As I've posted before, I just don't understand all the hype around IKEA cabs. Hubby and I went and looked at them and they are cheap cheap cheap looking and feeling. They're very plasticy, lightweight (there is no way their doors are solid wood even though they are labeled "wood"*), thin and just not that well made.

It sounds to me like Ultracraft has everything that you want. If it's do-able for you, go for it. You have said this will be your forever home so you should get what you truly want.

*plywood, MDF, etc. all count as "wood" so they're not mis-labeled, just misleading.

My first impression- look at the color difference between the side rails on the drawer and every other piece of wood. Now consider- this was a display piece. It shouldn't be whatever was plucked off the line, it would likely have been chosen because it was one of the nicest/prettiest. If the wood has that much variation in what they're advertising with, will you be ok with something with as much or more variation?

My ultracraft cabinets are in the process of being installed. And this is the second house we are using them in. They are shaker solid maple with a painted white finish and they are beautiful. My contractor (who is very picky) even commented about how well made they are. I never looked at IKEA so I don't know how they compare but the ultracraft have an MDF box with solid wood drawers. We got almost all drawers.

The glides are very high quality and soft close is standard. They have installed beautifully. We are still waiting for crown molding, light rail and other moldings to be delivered so we are not finished yet.

In a prior house we used a cherry cabinet with a stain and glaze and they were great.

Red Birch is a variegated wood from what I can tell. There are a couple of kitchens I've seen on this site that have red birch and they're beautiful! I'd order a sample door before I went ahead with an order. My other option is maple with a caramel stain. It would be $500-$700 cheaper. The amount of $$ is not a deal breaker one way or the other for me. I'd get whichever one I thought was nicer.

Don't know anything about Ultracraft (those red birch doors are beautiful) but I had to speak up in defense of IKEA. After 7 months we're more than pleased with our IKEA cabs, both in terms of looks and function. They were not our first choice but we're glad now to have saved $6,000 or so and used that to upgrade in some other areas (mostly beautiful soapstone counters inspired by the soapstone lovers on GW).

And just yesterday I was saying to my husband that I actually think I like the cabs we have more than I would have liked the maple Shaker-style doors from KraftMaid that we were initially planning. The door style we got was Tidaholm, which is a Shaker-ish medium-stained oak door (it now comes in a dark stain as well); the rails and stiles are solid oak while the panel is veneer. The doors are sturdy and I think the finish looks good. Functionally, the cabinets are solid, wonderful in fact. The soft close drawers and doors (and the full-extension drawers) are fabulous.

Several times visitors seeing the new kitchen have asked if the cabinets are custom (including a somewhat snobby neighbor who was astonished when I told him they were IKEA). All in all we're very pleased and glad we got past our initial apprehensions (which mirrored pretty closely the statements made by pbrisjar above).

I think that red birch door is beautiful - I love the variation in the wood. It's one of the things that makes wood beautiful to me. My maple cabinets have some variation, in pattern as well as color - maple gets this satiny/swirly thing sometimes - and I love that.

This door is beautiful, and the wide shaker style is very striking. Well, you know I like wide shaker - I did mine in Kraftmaid. I think this Ultracraft door is even nicer! To me, it's a very cool, contemporary, updated style. Also, FWIW, usually when I see wide shaker, the center panel is less recessed than on a standard shaker. I think that makes it less of a dust trap. I hate when you go to a cabinet showroom and you can run your finger along the bottom edge and pick up a ton of dust... I'm not HCO (house-cleaning-obsessed), so for me, a shallower edge is better. ;-)

Don't know a lot about the construction differences between Ultracraft and Ikea (or about the total cost difference), but I think you should go for the one you *like* better. You're going to be looking at these doors every day. You don't want to look at them every time and say, oh, but I really wanted the other.

Oh, the reverse raised panel thing vs. veneer doors - I think there are advantages and disadvantages. Here's a quote from a message from kompy:

SOLID PANEL
PROS: more durable, solid feel, consistent finish
CONS: You can have some 'striped effect on center panels, more $$

VENEER PANEL
PROS: less money, no striped effect on center panels
CONS: less durable, finish might age differently around the frame and center panel.

Here is a link that might be useful: The quoted thread

The variations in color are what, to me, makes the doors. It's more natural.

mava... thanks for sharing your experience with Ultracraft. It's helpful and encouraging to know! Good luck with your redo.

sw in austin... IKEA has such a great value. That is why we will consider it against the Ultracraft. I do like the Adel door... I love the wider style stile (couldn't resist) door.

charlikin... we will have almost twin kitchens! I love yours and will get a very similar color if we go with the maple. That link confirms what I already thought from what I previously read.

pb... I'm a natural kinda girl...

They are particleboard (furniture grade) construction not MDF - which is standard for frameless (5\8 MDF would be really heavy). Obvious upgrades from Ikea are matching edgbanding on the fronts and it seems matching ends. You also get colour matched interiors on open or glass cupboards. Can't be positive but the fact that the back panel is rabbeted suggests it may also be 5\8. Biggest thing is they come assembled and the line is semi-custom so it should offer you a lot more choices than Ikea. I assume it is more expensive but you are definitely getting more for your money plus a door style you really want.

I am a big Ikea proponent, but I think you need to buy what you want, and I don't think you want Ikea cabinets. No need to justify it or rationalise it to anyone. The Ultracraft product is what you should get.

Good Luck !

I love the Ultracraft door, Elyse. None of the Ikea doors look that nice (I was just looking at them today for the beach house). Like Caryscott says, the matching edgebanding and ends, matched interiors, more sizes and configurations, already assembled (BIG plus!) make the Ultracraft much more desirable IMO. As you said, you don't need many cabinets so if you can afford it, go for it.

BTW, I found the Finewoodworking issue with the milk paint article. I know you're thinking Farrow and Ball, but if you change your mind, let me know and I'll send you the magazine.

I'm eased by the fact that I found a viable option to weigh. It's exciting!

cheri... I finally did find a paint and decided on a color. I painted just the front and still have a ton of finish work to do but the color looks awesome (IMHO)

So when do we get more progress pics???

Now that I found the right color... I've slacked off a bit. I'll get back to it later this week. (It's been a big family birthday week... lots of cooking!)

mava818...I would love to see pics of your Ultracraft kitchen - It sounds like you are installing exactly what I want to order for our kitchen reno!
My mother has Ulracraft in her large b'ment wet bar - and they are beautiful cabinets! The quality is unmistakable - Ironically she has Ikea wood counters and it makes for a great entertainment area (I like it better than her kitchen which is only 3 years old!)