Thank you! Do you know if there a brand that is better than another for durability of painted cabinets? I have seen the new purestyle laminate by aristokraft/kemper/diamond and I think it looks nice, but I wonder what people's opinion is about it?

Stick with a painted finish on maple. Laminate / thermofoil cabinets look "cheap" IMO. Be sure to see the granite layout before you OK the cutting. The way the seams look is very important.

I wouldn't overspend if you are selling in a few years. I would also stick with a plain ol' shaker door, which will appeal to most buyers......no need for special detailing.

you can find that granite in a 'pre-fab' 8' piece. cost is about $600. then you hire a fabricator to fit it to your cabinets, sink, stove. Total, maybe 1500 or so. If you buy a full slab and have it fabricated, it's 4-5K

these are all pre-fabs. 22"X8'

as for cabs, stay away from big box stores. you pay them to do all the legwork.

shop around. you said entry or mid level, but just know that your inspiration pic is not. you want crown and trim, and that adds quite a bit to the price. You could get the white shaker cheap chinese cabinets. they look ok but won't last forever. since you're moving in a few years, it won't matter.

BTW, the glass on the doors you can do yourself after you buy them. you could save yourself 500 bucks just by taking a few hours and putting in your own glass. It's a simple DIY thing

Prefab granite only works if that is the actual size of your counter so forget that IMO it is too limiting when designing a kitchen. I agree keep the cabinet doors simple and I would choose quartz for counters as granite is slowly losing its edge on the market.I happen to think Ikea cabinets are still the best bang for your buck and really are kind of fun to put together .I would do cabinets to the ceiling , since IMO a 10”- 12 "piece of molding is just plain ugly in most cases.. I like the hidden trail ave. inspiration photo IMO would appeal to most buyers.

I think I'm good on granite. I actually live in an area with lots of granite warehouses and fabricators, so options are in abundance, lol. Ornamental white is another color I'm looking at. I want something with a little movement I think. I'm not opposed to quartz, but I haven't seen anything I really like. I like more natural and organic.

It's just the cabinets that are stressing me... they are 3-5 times the price of the granite and I need them to hold up without them chipping, etc :) I've gotten quotes from schuler, waypoint, kemper, aristokraft, Shenandoah, Carolina heartwood (which happens to be Chinese) and jsi (which is Chinese too). They are all priced comparatively, but I need advice on brands and the durability of the paint.

Anyone else with an opinion on the best brands for durability of painted cabinets? I need to make a decision, lol!

Have you contacted a cabinet maker for custom cabinets? I went that route ten years ago. The upside is they make your cabs exactly for your space measurements. Otherwise you have to make the standard measurements fit your space.

And any factory type paint would last like the stain. after all this time, the top coat of finish is wearing in spots. I've had to touch up the stain and clear coat. It may be because of the cleaners I use to remove the grease around the stove area.

I would love to get a quote from a custom cabinet maker! I have no where to start though? Any suggestions? I'm in NC.

You should have plenty in your neck of the woods. look online or ask local lumberyards if they know of any.

Perfect! Thank you for the suggestion. I'll start there :)

I know it sounds crazy but I, too, have heard such wonderful things about IKEA cabinets. A friend of ours who works construction swears they're his favorite yet (considering $). My husband and I are planning a similar Reno and my thoughts are that kitchen styles change every x amount of years anyways so it's likely that future buyers would want to redo a kitchen anyways. And ikeas have a warranty (ill admit I haven't looked into it yet).

Just wondering if anyone has tried cliqstudios? Is this a cost saving option?

Quartz is in for the long run... granite is fading out unless you find one w little movement in the pattern. White cabinets = white (watch your undertone) countertop!!! Absolutely no goldish tone unless you have cream undertone cabinets. And definitely subway tile for backsplash. Consequently totally timeless. btw... nice flooring color!

These are 1 of the cabinets that I've picked out. The white has a warmth to it. It may be called linen, but I can't remember. Our walls are accessible beige and this granite is white delicatis. Does this look nice? I feel the granite has movement in it, plus it has some beige tones as well as gray, so I feel like it can pick up a lot of colors if we reprint at some point.

Some with no experience here. I like it.

We bought our house 8 months ago and redid our kitchen right away. We used the existing cabinets and had it repainted. I wanted it to be a simple design so I went with a clean look - so I had it white on white. I chose Quartz over granite. I love it! Pendant lights being installed Sat. Goodluck! Post some pictures when you're done.

Unoy... how beautiful!!! I wish we could paint our cabinets and save money, but they are the builders special 30" oak cabinets and we have 9 foot ceilings. I've priced out getting the same cabinet and putting additional uppers on top of the existing cabinets, and changing out a few bases (especially in the island, but it's going to cost about just as much to do that, plus the cost of painting them white! Here are our current cabinets. They are about 18 years old. I hate the counters and the backsplash too ;)

Oh, and the appliances.... hate them too! Although we bought a really nice stainless french door fridge when we moved in about 8-9 months ago.... so there is one thing nice to look at ;)