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Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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Posted by
mayberry (
My Page) on
Tue, Mar 13, 12 at 16:43
| We're building a house and our design/build person is obsessed with Italian cabinets. I cannot justify shipping my cabinets from Italy (I'd rather go myself!) and it will kill our budget. We're going with him because he has a great eye and does beautiful construction, but I'm going to need to give him specific alternatives for the expensive Italian cabinets he desperately wants to put into our estimate. We are not fancy, just want a reliable, nice, very functional drawer based system. Preferably simple and wood fronts, though open to stainless or alternatives.
Any suggestions? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Whose kitchen is this? Wow, he is working for you, right? Not sure what you mean about"drawer based" cabinets, but there are zillions of American made cabinetry manufacturers, or you could get a local cbinet maker to build for you. No need to import from Italy. Look at magazines, or follow this forum. I'm getting cabinets from Dura Supreme, I believe they are made in Minnesota. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| We really liked Dewils cabinets but ended up going with a local cabinetmaker. He does amazing work and we were surprised at how reasonably priced they were- we'd just assumed we wouldn't be able to afford a cabinetmaker. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Could you post a picture of what you would like? It may help with finding an alternative. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Thanks for the suggestion felixnot - Minnesota is a lot closer than Italy! Labbie, I did go with a local cabinet maker for a bathroom remodel and it was incredibly expensive. That was in a more expensive area, though, so thanks for the reminder - I should look at local prices. The Italian cabinets are all drawers, no under cabinets, and are so stable in their motion that you can store wineglasses standing up. It's very impressive but I'd rather spend my money on windows. I do, however, want to avoid the crawling into the under cabinet syndrome, especially since this is our eventual retirement home. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| You can do that with American cabinets if they have good hardware. And heck, most GW kitchens are drawer based! I had my cabinets custom built locally (SF area). The guy who did the painting said "Gee that's sure a lot of drawers". But my kitchen is better than his. So there. Anyway you can spec out all drawers with any cabinet line. If you want them to look like slickery Scavolini, though, you'll have to work for it. Try Henrybuilt for a Eurolook American made line, for example. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| I am curious was he suggesting Boffi Cabinets. They are expensive, but very hard to imitate. Installed they look like no other cabinet out there. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Great news, fori, way to go! I'll look at Henrybuilt. lannie59 he was suggesting Poggenpohl. I did see a gorgeous boffi integrated stainless steel custom kitchen in a recent house beautiful (ski house with wood floors and lots of warmth to balance all the stainless). But, reason returned and I really do not want to ship an entire kitchen from Italy nor should I blow my budget on one. I am characterizing our style as "rustic modern" if that helps. Our designer is modern modern. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets? reply
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| Here are some pics from Henrybuilt, Palimpset, thanks to Fori. Sorry I haven't figure out how to upload pics from my hard drive. |
Here is a link that might be useful: henrybuilt cabinets
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| I always wondered, what if you have to get a replacement door because one arrives with a ding? I guess Italy isn't as far as it used to be, but it seems like asking for trouble. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| 'the expensive Italian cabinets he desperately wants to put into our estimate' I 'spect he would like that. especially his cut. Have you shown him pictures of cabinets that you like? those on the henrybuilt site don't look like rustic modern to me. Depending on where you live, you might ask around to find out if there are any recommended Amish cabinetmakers in your area. You do need to find some pics of what you'd like your cabinets to look like tho. And stick to what you want. You'll be paying for them and you'll be the one living with them. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| I highly recommend Oxford Cabinet Shop if you are anywhere near eastern Pennsylvania. They just supplied cabinets for our remodeled kitchen and bathroom and we love them! They are solid hardwood with quiet close and dovetailing everywhere. We got estimates of $40,000 from two suppliers and ended up paying $19,000 to Oxford. The quality, price and service can't be topped. Their number is 717-529-0949 but they only answer Mon., Wed., and Friday between 8 and 8:30AM. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Maybe he won't like those cabinets so much when he finds out they're not Italian, but rather German! Do YOU like them? |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Conestoga makes excellent drawyers and cabinet doors and drawyer fronts. We just had a custom kitchen put in, and while they built the boxes locally, my drawyers and door fronts are from Conestoga. They're beautiful. They're completely made with American wood...no foreign products. I absolutely refused to go with any Chinese wood or cabinets made in China. I opted for all base drawyers with the exception of one rollout cabinet and one cookie sheet/cutting board storage cabinet with dividers. LOVE the drawyers. Just make sure you get the most heavy duty, weight bearing glides available. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| The big thing you are looking for if you are looking at Euro cabinets is frameless construction. That is not easy to find in the US. Add in that you want a modern aesthetic, and Henrybuilt and maybe a couple of Canadian manufacturers will be the only North American ones in the game that offer the same quality as the top Euro brands. Unless you go custom. And finding a custom maker who does frameless is just about as hard as finding a retailer who offers it. You're talking 100/1 ratio of framed to frameless. Like anything, if it's scarce, it costs more. I think in their top line, Henrybuilt actually would be more expensive than what your designer is suggesting. American labor is more, as is truck shipping vs. container shipping. There's always Ikea with custom door fronts. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| ... finding a custom maker who does frameless is just about as hard as ... clicking on this link http://www.scherrs.com |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| My custom cab guy wasn't totally comfy with doing frameless but did kinda semi-frameless for me because I had so many drawers and I didn't want to lose the space between them. Anyway, with a new build, I assume your kitchen is big enough that you won't suffer with framed cabinetry. You can get the same European drawersy look with full overlay. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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There are frameless custom makers, typically found near the bigger cities. There are several reasons for the lack of frameless makers in addition to overall demand.
1. Its all metric, US cabinetmakers don't like metric
2. In order to make frameless boxes you need high end industrial tools, a cnc, good edgebander, German sliding saw etc. Most makers wont shell out the sizable cash to outfit a proper Euro shop. Its several times a typical framed shop.
There's an entire system to building frameless, its not as simple as just making a frameless box. The cabinetmaker should know the system back to front. Personally, I prefer Euro ( being European helps ) |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| fori can you give me the name of your cabinet maker? I'm in the South Bay. My email should work if you click on my name. I might need a few built-ins for the house I'm renovating. There's always Ikea with custom door fronts. I've just returned from a visit to SemiHandMade in LA. Gorgeous doors. We're probably going to use them in our kitchen. |
Here is a link that might be useful: SemiHandMade
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| fori (if you're still watching this thread), who was your cabinet maker, please? We are in the Bay Area, and we're interested in custom cabinets. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Wow, kitchen forum is amazing! Now obsessed with checking out ikea with custom fronts and Amish and other cabinets so I can figure out what I want (emphasis on "I"). Thanks everyone! |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Dewils builds very good quality cabinets and they have a frameless line, Horizons. That's what we used for our cabinets. We wanted a transitional/contemporary look so we chose a Shaker door, but they have a number modern slab door styles available including ones with vertical grain. Full extension drawers, soft close doors and drawers and a choice of metal or solid wood dovetail drawers are standard. We were able to customize drawer heights. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Most if not all Canadian companies that manufacture face frame cabinetry do it for the US market. Very hard to find face frame cabinery in Canada. Fabritec makes a frameless line for Costo now - mid range for the many Quebec companies but they do nice work. Cabico is another good Quebec company doing frameless that is widely available in the US. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Wow.. there are a lot of us in SF bayarea active on GW suddenly. I could not find a frameless cabinet maker. I found one custom shop who had never built one but was willing to try.. I finally went with a face frame place my GC recommended. They are fine and helped me get what I want but I am still wishing I could have found something better. All those lost inches !! |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| We used Ultracraft cabinets in their Destiny line. I don't see them too often on this forum, but we love them. You can customize the height width and depth of the cabinets to 1/16" at no extra charge. They are frameless. Full extension soft close drawers and doors are standard. Lots of interior space in our drawers. 100 year warranty. Wood Dovetail Drawer; 5/8" thick, dovetailed sides and back, 1/4" thick, fully captured bottom and full extension, 75-pound rated tandem, undermount glides with soft close. Soft Close allows drawer to close quietly with just a touch. http://www.ultracraft.com/ |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?2
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| Oh, sometimes I see them mis-spelled as Ultrakraft. Unless there is another cabinet line with that spelling? LOL |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| I am going to look at Mouser. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| Mayberry...Medallion cabinets are made in your home state of Minnesota and they are quite nice! Lot's of options and beautiful finishes. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Medallion Cabinetry
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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| I don't like in Amish country, Medallion didn't make frameless cabinets when I got mine, and I didn't have a custom option for frameless (oops, I did have one, and they were made in Houston, but they had an office feeling to them and the designer who worked with them was busy telling me what I didn't want in my kitchen). I went with a mix of Brookhaven and Woodmode -- they can create just about any look you want. Brookhaven would be the budget friendly option, but you can add a piece in Woodmode if they have an option you prefer. |
RE: Good quality American drawer based kitchen cabinets?
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Don't know exactly what you mean buy "rustic modern". I assume it would be wood and not high gloss paint. As someone who has built, study and reverse engineered Euro cabinets for many years I can tell you that I know of no "major" US manufacturer who builds this type of cabinets. Henrybuilt and Downsview in Canada do a pretty good job but still not the same and neither would be inexpensive. A custom guy could, maybe, but most have never even seen one of these kitchens in person so at best you will get some interpretation of a modern kitchen which can vary greatly depending how much he's willing to go out of his way. Being in Los Angeles I have access to all the showrooms; Boffi, Poggen Pohl, Varenna, Sandario etc. I visit them regularly and have been on many job sites where theses kitchens were being installed and got to get up close and personal with them. What goes into making a kitchen like this and how much you care how close it really is is the question. When someone ask me to copy one of these kitchens I sort of get obsessed with being as exact as possible. But that's me. I use a lot of the same European components. Hardware, veneer, Italian paint or clear coat and construction methods. The other important thing is the proportions. Each line I mentioned builds theirs and little differently but they are definitely not the same look as American made cabinets. You really need to define what you like before you can make that happen which ever way you go.
John |
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