Yeah, it's the ply wood that gets me. I'm pretth sure flat pack kitchens are of generally similar quality wherever you are. The main difference here in Aus seems to be around 10 grand for the kitchen I want.

I guess I'm wondering how well the buzz words last? Have the buzz words been around long enough to get a clear picture of general life span?

Do you have IKEA down under? Their flat pack kitchen cabinets are superb, far better quality than other IKEA items and better than most other RTA brands. They are the darlings of architects renovating their own kitchens.

We do have Ikea. I've wandered through once and haven't had the 3 hours to spare again. :p I think I'll have to find the time to have another look.

Local real estate agents and investors should know local cabinet makers and interior contractors. IKEA is OK, but I would prefer some local manufacturer for couple of reasons, including warranty, matching same design later on (in case of adding cabinets) and the brand name locals are fighting for - very often locally made production is better quality in comparison to imported from over seas.

"Smooth close" cabinets are offered as a "luxury" item but the truth is that if the door of a pressboard drawer is slammed, the slamming action might break the front so you are much better off having this smooth close on the cabinets. I think that your IKEA will offer a guarantee on the cabinets and what they are offering is reasonable for what they are selling (25 years in the US-be sure to keep all of the information necessary to make a warranty claim). IKEA sells very well thought out kitchens. The trend in my area is to buy their cabinets and then have custom made drawer and door fronts. You really need your fellow Aussies to weigh in on to the other brands. I would not expect any of the kitchens to stand up to 60 years of hard use these days, even the hardwoods are softer, they are being harvested from younger trees.

If you want to think about local cabinetmakers I'd do all the planning and spec the kitchen out with IKEA first. This gives you a base price point and quality level. In the US I'd then start talking to Amish craftsmen with the goal of a close price and better quality.

By all means have the drawer and door fronts made locally if you like. Practigal is right, most of us opt for custom door fronts; you can certainly use a local company for that, but just to get an idea of what's possible, take a look at the Semihandmade web site.

I really love my IKEA kitchen and would do it again in a heartbeat.