Blown away by the cost of HD cabinets? Your friend needs a reality check. You get low price, quick service, or quality. Pick 2.

Unless she is handy enough for Ikea DIY, she has to have a mental reset on both timeline and price. She does not have realistic expectations at all.

The only option at that price point and timeline is either Ikea or those rebuilt, off the shelf Oak HD cabinets. And a LOT of elbow grease. Sorry.

Ikea. If she wants an installer, her local Ikea might have one, but she should also check Craigslist.

Or she could look for one of those cheap Chinese cabinet outfits. I don't know what a local name would be, but I've seen them popping up in the last few years. Local contractors might know of them.

Thank you all. I agree her timeline will not work. I guess since I used Barker and we assembled ourselves and I painted all the cabs for our island myself the cost was about half that. However, you need more time and you have to put in so much more work to get the cost down.

Aktillery,

She could consider Ikea with custom doors. I think Barkers or Scherrs doors have about a two to four week lead time.

Good luck!

Two other American-made RTA companies often recommended here are Scherr's and Conestoga from the Cabinet Joint. I have no idea about the lead time. Someone used Scherr's this past year and found the owner to be very responsive.

http://scherrs.com/

https://www.cabinetjoint.com/

A local cabinet maker may be able to get them done quicker. Not sure on price though, or your area.

I've been pricing out a few layouts at Lowes to get an idea for budget. Kraftmaid and Diamond surprising came in very low, with their 20% off sale. On top was a promo for 10% if you open a credit line or have a mover's coupon according to the salesman. Lead time for Kraftmaid was 4 weeks delivered.

It's an unoccupied vacation home, so I don't plan on expensive pullouts or the like but all layouts did include drawer bases and fridge/side panels. I'm sure those would add a much higher price tag for your friend. As a side note has your friend factored in countertop lead time?

What is the price for how many or what size kitchen that she was blown away with? Is Innermost supposed to be their top of the line? You can get reasonable quality cabinets at the big box stores that are affordable for many people and they often have promotions. Maybe she is adding on a lot of extras that aren't actually necessary and she needs to spend within her means? They really add up.

We are just about to start installing our Ikea kitchen cabinets with the fronts from Scherr's.

Doing an Ikea kitchen is probably doable within the time frame assuming there is no other work that needs to be done with electrical, walls, etc.

I think you can get unfinished doors from Scherr's within a month depending on their current backlog. However, finishing them takes more time (about 3+ more weeks usually) and probably doubles the cost. I just received my doors/drawer fronts last week after ordering them on March 10th. They look great, and it was worth the expense and wait to have them do the finishing work.

Innermost (aka Medallion Designcraft) is not a low end cabinet. It is upper-middle. If she wants frameless...have her check out Showplace. Their lead time is about 5 weeks right now. Usually it's 4 but they are busy! Their end panels and drawers are only 5/8" thick and the pricing is very affordable...similar to KraftMaid. 3/4" drawer upgrade available too.

If she doesn't care about frameless, tell them to requote in Medallion Silverline. It's their budget cabinet but has same finishing process. A great value...expect to save $100 to $150 per cabinet....more on the tall units.

Their #1 door, Lancaster, is a full overlay shaker style. Carlisle is a popular door as well...and Emmett. See my ideabook on Silverline. CLick the Green Link Below. Medallion $ilverline Houzz Ideabook!

Thank you all I have shared all of your great ideas with her! I appreciate your time. I will keep you posted!

Amy

I ordered doors from Barker on Apr. 1, finished with clearcoat. No sign of them yet.

The Kitchen Place, you recommended Medallion Silverline. Would you be able to tell me the differences between Silverline and the higher end Medallion? I went to Lowes and while looking at the brands with their designer was basically steered away from Schuler AKA Medallion because it would be so expensive. That had actually been the brand I had come in most interested in, but when she vaguely said that it could be around $50k with those cabinets to do a remodel, I backed off. I know that a lot of remodels cost that much, but unfortunately that isn't in my budget. She said we should start with the lowest price point (Allen + Roth) and then could go from there. She quoted $8,600 for their standard, $10,400 for their select, and $12,200 for their luxury. This did include some extras (under cabinet pullouts, trash cabinet), but I was still somewhat surprised as I have a local cabinet place estimated they could do my kitchen in Waypoint for about 7,000. She said I could probably get Kraftmaid or Diamond for "around" the top price of the Allen + Roth or "a little higher," but when I asked about a specific door that was a white maple shaker, she said it would be around 16,000 for Diamond. I understand that Waypoint is more entry level, and therefore may be less expensive than say, Diamond, but the A+R seemed entry level too. Should Medallion be so much more expensive than Diamond and Kraftmaid? I am guessing she was meaning it would be in the upper 20s to 30s for the cabinets alone.

If she wants frameless...have her check out Showplace.

Didn't Showplace just recently start doing frameless? About a year ago? I assume if you use them, they are good. I am asking because my builder likes them and I'm looking for frameless with a shaker style door. Your thoughts?

Also would you go with the 3/4" drawer upgrade if I do use them? I'm planning for all my dishes, pots, pans, etc to go into drawers. What about upgrading on the end panels?

She has two little girls under the age of 2 and they move in two months. I used Barker for my home and love them but the lead time is so long.

I'd wait for what I really want, even if the lead time is long. I'd rather have the cabinets RIGHT, even if it meant dealing with months of cooking with a microwave, hot plate and toaster oven -- yes, even with two small children.

Of course, my delayed gratification meter is set pretty high.

has she looked at j & k cabinets? They have dealers in Dallas and Houston, maybe there's one closer to Austin. They are real wood cabinets, made in China, limited number of door styles and finished, quite flexible sizing, prices lower than Barker - more like upper IKEA range, and are usually available within days, not weeks.

if my priority was to get a cheap, decent looking kitchen in place within 2 weeks, I would have them on my short list.

If one is not reconfiguring the kitchen (walls, plumbing, windows not being moved) she should only have to be without a kitchen for a few days. My kitchen place estimates 3-4 days total, and that includes morning the refrigerator. She should order what best suits her needs.

You usually wait about two weeks for countertops, so you're without a sink. That's the biggest inconvenience.

Hi Calisun! You wrote:

"The Kitchen Place, you recommended Medallion Silverline. Would you be able to tell me the differences between Silverline and the higher end Medallion? I went to Lowes and while looking at the brands with their designer was basically steered away from Schuler AKA Medallion because it would be so expensive. That had actually been the brand I had come in most interested in, but when she vaguely said that it could be around $50k with those cabinets to do a remodel, I backed off. ........................................Should Medallion be so much more expensive than Diamond and Kraftmaid? I am guessing she was meaning it would be in the upper 20s to 30s for the cabinets alone."

Calisun,

The Lowe's designer is wrong or is being untruthful for whatever reason. I sell both Medallion and Kraftmaid. On average, they price out very similar. Medallion's Silverline is less than Kraftmaid on a full overlay shaker door (Lancaster vs Lyndale) I would guess that Kraftmaid runs about 15-18% more than Medallion Silverline on those two door styles.

Kraftmaid's all ply option (Vantage) is about the same as Medallions Gold series.

Kraftmaid's standard series is less than Medallion Gold.

Medallion has a GREAT painted finish...one of the best in it's price range. They use the SAME finishing machinery on their Silverline...so you get a great finish on an entry level product.

My Medallion rep just did his first kitchen remodel ever and he's been in the industry for a long time....probably 40+ years! I asked him if he got Plain & Fancy and he said 'no, we got Medallion Silverline painted". I was surprised he didn't get the top of the line, being he was in the business for so long. He said, "you can't beat Silverline for the look and the quality". It's true!

Thanks for your feedback Kitchen Place, I really appreciate it!

I'm in sort of a rush to remodel our kitchen as we currently live through it. Home Depot is 4-6 weeks, Ikea is immediate, lots of Chinese shops are also available immediately (in the Bay Area: KWW, Superior Hardware Supply, J and K / J&K etc. also have supply and assemble - contractors just pick up and carefully secure the boxes in their truck). I'm sure there are options in Austin as well. Best of luck to her. Also, in the Bay area, there are companies that put Ikea furniture/cabinetry together as the Ikea Traemand contractor might not be available when she needs them. There are other options although I'm finding true General Contractors do not want to work with Ikea cabinets. They prefer plywood box construction - I think because they come already assembled which is less work for them.

Medallion was my alternate choice. If you have a Menards nearby, they had great pricing, that was even better during their frequent sales.

{snort} I almost spit my coffee at HD cabinets being too much.
As one who continues to DIY on a waitress budget, she might consider (a reality check) putting on her SERIOUS big girl pants on and start stalking H4H, CL, and any reuse center she can find. Then -- she's got to install them. If I can do it, she can do it.

Two months!? And of course, everyone wants new for nothing, don't they?
I'd suggest Brian and The Cabinet Joint. com. When I actually save some $$, I go straight to him.

Tell her to put down and step away from the TV remote.