Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
htumgr

Anyone use cabinets by Wolf?

htumgr
12 years ago

We're just starting what is to be a mid-range kitchen and master bath renovation. Our GC recommended kitchen cabinets by Wolf and, based on info on the website, (see link below), these seem to be a good product at a good price. We haven't had a chance to visit the showroom yet to see what they're actually like, but I'm wondering if anyone here has had experience with this brand and can recommend for or against. All comments or alternate suggestions will be most appreciated.


http://www.wolfhomeproducts.com/

Comments (92)

  • Anne Sedler
    6 years ago

    I HATE my Wolf cabinets. They have many visible flaws and the rep will not come out to look at them, although he promised to do so. Run for the hills before you commit to these low quality cabinets!

  • _sophiewheeler
    6 years ago

    ^^^100% normal wood behaving like wood. Separation at joins between stiles and rails is to be expected. The grain runs different ways, and the wood expands and contracts. The coating doesn’t. Normal cracking results. Mitered doors are worse, if you’ll look closely at the applied molding on the door that is mitered.

  • Anne Sedler
    6 years ago

    I've had many homes and many kitchens. I know what is quality and what is not. This is not normal at all as the separations are very big. And, here is another picture of a drawer where the detail molding work is not flush against the drawer.

  • PRO
    Taylor's Cabinets & Interiors
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Two totally different things. Your pictures in your first post show what is to be expected with painted finish wood doors. The picture above is obviously a defect.

    Contact who you bought them from and get a replacement front.

  • Anne Sedler
    6 years ago

    I have tried to get help with it. They are unresponsive. Terrible situation!

  • PRO
    Taylor's Cabinets & Interiors
    6 years ago

    Call the dealer you bought from, explain you've got some defects that should be covered by the warranty. Be calm, polite, and reasonable. If you can't get the dealer you bought them from to service you, you may be able to contact Wolf and get some help there. Send that last picture and the door name/line if you know it to customer care and see what happens. They aren't typically set up to deal directly with homeowners, but they might be able to push the dealer into servicing you.

    With other manufacturers I've had dealer reps get in touch about cleaning up another dealer's mess on occasion, when the homeowner couldn't get any satisfaction from the original dealer.


    How about posting pictures of the completed kitchen.


  • Anne Sedler
    6 years ago

    Thank you for your advice. I am trying very hard (and politely) to get a response from the dealer, the rep, and now the manufacturer. So far it has been pretty much a waste of time until tonight when the sales rep finally called me back after my many attempts.

  • PRO
    CMR Interiors & Design Consultations Inc.
    6 years ago

    I'm using these cabinets for a house I'm selling. In a good neighborhood which means customers have expectations that the doors are not flawed. The slow close and quality of the boxes are high. However the doors had many issues taking the out of the box which literally had no padding-very little. More than half of the doors had scrapes, rubs, too little paint on them.


    The rep will replace them -however my problem is they want me to wait 4 weeks for them which is absurd. That means I cannot put hardware on for 4 weeks. This is an unacceptable customer service practice. Very frustrating when you are remodeling and trying to move on. A week to two weeks would be acceptable. A month no.


    I'm a designer- Entry level to me are the WHITE china cabinets. You know the ones that are shaker and white and about 3 K for a large kitchen. I didn't go with those b/c I wanted something one step up which wolf should be. AND I wanted to give the US the biz. I wanted to be able to say that. Wolf's cost are not high-but they are NOT entry level either. I can get cheaper if I go to Indiana to a local known hardware place who has premade shaker painted cabinets w slow close.


    So Wolf has work to do on quality control, on quicker turn around for mistakes, and for shipping without damage. Would I buy their cabinetry again?

    Only if changes had been made in quality control & shipping.



  • janmark275
    5 years ago
    janmark275
    10:32 PM
    I do NOT recommend Wolf Designer cabinets. We just had them installed, on the advise of our contractor, who said we would be very pleased with these semi-custom, budget friendly, made in America cabinets. We are so disappointed. These cabinets are poorly made and poorly painted. The shelves are light weight and low end. Dings, scrapes, bubbling inside the cabinets, sloppy glue, no quality control, etc..... Please look at my pictures and think twice before spending your hard earned money on these.
  • _sophiewheeler
    5 years ago

    Cheap price=cheap cabinet. There is no upside down world where the less you pay, the better quality you get.

    Really cheap=really bad.

  • Teri Bollinger
    5 years ago

    I need help! My kitchen designer has recommended St. Martin cabinets but they are over our budget. She then suggested Wolf cabinets. I have read reviews for both wolf cabinets and St. Martin cabinets and both seem to have many problems. I don't mind spending the extra money (within reason) if it will provide me with a quality durable product. Could someone let me know if there is a better cabinet line along the scale of those two or if between the two one is the better choice? I am not looking for a kitchen for the stars just durability, quality and looks nice. Thank you

  • brazilorbust
    5 years ago
    My Columbia, MD based kitchen design build installed Wolf Designer in my kitchen in 2018 and I am embarrassed to own them. I chose and paid for all of the accessories in my kitchen with the exception of the cabinetry, which the contractor selected and the cabinetry is the worst feature of my kitchen. For one, none of the shelving is wood. They are not even veneers. When I added contact paper to the surface, I learned quite quickly was that the wood grain look was only a very thin paper film. the paper film came up when I removed the contact paper. There is something that looks like pressed wood beneath the paper film, but it is not pressed wood. Additionally, I am told that the exteriors are maple hardwood, but they dent so easily, I don't believe. I cannot tell you the countless reorders I have had already due to damage. The best thing about my Wolf "Designer" cabinets is that they are painted to hide the poor quality. Buyer beware!
  • Regency wood stove model F1100 or later
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    if you buy Wolf classic cabinets do not get there extebtion draws. They say it will hold 75 pounds but the bottom pulls away from the front and rear frameswith 35 pounds. The center support nails are too thin and too short. I had to renail them and add 2 more supports so they would hold up.

  • PRO
    CMR Interiors & Design Consultations Inc.
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I think the medallion line or cardell line from menards are ok for the money. and the good thing about buying from there is Menards returns anything damaged. Check them out.

    I'm not gonna pay top dollar for any cabinets-you won't get your $ back out of the house if you do. Thats a fact. The hardware was all menards. I did a cheap 38. a square foot granite and honed it . Matte white subway with a dark olive grey grout. The tile was from century tile.

    My wolfe kitchen looked great b/c the kitchen showroom guy backed me up and made wolfe send new doors. Otherwise it would look like crap. I doubt most kitchen companies would do this. Then I used good hardware from menards.


    When someone mentions this line you need to say if anything comes damaged you need to back me up . If you won't replace then its not worth it. I had to replace literally 60% of the doors.

  • pattyjoy63
    5 years ago

    I just had Wolf Designer put into my kitchen. The line comes in various woods and finishes so comparisons are difficult. My shelves are definitely solid wood. The finish is fine, but mine was a custom color. The BIG PROBLEM I have with the line is that my upper cabinets have just 10.5" depth. I have full overlay door which offers a little more space but still have just 11.25" interior depth. Much of my dish ware will not fit! Incredibly aggravating!! The 40 year old cabinetry that was removed fit my modern dish ware but my brand new cabinetry will not.

  • PRO
    CMR Interiors & Design Consultations Inc.
    5 years ago

    The cabinets from menards are better cabinetrs than Wolfe and better made plus they back up their product. I had quartersawn cabinetry priced out from medallion for 7k and custom guys came to my house and quoted at 12K. Of course at 12 the kitchen would be more precise and custom but when you are flippin, you can't spend that kind of money. Even 7K is a stretch on many projects.

  • PRO
    User
    5 years ago

    Just stumbled across this conversation as we are an authorized Wolf cabinet dealer. We primarily promote/distribute Wolf "Designer" SEMI-CUSTOM cabinets, Wolf "Classic" STOCK/QUICK SHIP cabinets and Wolf Vanity tops. In addition, we promote/distribute other lines that are more custom/expensive than Wolf, as well as promote/distribute several "Assembled in the USA" stock/quick ship lines of various grades. Our goal is to be able to work with most client's budget and design needs.


    The biggest challenge facing most homeowners is cabinets do not get directly advertised to them on a daily basis like cars and appliances do. Cars and appliances break down. When they do, most already have a good idea of what brands are out there within their price range, because lets face it, we've been salivating over our friends new Maytag, GE, or Jennair appliance package since they got it (and our neighbor's brand new GMC, Toyota or BMW, too). Cabinets just get old - they don't break down every 4-10 years. Because of this cabinet manufacturers/brands rely on their dealers or big box stores to do most of the advertising.


    Several people commented they could not get recourse from the kitchen store (that sold them their Wolf cabinets)when they had a problem. That's a bad kitchen store then. Period. And that is a problem that plagues our business. Stores selling on price and not service. When it comes to service, they disappear.


    Just about every mid-line and stock line has their pros and cons, some more than others. One kitchen stores's "top line" may actually be an entry level line elsewhere. At the end of the day its incumbent on the homeowner to ask questions and make sure they feel comfortable with their choice. At Kitchens Unlimited, we try to have conversations with our customers, not sell them. And when things don;t go well, we do our best to fix the problem. Feel free to message me with any questions you may have.

  • Danny Cousido
    5 years ago

    Is Wolf Designer a good brand?


  • HU-196212114
    5 years ago

    I had wolf cabinets installed in my kitchen a little over a year ago. Semi-customizable.. i only had one filler panel. They are all solid wood. They are well constructed and the finish was flawless. The touch up kit fixed one minor joint imperfection. I got one nicked door but it was quickly replaced. The doors came misaligned but it was an easy adjustment by my contractor to correct them. They clean up easily too. My contractor, a family friend who mostly works for high end customers, had never used them before but they were impressed by their quality for the price and are now even recommending to them for certain projects.

  • Elize Aunahn
    4 years ago

    I bought wolf classic hudson heritage chocolate glaze kitchen cabinets in may, 2018 and the varnish/stain on some of the base cabinets started coming off about 6 months ago. The varnish also comes off if you happen to lightly put a duct tape on it. I contacted their warranty on May 1 of this year and I still have not heard a reply. At first glance the cabinets themselves do look gorgeous but the quality control is inconsistent with some doors not matching etc. That said the worst part so far has been the varnish coming off so quickly. I wouldn't buy wolf cabinets again.

  • Angela Illarionova
    4 years ago

    ordered kitchen cabinets, got cheap, poor quality with a lot of damage and does not match the drawing. They don’t want to fix everything. Out of 13 cabinets, only 4 are normal. The paint is terrible, these cabinets will fall apart very quickly. The manager and staff are rude and impolite. Almost a year we can’t decide anything. Fraudsters. If you do not want to lose time, money and health, never order products in the wolf!




  • Judy Oberist
    4 years ago

    I just completed my kitchen with Wolf cabinets and was horrified to see that they had to knock out the back of my double oven cabinet to install my standard size double oven. It was about an inch short. The upper cabinets are also about an inch more shallow than other cabinets. My dinner plates did not fit.

  • brazilorbust
    4 years ago

    I have Wolf Designer cabinets. While I wouldn't necessarily sing them praises, the issues you are describing sound dimension related. I had similar problems during installation. But it was never clear whether Wolf sent the wrong items or whether the contractor ordered the wrong sizes. How does one know? What you do know is that if there is a contractor involved, it's not your problem as long as you provided them with the correct dimensions of your supplied appliances up front or, better yet, they supplied the appliances. Hope this helps.

  • gallamom
    4 years ago

    We just finished remodeling our kitchen with Wolf Cabinets. They are a huge disappointment. First off, one of the cabinets they sent was the wrong size. We had to wait 6 weeks for the right cabinet to come in....Wolf was in no hurry to help. The cabinets doors have several areas where the finish is bubbled, and some of the melamine interiors are peeling. Many of the shelves look like they were sawed off with a hacksaw. The drawers rub against one another, but only the top drawer is adjustable. The soft close feature on a number of drawers and cabinets has stopped working. Wolf will not help you. Any issues need to be addressed by the dealer, who has been less than helpful.

  • Pamela Glinka
    3 years ago

    Six years ago I had a custom home built and our contractor ordered Wolf cabinets. White painted ones. The white paint chips, the door hinges wore out on some cabinets already. The close drawer slides are plastic and several broke. The company sent me new metal slides and brackets. No instructions came with them. You would think that a company would still have plastic replacement parts for a six year old house. Never buy Wolf cabinets. My neighbor has the same problems.

  • HU-914121285
    3 years ago

    Do not buy wolf classic nothing but problems came damaged and now chipping and they are only 2 months old!! We have White shaker but I wouldn't recommend this cabinet.

  • HU-581536860
    3 years ago

    Junk, that’s the best anyone could say about wolf cabinets. Doors split and come apart, face frames cracked, face frame stiles and rails don’t line up, cabinets assembled out of square, bad paint job, all of this from the factory. DONT buy these crappy cabinets you will be pissed of at what wolf calls “acceptable quality” these cabinets are just junk, don’t believe the photoshop pictures you see of theses cabinets. They are an embarrassment to cabinetry. I have been doing cabinetry and furniture for 28 year. These are the WORST prefab cabinets out there.

  • Rachael Dixon
    3 years ago

    Wolf has several different lines. Wolf Classics is their value line. They tick boxes (plywood, dovetailed drawers, soft close) but the care that goes into making them isn't the greatest. But they are a good value for the money. But you can't expect perfection from them. Wolf also has Wolf Signature, which I'm not personally familiar with, but they are in line with Aristokraft cabinets. They're a small step above Wolf Classics. Probably with more modification availability, more door styles, and colors, etc. Then you have Wolf Endeavor which I'm also not personally familiar with but they are a "frameless" or "full access" cabinet line. Where I am, most contractors are not comfortable with frameless construction. This is the same type of construction as Ikea cabinets. Then you have Wolf Designer, which is currently Wolf's highest line. They still fall in the middle-of-the-road category.

    Personally, I think there are better cabinets for the price compared to Wolf Designer. But you'll be hard-pressed to find a better cabinet *for the same dollar* compared to the Wolf Classics line. Hope that makes sense.

  • Tim Reidy
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I'm not impressed. They look nice in the showroom but we recently ordered cabinets and every one had some type of damage. Also, the finish on our cabinet doors was very hazy. Not at all what we envisioned. In hindsight we would could have gotten similar quality at a lower price from a big box store. The other downside if you do happen to have some type of issue is that their customer service reps are not at all helpful.

  • HU-914121285
    3 years ago

    Terrible quality we have classic and they came with all sorts of defects. 2 Chipped right away .They are replacing but it's been 8months of problems. Even one of the replacements they shipped had defect. Dont get wolf.

  • wilson853
    2 years ago

    I toured a model home a few weeks ago that had a Wolf Designer kitchen. It looked fine from far away but close up there were lots of defects. Here's one.



  • Toni Brezinski
    2 years ago

    Terrible cabinets Don’t recommend them

  • Dora
    2 years ago

    My Wolf cabinets were installed 3 months ago in my brand new home by the dealer, Bailey Industries that installs for Maronda Homes. These cabinets are the worst quality I have ever seen for the price that was paid. They are already chipping, have many blemishes and scratches, peeling at the seems, and tops of drawers are not even painted all the way through, you can see the wood (MDF) coming through. It is so sad that even after replacing a couple with worse than the original cabinets and multiple escalations with Maronda Homes, the President of Bailey Industries and Wolf themselves, all they are going to do is send me a touch up kit for free....WOW, what utter garbage! All three companies are only out for themselves and don't care about their product or their customers!

  • loftyview52
    2 years ago

    All I see are complaints about Wolf Cabinets. Does anyone have a positive recommendation for good quality cabinets that would last and don't cost an arm and a leg?

  • Cal S
    2 years ago

    It sounds like most people wish they went higher end when getting Wolf. My question is, if this *is* your budget range, what would you pick other than Wolf? Or for the price, is Wolf Classics actually an acceptable line?

  • wilson853
    2 years ago

    Take a look at IKEA. Love the ones that I put in my new laundry room last year. They are 1000% better than those Wolf cabinet pictures that I posted upthread and you will gain more space with the frameless IKEA construction. I used the IKEA Axstad door, but there are many companies that make doors for IKEA cabinets.

  • maryfcwilson
    2 years ago

    As someone in the industry, some things need to be clarified throughout these reviews. First Wolf sells multiple lines of cabinets- each manufactured at different facilities. You can’t just say “Wolf Cabinets.” There are levels so be sure you are comparing apples to apples. I have always found Wolf to be excellent to work with- they stand behind the product per the specifications. Like someone else said, it is up to the dealer and the homeowner to know their expectations and their budget and decide accordingly on a line that fits. Wolf Classic IS all plywood, has soft close, comes with a warranty and Wolf will replace any issues that are out of spec for that line. For what you will spend on wolf Classic, you would be hard pressed to find a better value… a better cabinet? Perhaps, but not a better value. They are faster than most also and made in the USA.

  • Erin Aldrich
    2 years ago

    We're about to install Wolf Classic and I'm really nervous after reading some of the feedback here. I'll report back once they're installed.

  • Marc Rura
    2 years ago

    We have Wolf Classic, as recommended by our remodelers. They knew we wanted to have everything done for under 50k, so i think they recommended options to help us stay within our budget. i think its been a couple years now and I'm not unhappy. I think it's pretty clear they aren't top of the line, but we knew that going in. Most of the complaints i'm reading here didn't apply to our experience. My two biggest complaints are the top-mount pull out trash container cabinet, which uses cheap flimsy plastic parts that break easily if you ever push down at all on your trash. far worse that that however are the shelves -- the shelves themselves are fine, but lord help you if you ever want to change the position of any shelf. the locking tab system makes that almost impossible to do. maybe there's a trick to it, but i haven't been able to it out and it makes me angry.

  • karen auwers
    2 years ago

    They are poorly made. Don't believe their ads. Ihate them

  • karen auwers
    2 years ago

    Defective cabinets returned it to have more defective cabinets to replace.

  • karen auwers
    2 years ago

    Do not put hase. Kraftmade much

  • karen auwers
    2 years ago

    Cabinets are cheaply made.. don't get them kraftmaid a better product.

  • Erin Aldrich
    2 years ago

    I posted above 2 months ago and I want to update now that we've laid eyes on Wolf Classic white painted cabinets. The headline for me is "thank goodness we chose a great contractor". We signed up with a big operation that must do a lot of work with Wolf. They inspected every cabinet at their shop prior to bringing them to the job site (our home) and I've learned there were a few that were damaged and sent back for replacement. Some of the replacement cabinets even showed up damaged and had to be replaced.

    All in, the quality of the cabinet is not great but we are lucky enough to have a good contractor that's making all the door / drawer adjustments and will touch up all the paint imperfections, of which there are many. We ordered white painted and so they're bound to have flaws vs a stained cabinet which would probably be less delicate. However, as other reviewers noted, you would expect better quality for the money. I can not in good conscience refer you to Wolf Classic but I could refer you to our contractor if you're in the Atlanta area.

    We purchased cabinets from Cabinets.com for a basement remodel 2 yrs ago and based on our observations the Cabinets.com product is better. Key differences to note, white painted wolf classic doors are MDF and supposedly will hold the painted finish better over time because contraction and expansion is reduced. Cabinets.com are maple doors, cabinet interior is nicer, they use blum soft close hardware and they didn't show up damaged.

    Of course there are many cabinet brands to consider but at a similar price point Cabinets.com appears to be a better product. Wish we would've considered them again or another brand. Having said all that, our kitchen project is going to look great when it's done but I doubt they'll look great in 10 years. Definitely no comparison to the quality of the 80's cabinets we just had ripped out.

    Reach out if you have any follow up questions.

  • Blair
    2 years ago

    Erin

    You are scaring me. I am ready to put in an order for Wolf Designer. I was told that this company best suited my needs. I want a white cabinet on the perimeter and a navy island. Now I keep reading terrible reviews regarding Wolf. I even called them this morning and asked how do they explain all the negative reviews on Houzz. Now I am torn. Im in a terrible dilemma

  • Erin Aldrich
    last year

    Hi Blair, understand your concerns, they're valid. However, I do not have exp with the Wolf Designer line but I do know it's step up from Classic. It could very well be a superior product. I might recommend that you speak with a reference that has installed the Designer line and see what they have to say.

  • G20
    last year

    The key to problems with any new cabinetry is to ensure that whomever you purchase them from stands behind the product. I have Wolf (not their lowest line) in my bathrooms and I'm happy with them. For the kitchen, which gets more daily wear, talk to your merchant and/or installer to make sure they'll resolve issues. If a door needs to be replaced will they do it for you? Mine did with absolutely no problem. Good luck!

  • Erin Aldrich
    last year

    @Blair I wanted to update you that a Wolf rep came by our house yesterday, at the request of our contractor, to inspect the flaws on our cabinets. Sounds like they will be taking steps to correct some of the paint and face frame issues. Like G20 said above, I think it's important to ensure the retailer stands behind the product. I'm thankful our contractor is taking that step.

  • Leigh Anne Dearing Silva
    last year

    We put in Wolf Classic cabinets in our kitchen remodel 2 years ago. About 6 months ago, the large pantry we put in started coming apart. Coming apart, as in the shelves collapsed!! The impetus for this was that there was no glue, no nails, no staples, NOTHING securing the sides to the back of the cabinet. So when weight was placed on the shelves it pushed the sides out until the shelves fell off the shelf clips. I ended up putting L brackets all along the inside of the cabinet to hold it together. Unfortunately , we had another shelf collapse tonight. I don’t know what else to do, I can’t afford to spend $10k to replace these cabinets with higher quality cabinets. I had no idea this would happen. Thankfully, the pantry is the only cabinet we have had trouble with.

  • loftyview52
    last year

    Like your recommendations of what to expect from different brands, ie entry level vs midgrade. Could you provide a longer brand list of each?  

    This is the type of information I find most helpful. Thanks for providing your opinion.