IMO plywood boxes are not an essenmtial for well made cabinets in fact I try not to use plywood boxes. There are reviews both plus and minus . I am a KD I do BTW use Ikea alot but when I do kitchen design I find the company for cabinets that meets the design needs so not just one company and IMO that is the whole point of hiring an independant KD. BTW I use my own installers all the time for Ikea and IMO still the best bang for your buck very often. Never had any hassle so not sure about her experience . I suggest your friend tries to read both the good and the bad reviews and if possible go see the cabinets in person

With Ikea, I think she doesn't want to be responsible for ordering and calculating amounts. She wants someone to do that work for her, which I understand.

I have only found some google reviews for Integrity but nothing else. Was hoping someone here had heard of them.

She has very particular wants about layout, which are not necessarily what any designer, or anyone else would suggest. She is ok with that. She is building this kitchen for herself and not for resale. I suspect Mainline design believes these cabinets will best meet her design. (I am always skeptical of any designer that represents cabinet lines. But, they are not designing her kitchen really. They are more like a store with cabinet line options that is ordering what she is asking for to suit her vision.)

I know a rep for them. He is running hot and cold with claims. They arrive damaged, and weren't that great to begin with. Plus, if your friend is dealing with that ***hole at Mainline, she is already going to suffer greatly from his non objective zealot behavior of overselling her on framed crapola and his blatant refusal to acknowledge that frameless are usually better options.

I don't know anything about them, but was curious and went to the website. They don't offer a slab door. (many don't).

Run from both Mainline and Integrity. The name is such a marketing oxymoron.

Your friend might need to start her kitchen plan again - with a certified kitchen designer. This sounds like it could be a huge
nightmare.

Fantastic comments from you all. Thanks, I will pass along.

I have only ever had custom inset cabinets so confess to not knowing what frame vs frameless is on a non-inset slab door.

They are big MCM fans, have gorgeous original family MCM furniture throughout their house and want an MCM, stained look in their kitchen. It is a small space with three door ways. They have lived in the house 25 years.

They are on a budget and said they are looking at builder grade cabinets, but I don’t think they know what builder grade is.

I've done a few Ikea kitchens and never had a problem. If you make an appointment they will help you with planning your kitchen, and they do work with a company for measuring and installation.

I’m surprised to see Ilea cabinets written about as not durable. I thought longevity was supposed to be a plus of Ikea kitchens.

@Kendrah

Às I mentioned, all Ikea cabinets I know of are still existing (one more than 30 years although that one has bee modified colour wise during a renovation) and personally haven't heard about any problems with them.

I did not see any comment about Ikea duarability only the hassle which is not even a big deal at all.

IKEA actually takes your design and calculates all the quantities for you. All you have to do is either pick it up or pay for shipping. You design your kitchen in their design tool and everything is there. They also require you to have an appointment with their design team to make sure you don't miss anything before you order (clearance issues, filler pieces, etc). If your friend wants builder grade and cheap, and MCM on top of it, she can't do much better than IKEA with slab doors. And I would say IKEA is better than builder grade.

I had our contractor install our IKEA cabinets. I built them myself to save some money. Honestly, afterwards I probably would've just paid to have the IKEA contractor do it as (even with assembling the boxes & drawers myself) I probably paid more. I also installed my own hardware.

Mainline is ick with a capital D.

@dani_m08 Thanks for your incredibly comprehensive comment. It sounds like they are Ikea life coaches plus kitchen designers. Their service sounds really promising. I'm going to pass this info along to my friends.

@Monique - You cracked me up! I love it. It is notable how strong the feelings are about Mainline. It is rare to find on Houzz people showing distain for another designer or company, is surprising given that it's the internet.

@Monique you made my day. I will need to remember that technical design term, especially when some student says "I'm done." while turning in some rap with a Capital C.

Thanks to all for the info. We just at the arguing with the architect(dear hubby)and clearing land stage but keep this in mind.

Any other tips about home builders and their standard cabinet options? Most have their "design center " with a few standard and upgrade options. Brands to avoid other than Mainline?

@kathleen MK Not to hijak kendrah's thread, but there's a pretty big difference between custom home building (which it sounds like you are doing?) and production home building (design center + limited options). People doing production home builds typically have little to no choice in cabinets. Ours were "custom", which only meant they were built on site for the space, but did not mean I had any options as far as what type of cabinets I got or where they were. My only option was paint vs. stain. I hope you do not have a builder for your custom home that limits your options. A lot of custom builders will have preferred subs, but otherwise you should be able to choose most of your materials & finishes.

@Kendrah I would also suggest your friend just look at IKEA's design tool before signing up with the firm Dani suggested. A lot of what she posted is stuff that comes straight out of their website for free. Of course, the design help may be useful, and is probably what most of that $450 goes toward, but it's still (I think) helpful to see what IKEA's process is. I found it really painless and actually kind of fun, and currently have designs saved for a mudroom locker system and an office cabinet wall. IKEA also shows you renderings - maybe not as fancy as the ones Dani posted, but pretty good.

Also FWIW I LOVE IKEA's drawer lighting. We used IKEA in our basement bar, and it's nice to have the drawers lit without having to turn on lights (when we're watching a movie, for example). Super easy to install as long as you plan the electrical (I installed ours and I'm not a huge DIY'er).

I'd never heard of lighted drawers. That is fantastic. I have terrible vision. I can see that being useful.

I didn't know about lighted drawers either! Now I feel like I need some (not sure why exactly but they would be cool!)

anj_p - I just liked IKD for the hacks + IKD taking responsibility for everything that is ordered - it just seems like a lot of details that I don't want to have to deal with re: a kitchen for my lake house. I haven't played with the planning tool on IKEA's website - is it user friendly?

@anj_p We are just exploring builder options with some build on your own lot builders to see if we can afford a custom build of design hubby is doing. We maybe going from that to barndo or double wides LoL.

@dani yes it's so easy! And super fun to see the options. They give you all the add ons, including drawer lighting and trim. Super fun. My neighbor told me she wanted to do a bar in her basement and I put together something for her in about an hour. She was a bit floored. :)

When you approve your design after your free appointment with an Ikea consultant, they not only send you the schematics of the design, but a complete purchasing list. If everything is in stock, it's pretty much one click to order everything. If something(s) are out of stock, they send you that list separately so you can keep track of what you need to follow up on.

Do you have a local store that sells cabinets? Perhaps a local building/design center? DD was looking at cabients at the big boxes. We went to the local reputable bullding cneter and were shocked at the price differnce. They weren't charging for layers of employees. She also worked with an actual KD, not someone floated from plumbing.