Not at all true. If the cabinet finishers use one of the new state of the art waterborne 2K polys like Renner, Envirolak, Centurion, or Milesi. Old fashioned solvent is obsolete, and virtually non existent in CA.

I've had cabinets made and finished by a CA cabinetmaker and the painted finish held up just fine. Like Verbo says, they just have to do it right.

I would probably avoid the brands your neighbors used. Get some info on those cabinets. I suspect that they weren't good to start with.

It's pretty common for Californians to blame state regulations for pretty much anything that doesn't work out. It's our way of shifting blame. :)

Same. You just need to be sure they're properly prepped and painted. Ours are 12 years old and were done with low-VOC paint (Benjamin Moore Aura, back when it was pretty new on the market). There are many other high-performing options now that meet the standards. So far the chips in the cabinets are all user error. :) (That said, you could do stained wood if you're worried about paint chipping in general.) The biggest benefit for us has been the minimal off-gassing. We have cabinetry in our home that was painted by the previous owner 15 years ago with old school oil-based paint and while the finish is lovely, it *still* smells strongly of solvents, enough that all these years later, we still can't put sheets or towels in the cabinet without the fabric absorbing the smell. Which is a bummer since it's a linen closet.

That ”urban legend” of CA can’t produce good cabinet finishes again. Dont have the energy to respone to subject thats been asked an answered here dozens of times but basically i concur with “Verbo”. Any paint finish can be chipped espically when not bonded properly to the substrate. The strongest finish out there is a uv finsh (cured with uv light) and a few companies in CA have that technology. i would never put the out-dated tonix conversion varnish finish that people think is so good in anyones house espically one i was living in.

@Verbo, can you recommend some semi-custom cabinet makers with showrooms in the Bay Area who use finishes of waterborne 2K polys? Thank you so much.

Custom cabinet makers don’t have showrooms. They have busy sawdusty workshops, and only accept business via referrals from past clients, or current designers that they work with. And its a 6-9 month waiting list. I have a list of guys, but only if you understand that you need the whole package of a designer as well as a producer of cabinets. I have a list of online designers too.

I've used a custom cabinetmaker in the Bay area for multiple projects and I don't know what they paint with but it is absolutely durable.

And...uh...yeah of course they have a showroom as well as a busy sawdusty workshop. And yes, you can call them and set up an appointment*. (*Prepandemic, anyway...)

Custom cabinet makers aren't some magical exclusive concept that you need special contacts to access. They are regular business people.

@Fori Would you mind sharing the name of the cabinet maker you referred to (on this thread or privately)?

We would consider purchasing semi-custom cabinets on our own. Our hesitation in doing this is:

(1) if there is some error ordering/production, we are the ones that need to deal with the problem - rather than our designer (or at least that's what my husband insists); and

(2) we're told we get a discount if we order through our designer.

Am I mistaken in either of these assumptions?

1. Yes, kind of. But it depends! The cabinet co I used does their own installation (and measuring, and drawings) so if it doesn't fit, it's on them and they fix it. Both GCs I had were fine with it and they were both total grumps in general.

2. possibly! Have your designer explain how it works based on your contract. You might get a discount on certain lines, but if they are grossly overpriced or not what you want, it doesn't count for much.

Turn on messaging in your profile. Just don't ask me how. :)