Thank you for this list of features. I hope you get lots of answers--I'm not a resource on that though!

I'm in the homework phase on cabinets for a kitchen remodel and trying to understand what's most important to look for and where the quality/price tradeoffs will make a big difference down the road. I'm only as far as frameless, full overlay, soft close on specific features.

Ours is maybe a mid-range(?) studs-out remodel (I have no idea what Houzz-ers think is mid-range--so many of the kitchens here look like they're out of our ballpark).

You might pick up some thoughts from the detailed post by The Cook's Kitchen in this thread https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5647040/white-shaker-battle-ikea-vs-the-rest-of-the-cabinet-world. There's discussion of terms they describe as buzzwords to upsell.

I also want to know what I can about the environmental cost of the materials that go into ours and want to work with manufacturers as close to home as possible (I live in western Washington state).

Schrock and Diamond are the same exact cabinets eith different names. Same factiry, different drawer branding is all. 3 different levels of build quality and options for each. Omega is a full custom company with the ability to do anything. Anything. From inset, to frameless. From gloss bamboo with stainless accent doors , to a cherry buffet that would match the built ins in an 1820 house. One of the bedt cabinets you can buy.

You really need to be working with an actual independent kitchen designer, like The Cook’s Kitchen that Barb linked in her thread. Your cabinet seller is full of hooey bs features that really mean nothing without context.

I would add plywood box, no particle board or "furniture board". If particle board gets soaked it starts to fall apart becuase it's basically sawdust that has been "glued" together.

I am having a horrible experience with Leicht, a European company. Broken cabinets, broken undercabinet lights, missing panels, not sure if cabinet faces were properly lacquered.