Hi,

As a result of using a cheap vanity in the first floor bath, when it was pressed into server for the temp kitchen, it gave its life for us.

Instead of getting one of the evil orange's in stock cabinets, we ordered one from American Woodmark. Opening the box this morning, I got the idea to take "unboxing" photos like the kids do because I know its difficult to understand what's ok and what's not.

I am not endorsing or dissing the evil orange or American Woodmark. Its more trying to document what you get when you buy some types of inexpensive cabinetry. American Woodmark isn't the worst thing I've ever seen. I've annotated the photos with some of what to look for that's a bad sign.

It's virtues are that its all plywood and thick enough plywood and the thermofoil finish is well done. I'd have to touch it to know it wasn't painted. It's failing is the joint construction stinks. It cost a bit over $300.

This will be a vanity with very low use and able to be tied into two walls. It will not disintegrate from small leaks. I'm not looking for 20 years of use. It was better than any of orange's in stock vanities. We could afford it and I need this to be over more than I need a vanity for the ages..

So, in those senses, it might beat its $900 competitor vanity. I'll let you know in five years.

hth.

PS. People who are unhappy write more often than people who were satisfied.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Choosing who will make your cabinets may take you longer than any other single decision, and while it's frustrating not to be able to get a simple comparison chart of the top 5 brands, in the end you will have more confidence in your decision.

When you say sophisticated designs with some choices, what are you looking for? We lucked out because we looked at four or five semi-custom lines, and the one we liked the door style on the most was the most affordable.

Ours are made by Pacific Crest Industries, and the door style is Bellmont (their semicustom line) although the interiors of the cabinets are Amero (their lower price point line). We live in northern California, and the company is in Washington State. We have a nutmeg cherry finish that we like, and there were several other options.

Pacific Crest a family business, which is no guarantee in terms of the company's reliability, but they worked with us when we had damage to two cabinets that came in our main shipment. Many cabinet makers are only available in the region around them, and not nationally, which makes it hard to get information about them on the web. If you post a message like "looking for quality cabinets in Arizona" or Texas or whatever, you might get more specific suggestions.

There are people on these forums who will advise finding a local cabinetmaker to design and install custom cabinets. They claim it can be more affordable. It also should have the benefit that you can get exactly the door style that you want. We didn't look into it because I was worried about how long it would take to get the work done. My fear may have been unfounded, though!

You would not want a contractor to do this for you -- you'd want to find someone who does finish woodworking all the time, and can get you in to see some of their finished kitchens in customers' homes.

For the organization options, don't assume that you have to spec all that out before you order your cabinets -- it may be cheaper to order some things yourself. Check out Rev-a-Shelf. We put a lot of organization things into our drawers that would have cost at least twice as much if we had ordered them with our cabinets -- and they were *exactly* the same things. Trash pullout, knife drawer insert, bread drawer... spice racks, etc. Also, ask on here about specific needs, because there are a number of creative budget conscious people who share their ideas.

Finally -- welcome to the kitchen forum! Keep asking questions, and I guarantee you'll get plenty of help.

Best advice I can give you is: Go Shopping.

Come up with a layout design that is as close as possible to a final design. Doesn't have to be FINAL final but should definitely include all bells & whistles you want.

Then go around and look at as many cabinet showrooms as you can. Look at as many brands as you can. And get estimates based on your design. Most places are willing to do this for free especially when you have your design done. Most KDs will be willing to comment on your design and give you advice on what they might change.

Seeing the cabinets yourself and having numbers to compare based on the same design is IMO the best way to decide which cabinets will work best for you. Looking at a lot of different brands and hearing different KDs' opinions and sales pitch is a great education to help you make a good decision.

The design might (and probably will) change in the end, and you can make adjustments to lower price if needed, or to incorporate other changes, but keeping the same design for the shopping process is a very good way to make a price comparison.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: List of cab mfg & websites