinet should I look into to cut
down the price? Maple is generally cheaper but the medium color maple
we saw (honey-spice) have the same price index as the cherry one (17).

Would I have better luck contacting some local cabinet store? I went
to some Asian stores, and have gotten quotes in the 2k-5k range for
all plywood, dark cherry cabinets (made in China of course). The
hardware (drawer rails, lazy susan spin) does not seem to be of too
high quality, but the cabinet itself feels fine. The selection is
somewhat limited. I prefer the feeling of the upgraded KraftMaid
drawer hardware. (HD said $26 for each drawer).

Is HD's cabinet price average? on the high end? I know my question is
very open ended, I am very new to this. Any suggestions would be
helpful. Thanks.

The price will obviously depend on the size of the kitchen. Ours is
"compact" but not tiny, and we have just paid approx. $6500 for natural
maple "Medallion" cabinets at Menards (Midwest chain). Menards' regular
price is 68% off "list" on these cabinets, and we bought when they had
an additional 20% off the top-of-line versions (there are three
different qualities in this brand). These have solid wood frames, with
veneered plywood sides, back, top and bottom. We paid a little more
still for upgraded drawer mechanisms with full opening and self-closing
but slam-proof features.

I am not sure that KraftMaid is even the top-of-the-line brand available
from HD.

Perce