Lucy, Here is a very good article about RTA kitchens.

Conestoga Wood Specialties manufactures high end RTA cabinets at it’s American factories. You can buy them online through The Cabinet Joint.

Assemble with wood glue and either a finish nail gun (costs $150 with compressor) or finish nails and a hammer. Assembly is not difficult. The drawer boxes are pre-assembled. Assembly videos are available on the site.

Prices are not posted; you must get a quote. Most RTA brands have a limited number of door styles, finishes, materials, etc. CWS has as many or more options than major pre-assembled brands such as Kraftmaid.

Big price determinants: particleboard vs plywood, door style and birch drawer boxes vs maple.

Available in standard sizes but they are fully customizable to 1/16” in height, width and depth.

Comparable in quality to Schuler line at Lowe’s.

I spent $13,000 on 18 cabinets and trim, including optional top and bottom finish panels and special order galley rails. White maple cabinets, plywood construction, full extension soft close Blumotion drawer glides.

My kitchen is not barebones. It includes twin 34” wide pantries with 5 adjustable rollouts each, 4 30” wide 3 drawer base cabinets, a 39” wide refrigerator surround — all of these things added to the cost, but I still saved about $10,000 on comparable Schuler cabinets.

The vertical spacing on the pantry rollouts can be changed easily without tools for even greater storage efficiency.

Here are some photos as I was nearing completion:

The RTA store is awesome, has great warranty and customer service and picking. So is onlinecabinetsdirect , Shane Doyle is the owner. Both have great websites with lots of cabinet choices and great online pricing.