I am not familiar with Starmark, but in general, good particle board is better than cheap plywood. Brookhaven does make a high quality cabinet and many people have been happy with them. I have never heard of any problems due to the particle board construction used by Brookhaven.

Starmark makes a nice cabinet. It is equivalent in quality of construction to Brookhaven. Brookhaven's finish may be a tad better but I haven't seen starmark's in recent years. If you can get an all plywood cabinet and save money- why would you not? I don't harp on plywood, but if it were the same price, no one would choose particle board.

I purchased Starmark cabinets last year and have been pleased with the quality. Mine are white painted inset and are 3/4" plywood. We decided on Starmark after visiting a kitchen store that had just moved to a new location and didn't have all of their counters installed yet, so we were able to get a close look at the construction.

When you have two lines that have good reputations and are similarly priced, go with the one that has the best finishes. It's the doors and their finishes that will take the brunt of the wear in your home. And some lines just have OK finishes vs. WOW finishes. Starmark is known for being a good value, not their finishes. Brookhaven is known for having great finishes. It's most of the reason that their quote is higher.

Thanks for the helpful replies. It is so hard to make this decision - obviously we don't want to regret it.