we have a starmark kitchen at our vacation home; granted it doesnt get constant use but it all feels very solid, we've had it for about 8 years now.

Our only experience with Mid-Continent was a master bathroom. They did not have the necessary trim pieces and items available to do what the homeowner wanted, but she liked the particular color and style of the door. We had to piece things together and rebuild items to make it work. Okay cabinet, but nothing special.

Thanks for your responses. After looking at reviews on Houzz and Gardenweb the reviews on Mid-Continent seemed very mixed.

You really have a mixed bag quality wise. You need to do more research into cabinet basics. Throw color completely out of the equation. It's the least important attribute. Medallion>Kraftmaid are going to be 1-2 on the list for quality. Medallion will be tops for customer service and customization. I wouldn't do the other 2 at all.

We have KraftMaid and I feel that they are very good quality. What really makes KraftMaid stand out is their customer service. They sent several emails after our order tracking it and they arrived exactly on time. We had one upper cabinet door with a rather large splotch on it. I called and they immediately sent out a new one - didn't even want the old one back. Extremely happy with KM.

My Medallion cabinets are almost 19 years old and are still sound. My cabinets are stained, not painted and have solid wood doors and cabinet fronts which allowed me to refinish them this year. They were not in great need of refinishing, but I wanted to see if I could spruce them up before I invested in new countertops and they look very nice now - good for at least another 15 years. The only thing I do not like is the drawer boxes which are more shallow then the need to be, but I am sure that has changed in the last 18 years.

Amy Gunther - What did you decide to do? We are in a similar situation now. We like the style of a particular door at Mid-Continent, but the reviews are mixed. Thanks!

Hi. Thinking about getting Kraftmaid cabinets for the kitchen. Any recommendations where to get estimates / buy them ? If we got estimates for the cabinets and labor from places like HDepot and Lowe's, could we then purchase the cabinets from them and have our own guys install them ( if our own guys are less costly ) ? Thanks.

Hi. I'm curious about what you picked. We're deciding between Kraftmaid vs Starmark. I saw a website online with poor reviews of KraftMaid that made me nervous but I'm not sure how reliable.
As follow up question, does customization for these semi custom cabinets make it much more expensive, to the point that it is almost same price range as true custom?
Thanks.

Right now, we are leaning towards Fabuwood cabinets. Many people have mentioned that they are a very good value product and they look great.

We ended up choosing medallion. We found a very experienced rep who helped us tremendously. They are getting delivered next week so I will be able to post photos after installation. We designed this wall of cabinets surrounding the refrigerator that is rather complicated. We felt the designer for medallion was the best to ensure that it was built to what we pictured.

Amy, How did the Medallion cabinets work out for you? Did you have any issues with the paint or finish or other problems? Thanks so much!

Please, don't buy Starmark. They may look pretty, and it is nice that they have wood interiors, but they are inferior to the lower priced kraftmaid. I have no clue why people think they are great. The door came with nails sticking through them or deep scratches. For the smaller scratches, the dealer handed me a crayon to fill it in.

This is our fourth kitchen renovation, and the worst from our point of view. When we complained to Starmark about our distributor/designer, they said to take it up with him. Fun, huh?

I am about to order Starmark through Hayward Lumber. I did extreme research and found that that had the highest ratings by customers and industry. The only higher was Ultracraft and Woodmode but Ultracraft is made by Norcraft and so is Starmark. Mid-Continent is also made by Norcraft.

Midcontinent does not have as many options. I am worried about ordering Starmark after reading dlucas comments. Anyone have rebuttal comments?

We ended up with custom cabinets from local cabinet maker.
For Starmark, we did like that they say it's plywood all around but the quote was almost as high as the custom.
For KraftMaid, they did have the lowest quote but they've discontinued the green color we wanted and when we looked at their box construction, the backing was MDF that really just looked like cardboard to us. Even their upgrade to 3/4 all plywood had the MDF backing.
We decided with custom to get the "real" all plywood cabinets and for slightly higher quote than Starmark, it included all the bells and whistles of roll out trays, lazy susans and side decorative panels, which would be extra for Starmark or KraftMaid.

My installer recommended this site to provide rankings.

https://www.mainlinekitchendesign.com/general/kitchen-cabinet-ratings-2017-reviews-top-selling-cabinet-lines/

I've looked at Kraftmaid Vantage LIne and Starmark. Both are very nice. I have Merillat and will not buy again.

Mid Cont is ranked rather low. My installer does point out that each can produce good quality in some sizes and versions and that some just have more options. I never saw the Mid Cont, to be fair. I'm doing Kraftmaid or Starmark but only because that's what's available in my area. There are more expensive cabinets.

There were others on the list that really look intriguing regarding price and performance. Brighton has a mid level price and A quality. CNC is a low price with B+ quality!!!

SolidWood and Wayfair also had very low price rank with high quality.

I should add that I am very picky...a perfectionist and worried about ordering Starmark. I couldn't be happier. They have been in 8 months and are still beautiful and very durable. I talked to several designers on Houzz and they gave them praises. The Mid-Continent are good but Starmark was rated higher in quality by all who I talked to and I think they are manufactured by the same people, Starmark being the superior and Mid-Continent being the more affordable. Higher in price but well worth it. Service was great as well. Couldn't be happier.

Hello. Does anyone have any insight re waypoint vs Medallion ? Thank you

Hi! Yes. I have experience with both. Two very different brands. Waypoint is ok. Very limited. My installers are not found of Waypoint. Too many little quality issues. Medallion is a limited custom line. Very good quality and for the average consumer, a great fit. Also, I might add two very different price points.

One thing I will add, the designer/salesperson is very responsible for driving the project. Mistakes happen and its it's easy to throw the cabinet company under the bus. Pick an experienced kitchen and bath designer to help you with your project.

One issue that isn't mentioned much is budget. I need good quality cabinets but cost efficient. I seem to always get water on the cabinets and fear a cheaper brand may come apart. I went to a big box store yesterday and was shacked to see the top coat or paint pealing off the cabinet like a thick coating of wallpaper or shelve protector. I don't want to make the mistake of buying wallpapered cabinets. I am hoping to find wood, but on a budget. Can you help? Oh, one more question. Right now I have solid oak cabinets. Would I be better off enhancing them or painting and or staining?

I'd love to help! Even for advise.

Most cabinet lines have a lifetime warranty. Make sure this is available on anything you buy.

Which line were you looking at? Feel free to email me direct. I have 28 yrs experience working with most lines. I know the good and bad of each line.

Laura@estrellacabinetry.com

Solid oak...if the box itself is in good shape, painting is a great option. You can ass internal accessories to really make your kitchen super funtional.

One last comment. Budget is EVERYTHING! Think of cabs like cars. A Kia will work just fine but all the accessories in a Lexus might be just right.

Think of your big picture budget. The cabinetry should be 1/3 of the budget.

You won't be unhappy with Starmark. I did quite a lot of research and was apprehensive but mine were installed and look beautiful. I ordered very plain raised panel with flat front drawer fronts in the Macadamian off-white color and used bronze knobs on the cabinets and handles on the drawers, large crown moulding and staggered the heights. Beautiful. Superior quality. One thing though...have the small drawers made a bit deeper. This is a problem with all cabinetmakers and it can be done for little $$ and well worth it.

YES!!!! In fact, Kraftmaid drawer boxes are as deep as a credit card. I sold a Kraftmaid kitchen to clients years ago and they came back to me for their next home. I sold them a custom line and had to increase the drawer heights by 1" to make sure no disappointments came up. Very important detail!!

Good trick to know. Take out your credit card and use to measure the height of the drawer box. Your card and the box should be the same height.

Starmark is a very good value and a good fit for lots of projects. So glad you are happy!!

8 months into our new kitchen and our Starmark cabs are beautiful. The marshmallow white shaker doors clean easily and they feel much more sturdy and high end than the Kraftmaid we put in our kids' bathroom. Used honey bronze-finish knobs, pulls and latches from TopKnob and our old 80's eyesore kitchen is now getting a ton of compliments. :)

Hi All, hoping to revive this post!

We are approximately 10 months out from starting our renovation and as I'm looking at cabinet brands, I'm getting more and more torn the longer I look. This renovation will be for our "forever home", we don't plan to move anytime in the future (25 years at least lol).

However, I came across Starmark today and was relieved when I saw the positive reviews, as well as their selection of finishes.

So far, we were quoted $15k for Medallion Silverline and 28k for Crystal - we're hoping to fall somewhere in-between those numbers and quality.

Upon researching Medallion, I wasn't happy with how many negative reviews there were on finish quality and sturdiness of the doors. Crystal is a little bit higher than we'd like to spend and don't really have the finish we're looking for.

Anyone have any further comments on Starmark or recommendations for brands that would fall in-between Medallion and Crystal?

Thanks in advance :)

Plans:

- Stained finish

- Overlay door *walnut or maple*

- Select few glass door uppers

I sell Crystal and have been for almost 20 years. Were you quoted using Crystal custom or Current, their more affordable line? Knowing both lines so well and this is your forever home, I HIGHLY recommend Crystal Current over Medallion.

My guess is that you were quoted from the custom line...please ask and see if there is a finish you would like.

I'm not too sure which line, but I'm assuming Current (?), we never got into the details for custom. To be completely honest, the designer from our local showroom that was helping us wasn't too informative or helpful when it came to the details.

Oh, I am so sorry! I hate hearing that because it makes us all look bad.

If you were priced in Current, the prices would have been a lot closer, if not less.

Oh no, not at all! When I first asked how much Crystal would be, she said that it would probably be around $20-22k, so I was a little surprised when I got the $28k (+tax) quote. Perhaps I'll try another Crystal dealer near me - I appreciate your response because I figured Crystal was just not possible in our range :)

Absolutely!!! Good luck!!!

Did you decide on Starmark? I am currently undecided between Starmark and Kraftmaid also.

@Valerie Comparato me too. Still looking for other discussions on here. Did you find anything useful to help your decision?

@Valerie Comparato: We are in a similar situation. Did you decide? If so, can you please share what helped in the decision?

Anyone here looking at this in 2024, I can say it’s a very different world now from when I purchased my first bathroom cabinets from KraftMade in 2004. Their quality has declined, and they also had no 2-door under-sink option whatsoever for a double vanity. I have a standard 88” double vanity and they only make them with one door, so we went with Starmark. I will tell you, they have fewer style options, but the quality and durability are noticeablly better. Those door samples weighed a ton and it was only a small size sample.

@dlucas3518 Starmark was right. If you do not deal with reputable dealers, you’re going to get the results you did. Large dealers do nothing to the cabinets. They provide you with examples and order straight from Starmark or whoever, and deliver it, as is, for a contractor to install. If anything is wrong, the dealer will settle it correctly with the manufacturer. Smaller dealer-installers are less expensive, and while most are honest businesses, you will come upon a few that will cut costs in ways you don't want to know about. You got shafted by your dealer.