Try a local cabinet store that assembles. There an average 30% less than big box stores. I had a recent quote for a 10x10 at a local cabinet store for RTA all maple wood cabinets with soft closed that came assembled. The cabinets $6300 in Virginia.

Sure it's doable. Look at Wolf, Merillat Basics, MidContinent, Wellborn Select, Aristokraft, Shenendoah Value, Woodstar, and probably lots more. All are entry level price and quality, just like IKEA. You can get more sizes and options than Ikea as well.

10 by 10,With island..all installed by their listed team,seems good. Did you get something extra like a tall pantry cabinet..even a narrow one? A corner susan? maybe some glass doors on uppers? One of their better wood species door styles? sufficient number of drawers? If you like IKEA..and the plan, and have money left for good counters/floor/lighting/sink faucet hardware...then I might go for it. Depends on what is in the quote....but I think it's reasonable.

Artistsharonva - I"m in NOVA (Manassas). May I ask who you used if you are nearby?

I just ordered my full kitchen, not sure exact dimensions but is large with a dining area and butlers' pantry, from Cabinets.com. They were absolutely amazing to work with. I sent their designer my floorplan and she laid out the entire kitchen and tweaked it with me over the course of several months to get the exact layout and functionality I was looking for, all at no cost. Although they don't have a showroom, you can order samples of all of their cabinet finishes (more extensive than Ikea which is why I selected them) and then return them for a full refund. Their cabinets come fully assembled so I would expect installation costs would be less than Ikea. We are doing a big renovation project so the full kitchen won't be installed for a few months but I cannot wait!

look at Wolf they start at $4k for a 10 x 10

$9000 seems steep for an ikea kitchen 10x10. At minimum, you should wait until one of their very regular 20% off sales, which would drop the price $2000.

I think there are some people on this forum who like to perpetuate a myth that, once you add in labor, ikea ends up costing as much or more as better quality cabinets. That's simply not true. Ikea cabs are assembled and installed by 1 to 2 persons in less than a day and a half. The cost of that labor is not going to be so astronomical as to make the cabinets not worth it. When we did our first ikea kitchen (in high gloss white), we priced out similar gloss kitchens in other "mid range" lines -- i.e., not custom kitchens, but lines that offered more sizes and features than ikea, but had similar quality of hardware and doors. The other quotes we got ranged from $20k to $40k more than ikea. We could pay Ikea installers for 3 weeks of their time, and it still wouldn't add up to the cost of the other cabinets. For those interested in wood cabinets, I just don't think the RTA options cited as similar to Ikea are anywhere near the quality of Ikea. I've had friends use those options, and they feel like junk. Ikea does not. I think adding on Scherr or semi handmade wood doors is a much higher end option than the RTA peer cabinets -- and while it may add $5000 to the price of a mid-sized kitchen, it still isn't going to come close to the $20k price differential for higher end cabinets. Just my two cents!

Stay away from the cheepchinesecrapola like cabinets dot com, and the other import garbage that are the usual cheap suspects. RTA outside a few select not so cheap players is exclusively not-so-cheap-anymore tariffed Chinese imports whose price just went up byn25% minimum, and will be a lot more than that before the war is over.

Adding separate third party doors to IKEA comes out more than buying a good quality frameless to begin with. Even factory finished Barker door plus IKEA is more than most mid grade cabinets, with less choices because of the box limitations, and color limitations both. Semi Handmade and IKEA is more than just buying already assembled Omega Frameless with 10,000 more choices. But it lacks the IKEA Effect that makes people happy to pay more and get far less.

Sophie - I've got to tell you that your candor in previous posts annoyed me at first... but you've gotten into my head and helped me consider other options and I greatly appreciate it! :) Sometimes the truth hurts - lol.

Our Ikea breakdown is $5950 for cabinets and $3090 for installation. This is before the sale (which I believe is 15% off - not 20... and that's off of cabinet price only so we're still looking at $8141 total). This is for 6 wall cabinets and 9 bases (all but 2 being drawers/pull outs).

Sophie (and others) - I'd love to hear what brands you would suggest I look into. I have spoken this morning to a Kraftmaid dealer who is looking at a quote for me. Also contacted a few custom cabinetry makers to see how they compare.

I really do like the look/feel of Ikea. However, one of the biggest cons to me is that I have 8 foot ceilings and do NOT want 30 inch cabinets (what I already have) but feel like the 40 inch doesn't give me enough room for the molding I want (and have in the rest of my room). A 36 inch cabinet would be ideal. Sophie made me realize this! :)

I also think we're leaning away from RTA - we technically COULD build these but hanging them concerns us and if we're going to spend this kind of money, we'd rather spend a little more and get it done right.

Thanks for all the input everyone!!! SO tremendously helpful!!!!

Molly - great tip!!! Are you hiring your own installer??

Hello cmbpmb - Curious how things turned out for your cabinets?

Hi CMBPMP. How are you enjoying your new kitchen? Can you tell me which contractor and cabinet company you used? I'm also in Manassas. Thank you in advance.

HI, cmbpmb. Apologies did not see your question until now. It's probably too late now, but one of my cabinet lines I use is J&K cabinets from dealers in VA. There quality RTA cabinets. Sherr & Thomasville are other good cabinet lines I use, too. I heard Schrock are nice, but I have not used them yet. I would get a custom cabinet estimate, too. Get 2-3 estimates. Hope you find some quality cabinets for a good price. Definitely see the cabinets in person before purchasing.

Just paid $4K for a 10x10 cabinet from BarkerCabinets.com. Made of 3/4" USA made plywood...

That's an expensive dollhouse

mynovahome, if you are still around can you share how your kitchen project came out and the name of your cabinet maker?

We are beyond thrilled and highly recommend Brave Custom Cabinets out of Manassas!