Let Us Help You Decide Which Kitchen Cabinet Brand is Best for You
“What kitchen cabinet line is best?” and “What kitchen cabinet brand do you recommend?” are the most common questions we receive on our blog. The answer depends on several factors including budget, how fast cabinets deliver, and how long you want the cabinetry to last.
Every cabinet line is trying to fill a certain niche in the cabinet market.
About half of them are trying to compete for contractor and builder business. These manufacturers, and the builders they sell to, tend to rank construction quality below finish, style, and availability. So, if cabinet durability is a priority, avoid these brands.
The reason for this is that builders and people renovating to sell homes have less incentive to pay even small upgrades for well-made cabinetry as their responsibility to the seller only lasts 12 months. A good example of how little home builders value cabinet construction is that an expensive home builder like Toll Brothers uses the lowest construction quality.
Cabinet manufacturers that make cabinets for the homeowner market build cabinets well. Or offer upgrades to acceptable standards.
The following is Main Line Kitchen Design’s criteria for quality construction:
- A face frame made of 1 1/2″ x 3/4″ thick solid hardwood.
- 1/2″ plywood sides, bottoms, and tops with 3/4″ plywood shelves.
- A solid wood 3/4″ hanging rail or a 1/2″ plywood back. A 3/8″ back is OK but not preferred.
- Ibeam construction and wooded corner blocks are preferable to plastic corner blocks.
- Solid wood dovetail drawers Blumotion tracks, and soft close doors are mandatory.
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It is surprising how many higher cost cabinets do not meet these construction minimums.
On the other hand, after meeting these standards cabinetry should last a lifetime so there is very little advantage in paying for cabinetry that exceeds the criteria. Generally, the best choice for most consumers is the least expensive cabinet line with the desired wood species, finish and custom features.
Homeowners and kitchen designers must balance the cost to be in different cabinet lines with how well those lines meet design and finish preferences.
It is not uncommon for small compromises to save a significant amount of money. For example, the most expensive cabinet lines are high priced because of their ability to customize or to do unusual finishes. This means if you don’t need cabinetry customization or you are getting a solid painted finish, you could be paying for the availability of features you won’t be selecting. Beaded inset doors, furniture grade-stained finishes, distressed finishes, glazes and paints with visible brushstrokes are features only available in higher priced cabinetry. These expensive and distinctive finishes usually aren’t perceived as superior or more expensive by the general public.
A homeowner not opting for these features does just as well in a less expensive cabinet line as long as the cabinetry being ordered meets the recommended minimum requirements.
Main Line Kitchen design sells 7 cabinet lines and all 7 meet our requirements to be considered well made. The 6 major brands Main Line Kitchen Design carries are:
Cubitac, Fabuwood, Timberlake, Bishop, Brighton, and our custom line Wellsford.
We selected these lines because all are well constructed, and all do more customization than comparable lines at their price point. This makes each of them a great value for designing more complex kitchens.
Which line is best?
Well of course, the most expensive full custom one, Wellsford. Can our customers recognize the difference between Wellsford and even the least expensive line we carry Fabuwood? Surprisingly, most cannot. So extra money spent upgrading to higher cost cabinet lines often goes unappreciated.
On the other hand, almost all our customers prefer and can recognize a well-designed kitchen when we show them one. Most of the designs we see by designers from home centers and other dealers are poor. Accordingly, homeowners should focus on finding a good kitchen designer over spending time determining “which cabinet line is best”.
It should be noted that European frameless cabinetry is in a class of its own.
No frameless cabinets meet our minimum construction requirements for a well-made cabinet. However, contemporary and modern door styles look much better with the ultra-tight gaps between frameless doors and drawer fronts. The ONLY reason to purchase the lower quality frameless construction is if you are getting contemporary door styles. Main Line Kitchen Design’s Bishop, Fabuwood, and Wellsford all make their frameless cabinetry with 3/4″ plywood sides. The best possible way to make a European cabinet.
Since Main Line Kitchen Design’s customers are 90% homeowners, we put kitchen design and cabinet construction quality first. We only offer cabinet lines that provide our customers the highest quality at the best price.
Below is a blog where we rank the top 100 cabinet brands:
Cabinet Reviews for 2022 | Ratings for Kitchen Cabinet Brands (mainlinekitchendesign.com)
Have a wonderful rest of the spring … and of course …
Bon Appetit!
Paul, Julie, Chris, Ed, Lauren, Jeremy, Juliet, Camilla, and Mark
Main Line Kitchen Design
