I'm afriad cheap cabinets are still cheap no matter the paint or stain. Check out Barker cabinets. We got solid cherry for about 30% less than Lowes quoted us and although we had to put the cabinets together it was a reasonable project. Lots of reviews here on GW. Another option might be buying cherry doors from Barker or Scheers and putting them on existing cabinets or IKEA.

There is no substitute for select cherry as the build choice. You cannot take a low end door and create a high end door out of it. Select cherry and a more involved finish process is only going to be found at the higher price point lines. Barker doesn't use select. Scherrs does. Barker isn’t bad for what it is, but there are several levels above that. It lacks the depth of a fine furniture finish that the top brands create. If you love wood, you will be able to tell the difference between 15K cabinets and 70K cabinets.

The lower end lines use a tinted top coat to mask the blonde sap wood to make it blend with the darker heartwood. Some mid lines tone just sap. Top end lines don’t do that. The higher up you go, the more heartwood is used, and the more attention is paid to the aesthetic matching of the grain. And the more steps are taken to the finish. More sanding. More conditioning. More expensive products. It all takes time. Which is why top end cabinets are top end.

On my visit to Omega, I viewed a wood selection specialist lay out a long run of cabinet stock for a kitchen order and swap out the pieces so there would be flow to the grain across the kitchen. That's for solids. For slab door veneers, and the beautiful graining patterns will match and be continuous across the run. The amount of sandpaper no in a great quality cabinet finish is double that of a cheap one. Take a sweater or nylon hose, and rub it over the end grain on some American Woodmark. Then do it to Omega. Not even close. The finish depths also use better quality more durable finishes. It’s heirloom furniture that just happens to be used in your kitchen.