Disregard above photos. These are the finished kitchen.

We are almost finished with our kitchen remodel. We used Lowe’s for our cabinets and countertops. We did not use their installers for cabinets however.
We had a great experience overall. But I think it depends a lot on the employee you’re working with. Our designer has been doing it for over 20 years. He knew what he was doing. He was more helpful in 2 hours than the other designer we got a quote from (not a big box store- a reputable contractor in the area) was in over 2 weeks. His design was way better, he had great ideas, was friendly and easy to work with. And the price was over 7k less.
We’re very happy with the quality of cabinets. We got Shenandoah with all plywood construction. A stained wood- not painted. A terrific bang for your buck. My in laws have had their Shenandoah cabinets for several years now and they love them. A quality product.

The counters are quartz and were installed by a fabricator about 2.5 hrs from where we live. You can ask who they contract with and look up some reviews prior if you want. Our stone company has been great. And I was able to communicate directly with them when I had a question instead of going through Lowe’s.

Again- my Lowe’s experience was far better and more affordable than the quote and “help” I received from a more traditional resource. And I don’t feel like I skimped whatsoever on quality. If I were you, I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to make an appointment and sit down with someone. It’s always helpful and smart to have a few options anyway. Like I said it depends on the employee you’re working with- but isn’t that true of any kitchen designer??

Best of luck!

Not a single drawer base in the entire design. I rest my case.

Ive used Lowe’s twice. I also get Shenandoah cabinets also. Never had an issue. But I also knew they layout and cabinets I wanted before I went to the designer.

my parents had fully wooden kitchen with mostly drawer bases and drawers in the toe kicks. they posted their layout here for critique. they spent enough at Lowes to qualify for contractor card with discounts. the stone countertops, sinks, faucets, electric, fridge, two ranges and two built in hood/microwaves, porcelain tile floor and backsplash - all in the same package price. It is oak dark stained craftsman style. It is not my taste, but it is their taste. the workmanship was high quality.

Kitchen designer was great. The GC and crew were a nightmare!! I spent way too much money but I was new in town and knew no one so I thought I would be in good hands. So WRONG.

Cabinets sales people are only interested in selling the most cabinets and if what you want is not on their computer from the company they cannot think outside the box. I agree about the kitchen posted there id no way a good kitchen designer would not have had almost all drawers for base cabinets. The range needed to be vented to the outside on that outside wall and the lighting is horrible. Kitchen design is more than just cabinets.

thank you to those who shared their experience with the big box.. We ar enew to town & the one contractor we FINALLY were able to get to our home, quoted us a price that made my eyes pop, but of course for a more thorough estimate, I need to put down a considerable down payment or rather design fee that will be credited to the cost of the project. No thanks. The other contractors we've been in touch with can't seem to commit to times to meet.. I've been trying to get our home project kicked off since JULY and here we are in OCT. So in the end, it is coming down to availability of professionals willing to help us get this project off the ground. My husband & I spent a considerable amount of time yesterday with a designer at Lowe's, who was very helpful & listened to our wishes & helped us along where we had no clue- for the RECORD, most of our base cabinets are drawers, at her recommendation. So I suppose, like many have said above, it is hit & miss, much like what I've experienced here in the small town we live in..

3 things I am attracted to w/ Lowe's-

1. Warranties- they seem to have generous warranties for many of the items we are considering. 2. Time in the industry- Lowe's isn't going anywhere anytime soon.. whereas the smaller 1 person shop w/ a few subcontractors could suddenly pick up shop & leave town (true story, I've seen it happen on more than one occasion)

3. Selection- there seems to be a tremendous opportunity to chose from a wide variety of options.. From my 3 experiences with contractors in a variety of home improvement projects, we were limited to certain brands, styles...

So I get what some of the naysayers are getting at- however, for us, with a budget that tops out at 50K, I don't have the luxury of a) time & b) unlimited funds..

Thank you again for those who shared their EXPERIENCES.. It is helpful.

Peace..

f1241, your kitchen is lovely, and it's great that you are happy with it. Please don't be offended by the comments here. People who frequent the kitchen forum are here to learn and/or offer advice, so that the next kitchen is better and more functional. In that vein, I'll comment on fridge placement against a deeper stub wall--another rookie mistake.

Michelle, I spend a lot of time at Lowe's, mostly because it's convenient. I bought unfinished cabinets (which I painted) for my remodel, but I've never used their design services. There are probably some archived threads on folks' experiences with Lowe's, if you try the search field.

I've gone to Lowes twice to get advice on a small kitchen remodel for a rental property. In both cases, the clerk was young and inexperienced and didn't even know as much about cabinetry as I did (which is minimal-to-nil at best). Since I was on a budget and the property was 1,000 miles away, I ended up calling a cabinet company and got a great deal of help using their online software. In the end, I still have to pull the trigger for this remodel, but will probably go with the custom cabinet options of the cabinet company and hire a local installer and countertop company rather than using the Lowes that is near the property. Surprisingly, the cost will be similar.

I understand if Lowe's may seem easier for you. But then you need to be your own advocate and resist the Lowe's designer ideas at times because his/her plan either adds unnecessarily to the cost, or demonstrates a lack of thought for functionality. For example, don't do a window valence like pictured above. If the Lowe's designer suggested it, that shows they are just putting on add-ons to increase the cost of the cabinetry. Cabinetry window valences darken the room, and don't add anything aesthetically. I would also do drawers in the base rather than cabinets, but drawers will add to the cost. You may be able to reduce the cost by just doing mostly drawers and perhaps one or two base cabinets to decrease the cost somewhat.

Other things the Lowes designer may not know/thought of: Do have the cabinets meet the ceiling. Make sure that the distance between the base cabinets and the upper cabinets (the backsplash distance) is 18". Resist suggestions for big fussy crown moldings - those add a lot to the cost of the cabinetry while taking up space that could have been upper cabinet storage. Don't put a fridge against a wall, and if that is what your Lowe's designer suggests, with a lot of filler on the wall side, resist, resist, resist. If you must do a double-bowl sink rather than single-bowl, avoid a 50-50 configuration and get a 60-40 or 70-30 instead.

You had someone real to work with and you kicked them out the door because they wanted to be compensated for the huge amount of work that goes into creating a truly accurate design and quote.

You're the problem. You want free work, without any skin in the game on your part, and I’d guess, an unrealistic budget for your want list. You’re raising red flags and getting weeded out by anyone with the knowledge and skills to do the work that needs to be done. Starting with the design work.

A cabinet layout is not a kitchen design. Not by a long shot.

And Lowes isn’t going to help you with anything but badly designed cabinets. If you want an almost design, you’re going to have to go through their PSI program, where that have a different salesman—NOT real designers—-SALESMEN— selling you the lighting and tile and paint, and just throwing together their products to sell you. Because they get a commission on selling all of that to you. They don’t care if it’s a dysfunctional dog’s breakfast, as long as you like it and don’t know any better. They aren’t there o design. They are there to sell. And they want money up front too in order to move forward. Everyone will.

Anyone good will want a retainer to separate wheat from chaff. You’re a tire kicker that got weeded out from anybody that’s worth working with. If you won’t pay for design work, you won’t go anywhere. You’re dead in the water. Or doomed to working with hacks only.

If you want to change your success rate, you change your actions. Pay a designer to design first. Then the contractors actually have something to quote. But with no investment in the front end, your guesstimates are not worth the electrons that they’re sent to you with.

Get over your sticker shock. Average kitchens cost 50-70 for something mid grade with no DIY that doesn’t use cheepchinesecrapola.

http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2018/

And you failed the tests. Learn from your mistakes. Good people cost money. Up front.

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/10-tests-for-you-and-your-contractors-first-meeting-dsvw-vd~5332686?n=90[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/10-tests-for-you-and-your-contractors-first-meeting-dsvw-vd~5332686?n=90)

Find someone that already knows all of this, and have them design the project for you. Or spend the next two years researching.

https://cloud.chiefarchitect.com/1/pdf/nkba/nkba-planning-guidelines.pdf

https://nkba.org/info/why-hire-a-designer

https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer

Better call the one guy who was real and serious, and beg him to pay the retainer.

My mom ordered her cabinets from Lowe’s but they did not install them for her; I had Lowe’s install my solid surface counters and I’m happy with them. Many of the Lowe’s cabinets are particle board boxes with melamine lining in the inside, which makes them less durable than solid plywood boxes/drawers.

If you do end up going with Lowe’s, think about posting the layout in the kitchens forum before committing. The people there are Usually great with constructive criticism.

Lowes is so big that most generalities are useless. Some designers are great -- I have one I swear by, who has taken my starting sketches and made them much much better. However, I always have my own contractors install, so they have the care to do things right and catch changes that might be needed. If you have a very large and/or complex space, it's probably worth working with a paid designer to get all the options talked through; my kitchens tend to be pretty constrained by space, so the creativity is in the details...

"Lowe's isn't going anywhere anytime soon.. whereas the smaller 1 person shop w/ a few subcontractors could suddenly pick up shop & leave town (true story, I've seen it happen on more than one occasion)"

Two flaws in that logic. One is that you omit mention of the enormous middle ground between Lowes and a 1-person shop. It's a non-sensical comparison. You could see if there are any KDs in your area, or reputable cabinet lines sold in smaller (but not 1-person) shops. There's Angie's List to explore too.

The second flaw in your logic is your belief that the Lowes' guaranty means ease of mind. The reality is that should you have to invoke the guaranty, you will be dealing with nameless customer service people in corporate headquarters who have absolutely no skin in the game--unlike a KD and her contractor that you could pick up the phone and reach. We have seen posts here of people making numerous phone calls to Lowes or HD and getting no resolution for months. The subcontractors that Lowes uses also have no skin in the game. It's not their company who might get negative reviews online, or who will have to deal with the customer. The one who will deal with the customer (namely, you) is the aforementioned corporate-headquartered customer service representative who has no name.

Of course, you could have a great experience with Lowes. Many people do. But go in with eyes open.

You want to know why Lowes employees are called "Cabinet Specialists" as their official title? Because they got lawyer visits. They aren't Designers. And that's the same reason that their new PSI program can't use the word Designer either.

I was here when that program started, and despite me being the only local cabinet specialist with actual NKBA training and already working for Lowes, they hired mainly the used car salesmen type person for that position. Yeah, they hired a few with actual design experience, and one that I know fairly well even posts here. But the designers didn't last long. Sales were more important than the quality of work being done.

No real designer wants to be coupled to a scammy contractor that it takes 6 straight totally failed projects that have to be redone by another contractor before they will get rid of him. And you can't pick someone else. There isn't anyone else to pick. Those redos happened. And the poor customers involved had their houses torn up a year. One bath was redone 3 times, because the replacement contractor was just as incompetent as the first one.

Meanwhile, I just "trained" a new cabinet specialist hire for one of the local stores. 2 weeks of shadowing an experienced person is all they allow. No formal coursework. No actual apprenticeship. She has zero design experience. Zero technology experience. She sold cell phones, and had a nice smile.

When I explained that some of what we do has real world life and death consequences, with examples, she asked for a different department. She said that she wasn't told that it would be "that complicated." Then she quit.

There are still some of the same high quality hires working locally that didn't quit. Most, in fact. There is one person locally that I would trust to get a design mostly right. And even he wouldn't order all of the parts needed on the first order. He's well known for that, in fact. But he has a design background, and has good creativity. But your project will go from a 4 month one to an 8 month one because he has no attention to detail.

Box stores are beyond hit and miss. You could get me, with 15 years of experience and actual training. Or you could get the lady who has been doing it badly for 5 years, and no one knows enough about kitchens to fire her. You won't even know the difference, because the 5 year one is a great salesperson and fakes it wonderfully. She just can't design.

Then there are the 3 local installers. 2 men in their 70's, who both use drywall screws and can't scribe anything, or the PSI contractor who uses a different sub to install every time because the actual sub doing the work doesn't really get any of the 66% overcharged project cost and only works for them once. Lowes marks the already outrageous GC costs up 33% just themselves. And the GC they use is one of the highest in town, with another 40% under Lowes. That's over 50% more than most local contractors.

Buyer beware of everything box related.

Get a quote from a local cabinet store. My friend saved 35% compared to Lowes & Home Depot. Had better service, too. Got all wood cabinets with soft for a 10x 10 $6200. At least get 2 more estimates in your area. I hope you save some money, too.

@Michelle, have you tried to contact a few local cabinet makers? You can yelp or ask friends/neighbors. He/she can come to your house and work with you on custom cabinets made to your exact specs, species of wood, etc.

I personally like browsing big box for ideas, etc., but ultimately would never use them since it's too hard to get through to anyone in case an issue arises, etc. Work with local business owners who take pride in their craftsmanship and work.....

Lowes isn't going anywhere...tell that to the employees here who were out of a job without any notice at all. The store closed for business as usual in the evening and when employees showed up for work the next morning, the doors were locked. Corporate closed about half the stores in our area without notice. That incident was a few years ago but don't think it might not happen again. As an amusing aside, HD announced plans to close the local store here but that never happened so maybe their model changed without the Lowes store in the picture.

If you want to pay all that extra money for sub-par 'designs', then use Lowes. Why not put that 'extra money' into an actual kitchen designer? You're paying Lowes to be the middle man. everything they do they contract out for it, so why pay them to do that? I used them 14 years ago for my parents kitchen remodel. Waste of money.

1. Feel free to post plans here. As you can see from other threads you might get some helpful advice. Be specific with plan with dimensions and limitations (like cannot Remove walls..). From my view.. if you can change location of appliances / you can remove half walls- peninsulas - islands / and the flooring will change .. it can be a great help. If you have these limits you might have some criticism as many old plans do not work. 2. I hear you about getting someone! One thing to consider is maybe expanding your search to not so "local". What does that mean and can you pull from other areas? Where we are - the fringe of a large metropolitan area - I find I can get folks at least an hour away to come work many times. A small town we lived in, those folks are used to travelling 30 miles or more for work. 3. I know you have been waiting. But it might be easier to find folks for Jan/Feb/March before the tax refund check hits and everyone wants to do something with it. We have done this for our last three remodels. Good luck!

Man, I thought these forums were better than my photography forums. Someone asks what camera you want to get and answer is yup you need at minimum a medium format. :) In my case we talked to Lowe's person to see how much it will cost. The person was knowledgeable. We haven't yet decided which way to go. I did check a few so called local cabinet makers and costs are way over priced IMHO. I only know basics of woodworking and cabinets aren't any rocket science for the cost we pay. Finish etc sure harder to do for DIY person.

"... I did check a few so called local cabinet makers and costs are way over priced IMHO. I only know basics of woodworking and cabinets aren't any rocket science for the cost we pay...."

There lies the problem. Everyone thinks that all cabinets are built exactly the same way. It's more than 2 sides & a back. It's the quality of materials used, it's the joint construction, the glue used and much more, right down to the quality of finish on the doors & panels. As a Cabinetmaker by trade, & one who went to school and was certified in the industry & one who made custom kitchens, I can assure you that not all manufacturers, custom or big box, are the same. Don't kid yourselves. Stop looking at a cabinet from the exterior and start asking about the construction of the cabinet. Not all melamines, MDF's or plywoods are the same grade. What looks like a solid wood door can be an MDF door with a veneer wrapped around it. When I had my business, I had one of these veneered doors and cut it in half to show my potential clients what they were potentially buying & that "solid wood" doesn't always mean it was solid oak or maple or, etc. As a trained professional, I could spot a veneered door in a second. The every day consumer wouldn't have a clue.

Now, with that said. If you are happy with what you are getting for your money from Lowes or whomever, than fine but don't lump all cabinets in as the same quality. Likewise, don't lump all KD's together. because there are good & bad in big box stores as well as others. I can also attest through personal experience that it's highly unlikely that you will be getting a properly trained KD at a big box store. They can't afford to pay the wage. We go to school for this. The same as any other profession. It's not cheap nor is it a "light-study course". I worked at a big box retailer & I can tell you that they "train" their KD's in a minimal fashion. Again, if you're happy with what you're getting for your money, than fine, but don't lump me & other professionally trained KD's in with them.

Bottom line here is, no matter where you go, you as the consumer should be interviewing your potential KD & cabinet supplier & asking very important questions, before laying out your money just because "it's a convenient place to shop". Many KD's can't even tell what NKBA stands for & who they are.

Has anyone ever gotten some money back from Lowes to compensate for poor quality work ? Asking for a friend. Lol

Yes, I know of a customer who had a significant portion of her money refunded by Lowes. It was an exterior siding and window job and their work was poor quality and over priced. My friend's ex was the customer and she had not wanted to have him involved in the project but she finally requested his assistance. He was able to get her money refunded for the excess material purchased but not delivered or installed and most of the installation money. A Lowes contractor also returned to the site, redid the a original work to a respectable standard, and finished the project.

I was called to repair a Corian bar top that had heat damage on the edge because the Lowe's kitchen designer failed to coordinate the cooktop and cabinets properly. She could have specified a different cooktop or could have pulled the cooktop cabinet forward. It was a fire hazard, but my customer was selling the home. The most cost effective cure would have been ugly.

This is not uncommon, and by no means exclusively a Lowe's problem. I'll bet a quarter of my repair work is poor design, and poor design is much more expensive to repair properly than fabricator error or customer abuse.

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/help-how-is-this-bathroom-tile-acceptable-dsvw-vd~5503776?n=85[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/help-how-is-this-bathroom-tile-acceptable-dsvw-vd~5503776?n=85)

Lowes remodel. Overpriced, and totally incorrectly done, And a fight to get it done right. And typical of the uneducated salesmen putting things together to sell you, and their incompetent contractors to implement.

I was refunded about 33% of my cabinetry costs through Lowe’s because of poor finishes on my Kraftmaid cabinets. It took one year almost to the day to receive doors/drawer fronts/panels undamaged.

Joshuasamah

WOW. A year !

Lowes admitted there were mistakes in my kitchen and are redoing them at their expence. I am satisfied and the customer service rep. even apologized.

Horrible customer service. Hate to say it since we have a brother and son in law that work for them. We were always loyal to Lowes but after the “designer” came out. We never heard from her again. Called the store and left messages and got no where two weeks wasted. We went to Home Depot and the woman sat with us for two hours hashing out our needs and wants. It’s really coming along! Thank you Home Depot!

We didn't use installation services and I designed my own kitchen ( I'm the one who has to use it) for the most part but I had excellent service through Lowe's when I purchased our Kraftmaid cabs through them. I used their most advanced designer and she was very helpful in giving options for a few minor concerns I had with the layout regarding fit and function as well as the how it would look when done. She gave me time, responded to calls promptly, made a few suggestions without pushing and was pleasant and helpful throughout.

The cabinet were delivered on time and they brought them into the house for us. One oven shelf divider trim piece for the tall oven cabinet had minor damage that we could have lived with and the same for one of the wall cabinet doors. I called and she immediately put in for a replacement on my word alone and new items were delivered in under two weeks.

I went in during a sale and was given an extra percent off on top of that plus a generous gift card based on the purchase amount.

I feel I got excellent customer service and I like that the employees don't work on commission so don't try to up sell you on things you neither want nor need. I don't need to spend an extra 300.00 dollars on a cabinet with a rev-a-shelf insert I can buy online for under 100.00 and install properly in under 30 minutes thank you very much.

Cabinet dealers and their designers have little desire to work with the experienced diy-er. Especially those who have a full understanding of the manufacturing process, how things work, and how materials are sourced in order to manufacturer things. So Lowe's got our business and we would do the same again.

Would I use their contractors? Probably not. At least not with fully vetting them ourselves.

We TRIED Lowes.... nothing but problems, but that was the 'designer'. Really, she was nothing more than a cabinet layout person and not really good with that either. When she finally came back with pricing 9 weeks after we started with her; much of it was unreasonable (using their contractor). I was so fed up at that point, we took our cabinet business to a local custom cabinet shop and got a decent GC. We've been doing the design and procurement work ourselves. SHE just took more time than I was wanting to devote. The cabinets we chose - Schuler - were of good value, but they (Lowes) didn't carry the countertop we wanted, or the flooring sooooo…. we cut bait.

Hire a Kirchen designer who has a list of installers they can recommend and work with. When selecting ask to see work and ask for references. Call the references and ask if you can come out to see completed job. You will find for recent jobs people are open to letting you come and see results. Ask them what went well and what did not go well. Ask what they would have done differently. Ask if the designer and contractor returned calls and showed up as planned. Ask questions before investing in the job. Also remember no one works for free so once you decide on the designer and contractor expect to pay a deposit.

One more point how many times have you gone into a neighbors house and seen the same finishes and said "they went to Lowes or Home Depot". Personally I would not make all my selections from these stores. I want my project to be unique. Also they don't have the best selection of tile. I prefer tile stores and they will work with you on price once you know how much time you are buying.

Joshuasamah wrote: I was refunded about 33% of my cabinetry costs through Lowe’s because of poor finishes on my Kraftmaid cabinets.

Joshuasamah, I'd very much like to hear what the problem was with the finish, and if it was Kraftmaid or Lowe's who was the problem, if you don't mind sharing.

Kraftmaid issues with finish. Bubbles, unpainted areas, dings in finish etc. waiting 4-6 weeks for replacements. All in all I received the final acceptable piece almost exactly one year fr initial delivery.

One year? smh. I would never use Lowes for kitchens. we used them for my parents kitchen back in 2004, and while we didn't have too many issues, I think it was too much money for what they got. So many other better options.

The service is very poor. I recently order Kitchen cabintary service, it took about 1 weeks for the measurement people to go out, I have to pay for the measurement upfront, after I pay for the measurement , they don't give me the measurement, this lock you to order the kitchen from them because they don't give you the actual measurement of the space.

After the measurement , I called daily not able to get a hold of the person "design" the cabinet , then when I want to discuss the detail about the "design", the person handle the case goes vacations for 4 days, the whole lowes have no body to cover this person's work. This is very long delay already. In fact , if they give me the measurement, I can just order the cabinet myself, don't need wait for the so call "design". This is super delay for my project, after you have to wait for cabinet to ship. I told lowes due to their delay, I don't want to proceed with them, they don't even refund my money. What a poor service, I would not recommend to go with lowes at all

July 2022 purchased Shenandoah Linen painted cabinets all plywood construction from Lowes at store 0425 in Cary, NC. I worked with an experienced designer, however, her ideas/vision for our kitchen was lacking and I had to drive the design to get the look I wanted. Her personality was grating and the inability to do what I asked was infuriating. She was unapologetic, condescending, and Lowes management would not hold her accountable for the lack of decency displayed on numerous occasions. In the end, I would recommend the cabinets but if possible have the design completed by a professional. No matter how many years of experience these designers have they still display a high school mentality. Our designer Janna had have been 55 years old at least, but acted like a child when problems were aised. Again, get the design done by someone you can work with or do it yourself.