It is my understanding that there is always some risk with nearly all painted cabinetry -- not just that of P&F -- that over time, it may crack and chip. I would imagine that in a high humidity environment such as a bathroom, painted cabinetry will crack even faster than in other rooms of the house. I do know that, the local vendor was very up front with me in explaining this potential downside of painted cabinetry and I've seen that same discussion on this forum countless times. And, although Juliemark says that her issue with P&F and cracking paint occurred "several years ago," I can tell you that when you contract for painted P$F cabinetry today you must also sign a waiver which essentially states you are aware that the paint may eventually crack, especially around inset door and drawer edges. BTW, I had no problem signing that waiver since this forum had already made me aware of this potential issue with painted cabinetry.

Given that my cabinetry has been installed for only a short time in my still incomplete kitchen, I cannot speak of my experience with P&F cabinetry on a long term basis. I will repeat, however, that at this point, I am very pleased both with the cabinetry and with the dealings I've had with the company itself. Finally, up until today, I had never before seen a negative review of this product.

I wasn't asked to sign a waiver about cracking paint, and I would have been dismayed if I'd been asked to. On the contrary, I had a conversation with one of the owners of Crown Point in which she proudly pointed out how well their cabinet finishes hold up over time.

For people shopping for painted cabinets, one thing to ask is whether the paint and finish is applied before or after assembly of the doors and drawers. If they are assembled before painting, when the seam separation occurs you may see unfinished wood, making the seams even more obvious.

"PLAIN & FANCY Custom Cabinetry likes satisfied customers. Therefore, it is for this reason that we accentuate the need for our customer to completely understand the enamel finish characteristics. The PLAIN & FANCY factory, unlike most homes, is maintained with a humidification system. Therefore, a situation exists where-by [sic]the cabinetry in your home can dry out or pick up moisture. In either event, the shrinkage or expansion of the joints can cause the enamel finish to fracture at the joints. This condition is not in any way considered defective workmanship or material. It will not affect the stability of your cabinetry, doors, or finish in general. These specific conditions are being explained carefully, so it is clearly understood, neither the PLAIN & FANCY manufacturer or the PLAIN & FANCY authorized dealer, can be held responsible for any of the above mentioned natural conditions which may appear in your cabinetry."

I should add that, as an attorney (retired from practice), I had no problem signing this waiver. This waiver only speaks to P&F being held harmless if the paint fractures under natural conditions, i.e. conditions of excessive dryness or humidity in my home. In no way, however, does it let P&F off the hook for defective workmanship, e.g. a badly mixed batch of paint or improperly applied paint, etc.

HTH

I have been selling P&F for almost 10 years now and I have to say, it's the one cabinet line that I can count on to deliver consistent quality! I never worry that the cabinets will come in damaged or have finish flaws. In fact, in 10 years, I've never had to call for a replacement or warranty issue...and that is remarkable.

As to their pricing? I quoted a very small kitchen about 5 years ago. The homeowner also quoted Woodmode apples-for-apples. My P&F price was $12,000. Woodmode was $18,000.

I will try to find some P&F pics to post later. But I have a client due in my showroom, any minute.

KOMPY

Our KD was exceptional. The details she put into the integrated raised end panels, the paneled bar with pilasters and corbels, etc is just stunning. We also have a custom wood hood.

In terms of finish--ours seems hard as nails, smooth as silk. The doors are solid.

In terms of service---we had a situation where the end panels on the cabs that flank the wood hood were not proportioned correctly. P&F immediately manufactured and sent replacements, and the color exactly matched the other cabs. Since we have a custom color & glaze, I was impressed.

The best way to determine price/value is to price your layout with a few different lines of cabs you are considering. I have a few areas in my kitchen that required custom sizes to get exactly what I wanted, so going with other lines I often had to compromise on the design. In the end we paid more for the P&F than some other lines we priced, but we also got a far superior quality and design for the incremental cost.

The cabinets have been great and I definitely would go with them again. I haven't noticed any cracking though I was told in advance that painted cabinets would eventually show seam joints, as has been stated upthread. So far, they have not.

I agree 100% with Kompy on delivery and reliability. They were great about doing a custom plate rack for me and later, to fix something that was improperly ordered, to send matched painted boards from which we were able to construct open shelving.

I'm headed into a possible reno of our apartment kitchen and plan to get a P&F quote (and hope Marthavila might be willing to share the name of her dealer with me!)

Rococgurl Now, you know -- anything for you girlfriend! My vendor was Park Slope Kitchen Gallery in Brooklyn. The KD who works with the P&F line there is Glenn. I'll send you an email tomorrow (Sunday) with more details.

The joints are inconsistent. Sometimes the joints are hidden (glued and clamped properly) and other times they are open by as much as 1/16 of an inch. I have a laundry list of issues with my cabinets. After The owner of P&F came to my house. (Unfortunately I was not there to speak to him.) The excuses that came back were "that is how Plain & Fancy makes them". Essentially, I the consumer, should be the one that suffers their lack of quality control. I have had 3 other cabinet makers look at the cabinets and they have all said they were acceptable for a middle of the road production grade cabinet but not high end cabinets. These are VERY mediocre quality.

They are so far unwilling to replace them or give me my money back but now want to fill the cracks with some sort of filler, sand them flat (since they are not flat now) and repaint. All of this in my kitchen. Further more, this is an expensive kitchen. It should be done right the first time.

Lets be clear. These are not high-end cabinets, they are not worth the high price I am stuck paying right now. And even the owner of Plain & Fancy does not really seem to believe he should be responsible for delivering a consistent quality cabinet. Apparently, they will not stand behind their product.

If you are still inclined to buy their product at the very least look at the cabinets before you buy and have someone that understands go with you. These look good from a distance but will quickly show their age. Caveat emptor! If you still feel like buying these, smack yourself in the head with a hammer and go to the ER - there is something wrong with you!

If you care to read about more issues here they are are in no particular order: The natural wood shelves have a veneer edge (not durable over the long run), most joints are butt joints and painted before construction. This is not a good thing but allows them to work much faster on the assembly line. You can not find a trained cabinetmaker worth their salt that would ever do this. It makes the joint weaker and makes the joint visible. All doors are 3/4". This is disclosed but still not worthy of this price range. (My mistake as I missed this on ordering.) Their cabinets are made with a 1/4" back and 1/2 inch sides. I am told this is standard in the "production" industry. That may be the case and maybe it doesn't even matter if you don't see it. They do it to save money and at the high end I don't think it is appropriate. (The 3 cabinet makers I had come to the house all use 3/4 inch sides and backs.) There are hot glue blocks though out the construction. A sign of high volume production as well as additional reinforcement for the joints that were painted before construction. Shelves that arrived were very poorly cut with lots of "chip out" (very rough edges). The owner of Plain and Fancy did say that was not what they aim to ship. Though again for something of this quality throughout I was not surprised - it is consistent with the rest of their quality. Cabinet doors arrived with inconsistent edges. Some were sharp edges and some were routed over with a small round-over. (Still waiting to see if they are going to replace those.) The panel under the toe kick is 1/4" particle board. This will not last. It should be solid wood. I can only replace with 1/4 marine grade ply since the depth does not allow to replace with a piece of 3/4 wood. The door on the garbage pullout arrived warped. It is only 3/4" and will never stay true. We are waiting to see how they propose to fix this. (It needs to be redesigned. I had one proposal from of the cabinet makers that sounds good.)

Both the president of Plain & Fancy, Mr. George ("Butch") Achey and the owner of Majestic, Mr. William Luceno were involved. One would think that with companies of their size and standing they would not resort to such tactics.

This has been the single most revolting business experience of this type I have ever had. Our builder and others urged us to sue them saying we would win easily. We just could not deal with the hassle and delay. Others remarked how cheap the cabinets looked for over $60,000. I am happy to answer any questions. I have already been contacted by one person with similar problems in CT. P&F claimed they had never had such a problem!

You may also want to contact Mr. Achey or Mr. Luceno. gha@plainandfancycabinetry.com or wluceno@majestickitchens.com

Here's a thread I started at the height (or was it the nadir?) of my P&F experience. First-timers might be especially interested in its posts about, and by, kitchen designers.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg122331013195.html