We went with a custom cabinet maker and the prices were comparable to custom cabinets from the name brand, but the quality of the cabinets was far superior.

We went thru a similar process and ended up having our cabinets custom made locally. (Actually, they will be built later this month.) It actually will cost us less. We had been told that but didn't believe it until we got the quotes. More importantly, we are getting exactly what we want. We aren't forced to piece things together from standard sizes. When we came up with a couple of inches of additional wall space, we just changed the design to add an inch or two to a cabinet. Even better, we feel good about keeping the money in our state's economy (Colorado) by supporting a local small business.

@gleapman - sorry to HJ but which cabinet company are you using in Colorado?

Thx.

The Artisan Shop in Loveland (a bit south of Ft Collins). We saw their booth at this year's Denver Home & Garden Show. We're in Golden, but the distance hasn't been a problem. We've gone up there a couple of times and they've come to our house a couple of time.

...and funny how Annie and I gave the same response a minute apart. Hadn't seen her post before submitting mine.

suggestion. you might be better off moving in and living in the space a while to really understand what you need. once there, you may determine you need to make changes you are not considering now.

suggestion re: cabs - get a quote from a local custom cabinet maker as well.

Would love to do custom, but turn around time is prohibitive, as may be costs. We do have our design out to a custom place for a quote. So we will see... Delaying the remodel is also not an option at this point for a number of functional & practical reasons.

Anyone have any feedback on the specific cabinets I listed? Any others we should consider.

UGH choosing the house was an easier decision that this one!

My custom cabinets would have taken less than half the time as ordering from stock....IF they had done the correct cabinet the first time.....

eocb -
We just had Medallion's Potter's Mill installed (white icing). We would have preferred custom (a little less expensive than Medallion, but twice as long to manufacture) but although they're lovely cabinets, looking back I wish I would have gone custom and endured the wait. Keep in mind, these cabinets are very, very nice cabinets and well constructed and have some great features. But at the same time, I don't love the cabinets although they are what I wanted - Here's where I feel let down - I'm sure a lot of the responsibility for this feeling comes from the 60 yr. old KD that my GC loves - and who seemed great during the design phase and has been unbelievably cooperative in replacing misordered items ( I can't believe he made any money from my project) - but I also think the manufacturer should share some of the blame in my disappointment.
Here's what I really like about the cabinets and where I'm disappointed, in no particular order, as I'm I wanted to answer you, but have little time - and right now I only have a few pics to be able to show:
1. It's impossible to touch up any of the paint on the cabinets (biggest complaint) - they supply a little repair kit - but it's such a polished, slick finish that it's impossible to match (it's a sprayed lacquer - you can't replicate it with a brush). I've heard that Medallion is known for their durable, long lasting painted finishes, but I can already see various little nicks and chips (from the carpenters) that aren't big enough to complain about, but if a regular paint had been used, could be retouched easily. The KD re-ordered some pretty large panels because even he wasn't comfortable with trying to touch up a very small mis-drilled screw hole that might have possibly been visible at an angle when the refrigerator door was open, at about knee level) My last cabinets were original to the house (1939), painted white and I loved the little things like brush marks and being able to sand and touch up little chips. And paint the back of the cabinets as my tastes changed.
2. The interiors are the "fake wood laminate". They're nice, sturdy, easily adjustable, easily cleanable, but nothing special to look at (I type that as I look at a picture of Bee's over the oven vertical cabinet with lovely white painted interiors.
3. I ordered some 3 - drawer stacks (1 36" and 2 24") and some regular cabinets with full extension pullouts. (something like 2 - 30", 2 33", 3-24") The mechanics of the drawers/pullouts work great!
4. I'm disappointed in the trash pullout. The door is attached only at the bottom of the pullout (I think it's 18" wide - 2 cans), and doesn't ever close as tightly at the top as the drawers in the cabinet next to it. I'm probably the only person who notices it now, but I can't imagine it not sitting further and further out over the years...
5. They had very limited selection of crown molding size options, especially for the style of cabinet door (simple shaker) I could either go with this tiny little 1" that was a little fancy for the cabinets or up to a 2.25" simple cove. We didn't order the crown from Medallion because of that, and I think it will look ok once painted, but again, the paint sheen is just a little different - if they weren't so high up and at a different angle to the cabinets, I'm not sure I'd be happy. And we were very limited as to what the carpenter could do (although he's an excellent craftsman who could have made something beautiful, the paint sheen/finish would have been different)
6. I don't feel they leave enough space between their cabinet edges and my KD, while ordering custom widths for certain edges, didn't think to order an extra 1/4" or 1/8" width on the side of the cabinet that abuts a flat surface like the vent hood, making the clearance between the edge of the door and the wall of the vent about the thickness of a piece of paper when it's rotating as it opens up.

From Temp

When 2 cabinets which both have doors abut, there's sufficient space - it's only a door next to a fixed, flat surface that's the issue.
And I wasn't thrilled with always having to pay an extra fee for every customization (like adding 1/8" to the side of the cabinet). I have full overlay doors.
I felt the corbel and leg selection were extremely limited for the style of cabinet I was using. I kept thinking I would just have my carpenter make those items...until the cabinets arrived and I realized the paint sheen matching issues.
7. The KD said I'd need a light rail so we ordered that. It's very simple in design, but looks a little silly, in my opinion. it's basically like a ledge that goes around the bottom of my cabinets, which I now have to dust. Had I known all of the options for the paper thin led undercabinet lights, I would have probably gone with those and skipped the light rail.
8. Having 8' ceilings - I liked that I could order 39" tall cabinets without having to pay a customization fee.
9. I don't like the decorative panels that are used on the sides of the cabinets - they're just door panels screwed to the side of the cabinet and in my opinion are too think.

From Temp

10. My KD talked me into a 12" deep (something like 6" tall) 36" wide cabinet over the inset fridge. He said that things would be lost in the back of the cabinet if I went any deeper. I obviously won't lose anything in that cabinet because nothing fits in it at all - baskets, trays, platters, placemats - all about 1" too deep for the cabinet.

From Temp

11. I do like the custom hood and the vent they sell (vent a hood). Very quiet. Very nice looking. The front of the hood pops off for servicing.

12. Even though they knew the exact dimensions for my double wall ovens, there's still about a 4" solid piece of wood before a semi-functional 4" tall drawer is found at the bottom of the cabinet. The carpenter said it was so they could accommodate all sizes of wall ovens without having to change the drawer height. I'm disappointed with that.
see pic above - I have the drawer removed in that picture. The drawer is barely tall enough to store boxes of ziplocks, plastic wrap, foil, etc. Barely that tall. What else would you put in a drawer that low to the ground and that short?

13. It seems like my contractor (meaning me, since I had a cabinet allowance/budget) got almost a 70% discount off of their published prices - I hate companies who do that - I mean, really, who marks up their prices that high. And I still spent my entire cabinet budget ($20,000) on just my kitchen. I have to say I'm glad about that, though, because that just made me determined to get exactly what I wanted for my butler's pantry and powder room (custom - because they weren't critical path items) and the quality and ability to make small changes (to the width, etc.) were all part of the base price. And a little cheaper. But took 12 weeks, vs. the 5 weeks for Medallion.
14. The microwave shelf isn't a shelf at all. It's a framed box. And due to the paint issues, we can't really remove the frame. So my microwave selection is going to have to be based on the dimensions of what's available - not on what features I wanted. I was expecting a flat shelf - with white walls. I have a framed box with fake wood laminate walls.
15. The pullout spice racks on each side of cooktop base work really well, but I don't think they're a functional as they could be, due to their design. I'll have to snap a picture to better explain.

Given all that, I had friends over twice this weekend and everyone absolutely loves the cabinets - the full extensions, the soft close - because they are much nicer than what builders put in houses - even in our local "Parade of Homes" houses in the 500-650,000 range - they just aren't custom cabinets and I see a huge difference (now that I have them) between custom, vs. semi-custom cabinets. For probably little price difference.

Feel free to email me if you want specific pics or have more questions.

Best of luck to you!

I just quickly glanced over my post and wanted to make sure I mentioned all frustrations I'm having with the not being able to modify anything due to the paint issue. I'm not sure if I was able to get that point across :) Sorry, couldn't resist.

Medallion also has a budget line called Silverline. I have done many of their Lancaster (shaker) and Carlisle (modified Shaker) in both cherry and maple and people love them. However, I highly recommend upgrading the drawer guides to the soft close, full extension...if that matters to you. Many are fine with their standard drawer, especially when on a tight budget.
I'll post a picture below. (not my kitchen...a small display we put in about 6 years ago and it's still a big seller!!!).

Kompy

Medallion "Silverline Series"
Lancaster Door in Cherry
Chestnut Finish

Wilsonart Hi-Def Laminate Tops