I would not rule out any brand.

I have Aristokraft in our master bath installed about 1.5 years ago. The cabinet is fine. I also know 2 people with it in their kitchens. Again no issues.

For our kitchen we chose Shenandoah as we would get more features for less cost.

It depends what you are looking for in a cabinet and your budget.

Most 14 year old cabinets DO look out of date. That's a fashion thing, not a function thing. They make perfectly fine cabinets for an entry level priced company. If you'd like to move up the ladder in quality, the rest of the stable is pretty nice too. I especially love Dynasty/Omega. They are truly top notch and have a luscious finish. They'll also do a custom paint color for only a 10% upcharge.

I've had Dynasty for 15 months now...no issues...love them!

I have Homecrest which is another brand of Masterbrand. They have held up very well for being 12 yrs old.

We had Aristokraft in our old kitchen - and I would not recommend them to anyone - they lasted maybe 5 years b/f beginning to fall apart.

We now have Omega Dynasty & some Omega Custom - love them! No issues so far. It's been just about 5 years since we installed them and there are no signs at all of wear & tear....what a difference!

What's the difference? The quality of the materials, the overall quality control, etc.

This post was edited by buehl on Thu, May 23, 13 at 1:29

Hi Folks - bumping this discussion for some additional advice on Masterbrand cabinets. Two main question:

1. we have one contractor estimate using Homecrest and 1 using Decora. I presume what what I read that Decora is a better quality. The contractor selling Homecrest also sells Omega but the size of our kitchen (# of cabinets) might put Omega out of range. Any opinions from pros or homeowners on HOmecrest or Decora?

2. I'm seeing more often that these brands are also being sold at big box stores. Are these falling in line with other products I've seen where the Home Depots / Lowes version is lower quality than what's coming from the manufacturer via a contractor? It's hard to sift through reviews of the cabinets as often the one's where people are screaming that they're falling apart I find were purchased at Home Depot/Lowes.

Thanks in advance for your help!