No, I haven't priced cabinets at Lowe's or HD. I wanted the custom cabinets. All the while I was working with him, he assured me he usually comes in about where Lowe's and HD do. Not in my case, for some reason! The quote for Kraftmaid was from a friend who works in a kitchen store. They are apparently also sold at Lowe's, so I figured the prices would be comparable. Maybe not, I guess I better keep shopping.

I am obviously in the minority. We have had them (oak, builder's grade, came with the house) for 16 years. I am re-doing because of the new types of cabinets avaialable and also becaiue they are oak and I've always wanted white. However, when I told my contractor I would stick with them- he called them Aristo'crap'

I will second the uselessness of the second shelf in the floor cabinets.You have to kneel on the floor and stick your head in the cabinet to retrive something. That's part of the reason I want new ones. I got slide-out drawers on all the bottom cabs.

But, that said, they have worn well. They still look good and the shelves are fine. We have one shelf that looks like it would need replacing if I kept it. It has all the heavy dishes on it. No chipping, no uneven wear, nothing a good spit and polish wouldn't cure. We had no drwaer problems.
It's not like they do not get used. We have four boys so they get quite a workout.

In fact, we kept quite a few of them and are hanging them in the laundry and the basement.

I would look at the details though. The dovetails, the wood insides. the quality drawer slides. The slow-close doors (to prevent the banging which goes on constantly in my house).

Good luck !

Another recommendation for American Woodmark if you are looking for more affordable cabinets with decent quality. Several people here have been very happy with them.

They were installed in 2002 in the house I bought last year, and I've been really happy with them. The lazy Susan corner cabinet glides smoothly, there are very few scratches on any of the cabinets, and the doors have held up so far to my son's constant yanking and slamming. I keep wanting to replace them because of the anemic color, but their great condition and my friend's comments on how nice they are have convinced me not to waste the money. I bought American Woodmark for another house a few years ago, and they're also great; quality seems similar. Both have fixed half-shelves on the bottom, which are a pain; if you can upgrade to full or pull-out shelves, that would help a lot.

We just installed them because of our budget. It was more of a great deal that we got because of a friend and we didn't have much time to do a ton of research. The price we paid though and what we got were outstanding!

That being said, in my next kitchen, I won't be using Aristokraft. Yes, I already say next... I don't love these cabinets at all but they do the job and I'm sure they will look quite nice when everything is all said and done. Reason we also went budget is because of a family of very little ones, smacking, banging, ramming into our new cabinets!!

I would look at Bertch if it is available near you. Someone recently just posted their kitchen and it was gorgeous. I'm sorry we skipped them. They can mix and match between there budget line and semi-custom and they look really nice for the money.

Though mostly, we are just excited to have this new kitchen coming along!!

We bought our house new with builder-grade Aristokraft cabs (didn't have $ to upgrade since we had upgraded other things in house). We've been in our house 18 years my cabs & drawers have been falling apart for at least 10 years. More than 1/2 of my drawers have had the supporting glides fall down--even if they didn't contain anything heavy. The builder did put pull-out shelves in the cabs but those supports have almost all broken as well (cheap metal with plastic rollers and supports. We keep making repairs as best we can but I figure at this rate by next year my cabs will be useless (planning to begin remodel in about 9 months). Drawers are stapled together and have had to be glued/nailed back together. Unless AK has changed the way they make their product, I would definitely steer clear. BTW, I'm a heavy kitchen user--cook from scratch 6 days/week usually but I don't yank out rolling shelves or slam drawers. If a small drawer can't hold the weight of light utinsels and odds & ends seldom used, it's definitely not built well.

We installed aristocraft in our kitchen in 2002. They still look new and wore well I would recommend this manufacture.

Old thread I know but we're having a house built and getting Aristokraft should I be concerned? We're doing antique white in out kitchen and another for the bathrooms. We also are spending extra on other things and can't really afford extra on cabinets but now I am concerned after reading this thread. I only stumbled across this cause I was googling Aristokraft to find this color we chose for our bathroom to look at it again and I came across this old thread. Also a few say get pull out drawers for the bottom how much extra is that? Thanks!

Welcome to this forum. Since cabinets are one of the harder things to upgrade later, I think most people would recommend skimping on other areas now and getting good cabinets and upgrading other things later. Please read this forum and all about having drawers in your lower cabs. It's much more expensive but oh so worth it. There is a current thread about what idea did you like best, I think you should easily be able to find it and drawers is by far the number one item.

There is also a building a home forum here with tons of great ideas, you might want to visit that.

Thanks, My husband has built 2 homes before way back and it's all new for me. Are these cabinets that bad? I'll look for other threads. Our framing is almost finished.

All I can say is that I'd never get them again. I'd go with IKEA if budget is an issue.

We used to call them Aristokrap.........

Great now I am concerned should I contact my builder and the cabinet guy and change our order I don't know what other brand he would have to offer that isn't much more. But thanks for your replies!

Part of how well they will wear depends upon how hard you are on things. I had the lowest level Aristokraft cabs in my first home and they were still in perfect shape 10 years later when I sold that home. As someone said upthread, the lazy susan was actually really good. The rest of the cabs were not well constructed, but - and this is key - I used them very lightly.

If you can afford to upgrade, I would do so. I would personally not have them again - but they served my purpose ok.

Oh gosh now I don't want them and am wondering how much it will cost to upgrade but we're doing a few other upgrades and I hate to spend more money but I guess I need to see how much extra it will cost now after reading everyone's reviews here.

There are three quality levels of Aristokraft cabinets. We only sell the all-plywood construction (APC) since we prefer not to offer the particleboard cabinets with thinner sides. If you go with the APC, I think you will be satisfied.

Thank You! I guess I need to find out what we are getting. We are doing Antique white in kitchen and the Java Glaze Maple Birch Vanities in the bathrooms.

What are the other upgrades you are doing? Maybe you need to not do some of the others so that you can get a better grade of cabinet.

I highly recommend Ikea if you can't spend a lot of money.

So going All Ply Woof is extra? So I'm guessing we're not getting that. I asked our person in charge of our selections today in a message and will probably know tomorrow. We are upgrading to Hardwood in the Great Room our patio is going to be 10 by 24 instead of 10 by 10 and we are doing all brushed nickel no chrome. Single Bowl Sink in Kitchen is a little extra and we wanted white cast iron but don't think we're going to do that one. And we met with the electrician yesterday and my husband want's extra Ethernets wired than what comes standard and I think we may go over on our lighting allowance and we are already a couple hundred over on our appliances plus we have to buy the fridge. This isn't much but the mortar we chose for our bricks Charcoal was extra. Still waiting to see if we can have this Wilson Art Laminate color we changed to instead of this Formica one. And my husband want's a fancy edge which will be more. So I am not sure about upgrading the cabinets but I guess I could find out. Turns out the ones in our condo now say Arisotkraft LOL!

But thanks for your opinions and we will decide. The Java Glaze bathroom vanities look nice online. And I heard us doing the Antique White is better than their white I don't know. But I appreciate all the recommendations. Thanks!

We are upgrading to Hardwood in the Great Room

Depending on the price they're charging you, it might be cheaper to wait until after you're in to put in hardwood.

our patio is going to be 10 by 24 instead of 10 by 10

Obviously that is not an upgrade that can be done later.

and we are doing all brushed nickel no chrome. Single Bowl Sink in Kitchen is a little extra and we wanted white cast iron but don't think we're going to do that one.

Frankly, I'd stick with chrome and get better cabinets.

And we met with the electrician yesterday and my husband want's extra Ethernets wired than what comes standard and I think we may go over on our lighting allowance

Don't go over on your lighting. Get the cheapest you can find now, and then after you move in buy what you like. It will be cheaper in the long run and it's easy to switch out lighting.

The ethernets of course really need to be done before the walls are up.

Still waiting to see if we can have this Wilson Art Laminate color we changed to instead of this Formica one.

Again, double check because it might be less expensive to just get whatever the builder has and upgrade later. Builders make their money on the consumer "upgrading". And they sometimes charge double or triple what it would cost you to go have it bought and installed after the fact.

And my husband want's a fancy edge which will be more. So I am not sure about upgrading the cabinets but I guess I could find out. Turns out the ones in our condo now say Arisotkraft LOL!

Counters can be changed out a lot more easily than cabinets.

The infrastructure is more important right now than the other items. This includes things that are difficult or expensive to replace later.

Cabinets are one of those items that cannot be easily replaced.

As others have said, counters are relatively easy to replace, as are lights, fixtures, etc.

We have Aristokraft in our masterbath and part of our kitchen that was an update. We upgraded to all plywood. I skipped the soft close but wish I'd gotten that as well. We are renovating our kitchen and will repurpose the 8 year old Aristokraft cabinets into our island. They are still working beautifully after 8 years of heavy use. The finish has held up just fine, including the ones below the coffee/tea station area where my husband spills and drips often. They are basic oak cabinets though, not painted, so I can't speak to that finish. Our masterbath has a dark stained maple and the finish is still very nice - has held up to water splashes and other drips.

All that being said, we plan to upgrade our cabinet line for the perimeter of the new kitchen layout mostly for some features I can't get with Aristokraft on upper cabinets (33" height and an extra 1" of depth). It can be worth exploring going with a "better" cabinet line that gives the plywood boxes and dovetail drawers as a standard feature - sometimes your upgrade with the cheaper cabinet line equals standard construction in the other.

What is the soft close and dovetail drawers? Sorry I don't know. I was told today ours is just the standard. It's just me and my husband no kids slamming cabinets so hopefully it'll be ok. He found out the cabinets we have in our condo now say Aristokraft. I hope they are ok. We are doing Antique White in Kitchen and Java Glaze maple birch in bathrooms. I think I was told our only choice was the Aristokraft but I need to find out again. I was sent a link to the cabinets that explained standard, all plywood and some other stuff. Thanks!

It sounds like you will be getting the builder-grade cabinets. Those are the ones I had that started falling apart in 5 years or so -- hinges, drawer glides, drawer fronts, etc.

I had painted cabinets and the paint started chipping and seating off in even less time. Perhaps the stained finished last longer.

Found out the all plywood is 875 dollars more with the soft and dove things which I don't really know what that is. And yes I know having a bigger patio may not be an upgrade but it's still extra cost as is making the great wood hardwood also. We did decide to go with Chrome in the bathrooms over brushed nickel cause of the jetted tub faucet I wanted a sprayer and it was just cheaper all around but I am still paying extra to get the same standard faucet to the one with the sprayer whatever the difference in price is. It's Delta Classic which I hope we like but I think Chrome will be fine. This is all new to me and it's stressful when picking everything out. We changed out bathroom vanities from Flagstone to Java Glaze not knowing Java Glaze is extra so now we have to rethink that it wasn't one of our standard choices we were just going by the website than we saw our choices in our builder trend app. And my husband likes the 5 piece over just the square which is more but I don't know how much more yet and he said maybe we can do that just in the master. I'm waiting to hear from cabinet guy. We did change our countertop from Formica to a Wilson Art it's no extra it was a choice but the edge we liked is like 185 so that's not bad it's just the more you do it adds up. I am new here and I appreciate everyone's opinions. I didn't realize building brand new would be so stressful.

I just moved in my new custom constructed home. Only three months now and Aristocraft cabinets are warping! Never had such a problem when I remodeled kitchen in previous home. Never completely happy with quality or costumer service. Waiting on my contractor to solve this. Stay away from this product! At all costs!

I've had my Aristocraft Kitchen Cabinet since March 2002 (15 Years). Augusta Thermofoil. They are as beautiful today as on the day they were installed - I'm so happy with them - I'm ordering cabinets to build out around my refrigerator and I'm knocking down the wall between the builder desk space and pantry and installing the same Aristocraft cabinets to make two 24" functional pantry's that will flank a beverage station.

Well, my Aristokraft kitchen and bath cabinets were installed in 1992. For the most part, they look great. I think however that how you treat your kitchen is how it treats you. If you put wet dishes away and slop all over the kitchen cabinets waiting for someone else to wipe down your cabinets, then yes, I feel they won't stay in great condition. But most of mine still look new. The two cabinets below the sink show some where on the varnished finish.

Interesting how the last to posters only posts are on this thread.

we have had Aristokraft for about two and a half years. They are ok but if I had to choose again I wouldn't pick this brand. the finish comes off very easily especially around lazy Susan, drawers , and garbage cans. I have two large drawers under the cook top cabinets and they don't close all the way now. Fact, I use these multiple times a day to get my cooking pans but that's what kitchen cabinet is design for. Our whole subdivision has these and I hear constant complaints and disappointment.

I just had my kitchen cabinets redone by Aristokraft. I am disappointed in the drawers. I had both end cabinets with 2 large drawers and 1 small drawer at top. My complaint is that the hardware on the large drawers is not heavy duty enough to hold my pots and pans or casserole dishes. the drawers are of no use to me the way they are. I have a feeling my contractor was trying to save money and gave me the cheap hardware instead of what was necessary. Is there anything I can do since I have already paid my contractor? Also the depth of the upper cabinets is not near as deep as my old cabinets which I didn't discover until I started putting my plates in them. My plates just barely fit.

I have had aristokraft cabinets 33 years and they are still in great condition. Only problem I had was a busted pipe destroyed my sink base not the makers fault.

Ida Miller...I don't think they make them the same as 30 years ago. Their quality is pretty low.

We purchased a 2 yr. old house 6 months ago that has Aristokraft cabinets. They are just junk and cheap cabinets. Stapled drawer joints, cheap drawer glides and the finish on the floor molding is already gone. The drawers only open 3/4 of the way so I have to dig around the back of the drawer to find utensils, etc. We immediately replaced the cabinets and countertops in master bathroom and 2 other bathrooms with Kraftmaid cabinets. While these were expensive, the quality and construction is far superior and I know they will last at least 20 years if not more. I am living with the low end cabinets in the kitchen until I can afford to replace them. I curse these cabinets every day. Do yourself a favor and find another brand.

We just stick to whatever builder was using and didn’t do any upgrade for which he actually gave us $30 k discount on home price.

I feel like it’s better to do things afterwards of our choice

If you purchase the Plywood, which they call APC construction you will be very happy. The plywood cabinets with Aristokraft are typically only used by Remodeling companies vs. the Standard builder grade or the builder Select. A lot of negative reviews that you will see about the brand are identifying issues with the low quality standard and select. Those products are constructed using furniture board vs. furniture grade plywood. I wouldn’t hesitate putting Aristokraft cabinets in your home if your remodeling. However, if you are having a home built, you will need to request Aristokrafts APC level cabinets from your builder because they WILL cost more for them which will be more for you. It’s definitely worth spending a little more to get the Aristokraft APC construction.

I've always found, at least with the brands I carry, by the time you do the plywood and drawer guide upgrades to a stock grade cabinet like Aristokraft, you might as well bump up to KraftMaid or any other semi-custom cabinet line. And you'll get a much better finish by doing this.

Check the "Activity" of those who say Aristrokraft is great...most have only ever posted to this thread...suspect SPAM, not real experience.

(franklyanne_yahoo_com, timtool_gmail_com, Donna Willabay-Casas, sunnylionn, IdaMiller)

I worked for a company that sold them. The drivers for the distributor called them Aristocrap.

Geez. I feel awful now after reading this thread for these cabinets. Unlike the original person requesting guidance, my builder only offered the Aristocrap. Sadly, I upgraded because the “free” ones that came with the home were horrible. My upgrades included dovetail construction, supposedly better materials and soft closed drawers. I’ve been in my home almost 1 1/2 years and no major issues. One of my drawers is out of alignment but it’s the one with my silverware...I have quite a bit. Our household doesn’t have young children and we are gentle with our cabinets. Overall, I like them. I’m hoping they will last for a considerable period of time but it’s also wishful thinking.

We have had our Aristokraft cabinets for almost four years. We upgraded to Maple doors not realizing the whole cabinet wasn't maple. We have dents and dings all over the cabinet doors and the boxes are plywood. our kitchen looks cheap and I regret that we "upgraded". I would never purchase this brand again.

Yes
Not a good idea as I have mentioned before to upgrade anything from builder unless it’s a structural thing and you can’t do it afterwards. Builders charge tremendously for any upgrade
It is wise to upgrade after a couple of years once you have some equity in the house as per your taste !

When a broken water line caused the original particle board cabinets to disintegrate, I ended up putting in Cabinets To Go cabinets, and they have been great. All wood construction, solid wood doors, dovetail joinery in the drawer boxes, slow close drawers, etc. They were significantly cheaper than the HD or Lowe's offerings.

Their customer service sucks!! Had to replace 40 doors on my new cabinets. Workmanship sucks! Biggest mistake i ever made. They have pushed my occupancy date date back and getting no satisfaction or even a return call from th rep.

So to close my chapter with aristokraft cabinets. After a lot of persistence, I did get a representative to address my problem. He came with my contractor and the sales representative to my house to see my complaint. This was back about when I first posted my question. Looking back I don’t think the sales representative/designer knew his product. The stain finish the sales representative showed me was different from what I received. An even, solid stain sample door was presented but the finished cabinets installed were uneven in color almost seeing an airbrush technique. Not too bad,but not what I really wanted or expecting. Then some doors didn’t match in color. Some seemed to have more dense color than others. Again uneven color texture. Finally some doors warped. Not due to poor care or neglect. My lazy Susan wasn’t installed properly ( not a straight right angle). This couldn’t be remedied. I live with it. Some doors were replaced so they now match each other. The representative addressed some problems but not all. My lesson learned is to do your homework. Try to shop, shop, shop for quality. Consider different products and Ask a-lot of questions. Costs, upgrades and If you have a tight budget this is even more important. Good luck people, but I still wouldn’t recommend Aristokraft cabinets.

This is a follow up to my post a year ago. We found an independent cabinet sales professional who is familiar with the Aristokraft cabinet, and actually use to be in sales for Aristokraft. He was able to order drawer replacements made of solid wood with dovetail joints, full extension and soft close glides. We kept the drawer fronts and the drawers now function great. He also ordered several pull-out cabinet shelves, again made of solid wood with dovetail joints, which are also on soft close glides. My husband replaced all the cabinet hinges with soft close hinges. This was a much less expensive alternative to replacing all the cabinets. Kitchen cabinets now functions very well and I have stopped cursing the cabinets. We wanted to have the cabinets repainted but have been told with the finish Aristokraft used, repainting/refinishing is not possible. Do you homework before purchasing cabinets. Ours came with the house, but it's a line I would never have considered or bought. You get what you pay for.

I am having the same issue as justjac design - stain technique - there is an obvious line across all of my uppers. Had a sales rep come out and meet with me and my GC and was “told” that’s normal/natural. I also have dents and scratches in several doors, again told this was natural. After an hour the sales guys finally agreed to replace the doors. The new doors were brought last week and they look far worse than the ones up, perhaps doors others have sent back. I would also recommend doing your homework before selecting this brand.

I honestly dont know how Aristokraft is still in business. Our white shaker doors are falling apart, which started not long after we bought them. They are five years old. The company doesn't stand behind their product and says its wear I caused and they didnt even come and inspect them. They just brush you off. I didnt do anything out of the ordinary and in my opinion took good care of them. If there was ever a water drip it was dried. I only cleaned them with a clean dry towel. If you are considering them, do your research so you arent like me… needing a new kitchen after 5 years.