vinudev_liny, Regarding your comment "Of course, being custom I can fit in a few more inches into the design.", did you know with Ultracraft you can get custom sizes at no charge?

Below is directly off the Ultracraft website:

Freedom to Design

Get custom size cabinetry in our Destiny Series, and Vision Series where available, at no extra charge. You need 14â deep wall cabinets for those wide plates? No problem and no extra charges!

Modify our standard cabinets in height, depth and width in 1/16â increments at no extra charge.

Modify all three dimensions in one cabinet (Height, Depth, and Width)- still no charge!

Custom sizes allows your designer to give you a better looking and better fitting kitchen tailored to your exact living space.

Freedom to Finish

All specialty finishes are only 5% Get that specialty look at a great value price.

Could you do all slab drawers and 5-piece for the doors with the custom guy and save money? We have slab drawers for all our smaller drawer fronts, and slab really shows off the beautiful grain of cherry. I think it'd be nice in any wood, and easier to clean! Wish I had done slab for my big drawers too.

Check out Dynasty's new frameless line. They can do the same doors as in their regular line, and have a new horizontal grained walnut door that is really great looking!

aries61, thanks for the Ultracraft info. I knew it was customisable but didn't realize that it was at no charge. That is pretty sweet.
may_flowers, thanks for the suggestion. I will check if that makes a difference in price-it should as our base cabinets are all drawers-i like the look too.
live_wire_oak, I heard of an Omega frameless line-the KD who told me that didn't have any samples or order book yet-just that it was coming soon. Is the Dynasty frameless a different line? I will call around and check.
Any Ultracraft users here? Can you comment on the sturdiness of the drawer bottoms? Did you upgrade your pots and pans drawer?
Thank you all. Please keep the opinions coming.

We have the DeWils cabinets and are very happy with them. They have been in for around 7 years and still look as good as new in our heavily used kitchen. You can get custom widths and heights (but I don't remember what the increment is now).

Our son and DIL are getting Innermost for their new kitchen. It has just been installed so I haven't been over to see it yet, but the ones in the display looked good. They were keeping one run of cabinets in the existing kitchen, turning another run into an expanded island and adding another run so the choice of Innermost was partly driven by availability of a door and finish that was a close match to the existing cabinets and by price.

I'd want a thicker bottom at least on the pot and pan drawers which can carry a heavier weight and are often wider - like 36".

I spent a lot of time comparing and contrasting Ultracraft with Innermost during my frameless cabinet review. I think Fergusons was surprised I returned so frequently to check their Ultracraft display. Opening and shutting drawers, checking their gliding, going over interior finish, feeling the finish.

Ultracraft would have had my contract except for three things:
-I noticed the pull split the wood of a front drawer. I asked about it, and they said it was just a display. Things happen, and perhaps it was an accident, but it made me wonder if when mine would be installed, they would split the drawer like that.
-They had three whites, none of which were just right for me. The finish was more matte like than satin like.
-Their price came in higher and was non-negotiable.

I chose Innermost (Elkay Cabinetry) painted frameless and am very satisfied. All cabinets came in without any imperfections which i found amazing for painted (they are also conversion varnish, btw). All interior birch was similar and nicely done, without knots and edging well matched. All painted interiors were done nicely, but regrettably, on the thee 42" tall glass cabinets with mullions, the middle hinges on the box sits right over the glass door mullion, so your shelf must go either above or below the hinge. This makes the shelves not all aligned with the mullions as most competitive cabinet manufacturers have, and aesthetically the way it is suppose to be. I had asked about this prior to order, and am displeased. I'm working with Elkay on a remedy: my suggestion is four $3 Blum hinges on each door side, thus permitting the glass door mullions and inside box shelves to line up with each other. I have two original built in mullion glass cabinets in my dining room and was trying to integrate the look in the kitchen with the connected dining room.

It's Elkay's satin paint finish I just marvel at: just a bit of sheen, no plastic offensive look or feel, and it's very durable and easy to keep clean. I love it!

I think either Ultracraft or Innermost are very nice choices. I just had a few important particulars that swayed me towards Innermost, one being their paint finish. You do have more space with frameless.

This post was edited by SparklingWater on Fri, May 2, 14 at 17:31

Shiloh also has frameless cabinets, I found them to be a great value (not least expensive, but get the most for your $$$).

This post was edited by mdln on Thu, May 1, 14 at 23:23

"I know Plywood is not worth the upgrade except for the sink base"

I think that depends on how you use your cabinets. I'd prefer as little MDF or "furniture board" as possible although I understand there's a price point that we all have to play in. There's no need to upgrade every cabinet but I think I'd want to upgrade more than just your sink base.
It's not easy sorting any of this especially with so many cabinet makers using imported plywood and not disclosing the origin of the wood.

cloud_swift, I am glad to hear your DeWils cabinets are going strong after 7yrs. It was one of your posts that made me check them out-turns out a shop in town had a display.
Sparklingwater, thanks for sharing your research and decision making process. I will go and look at the Ultracraft display again and talk to the KD about splitting wood. I haven't focused too much on the finish yet as I am going with a mid-wood tone stain. Will pay attention to the finish and see if i can tell a difference.
mdln, Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't checked out Shiloh because from what I understand the nearest dealer is an hr away. As an aside, I haven't come across any other cabinet maker that makes you fill out a form and give out contact details just to find a dealer! seems a weird business model to me but obviously works for them..
docsknotinn, I am interested to know what other cabinets you would suggest to upgrade to plywood-the pantry? the pots and pans drawer?
thanks!

Don't be misled by wood product vs wood product. What's more important is the individual quality of the product being used. High quality particleboard is better than flimsy quality plywood (we've had both).

And yes, sturdy drawer bottoms are critical. My now-ancient Kraftmaid frameless installed in 1990 have a 75-lb rating (plus I was careful not to go over the 32" wide limitation) per drawer. Who wants to worry about how many cans one is putting on a shelf, LOL.

Agree, was also annoyed by need to fill out a form to get names of dealers. Then found dealers closer by googling shiloh+names of cities/suburbs around me. Dealer told me they have not invested much in website development. As I thought about it, I prefer they spend capitol on product & manufacturing. I'd rather get inset cabinets at no additional charge, than have them develop a slick website.

This post was edited by mdln on Sat, May 3, 14 at 19:45