IKEA high gloss. They don't flake.

We have white upper acrylic cabinets - looks (and cleans) like glass. You can get this look in many high-end brands (Pedini, Scolini, Poggenpohl, Alno, etc.). We have a mid-range brand (Bellmont 1900).

I've attached a picture.

Beautiful kitchen. You have the look I would like to acheive! Is acrylic all the way through the cabinets or is it a type of laminate?

I'm fairly certain the acrylic is laminated on. The website doesn't specify, and I didn't ask :-) (By the way, if you look at the Bellmont website, note that these are "Lustro" doors, which say something about Thermofoil, but that's a mistake. These are definitely NOT thermofoil, although Bellmont makes thermofoil doors too.)

Havent seen any like that in what is offered here in the midwest usa. The laminates look like outdated hospital cabinets. Odd colors and black piping along all the edges where they meet. I will have to search some more! Anything else to check out besides acrylic or ikea to get a modern look?

Leicht kitchens.
Many European manufacturers use melamine or a hard high gloss lacquer.

Have you looked at IKEA? They don't look like your old foil or rmelamine.

I like exactly the same type of cabinets! Most of the cabinets I looked at were lacquer or glass.

My understanding is that lacquer is done using multiple coats of paint, and the more coats you have the more durable it is. Some lines offer various levels of coating at different price points.

At all the showrooms I looked at, I found the glass cabinets showed less wear than lacquer, and I liked the look better. It's a little different look since the glass has a metal casing, so it's not quite as minimal looking around the edges. I wish I could show you a photo of ours, but they won't arrive until the end of the month.

This style is more popular in Europe, so you might have an easier time searching for European cabinet brands in your area. I looked at Alno, Boffi, Poggenpohl, Pedini, Leicht, Porcelanosa, and some others I can't remember. This website has a pretty comprehensive list of European kitchen companies:

http://www.european-kitchen-design.com/european-kitchen-brands

Here is a link that might be useful: European Kitchen Design - Brands

Does the lacquer make the paint job look better? That may be more of an option in my neck of the woods.

I agree with the Leicht suggestion. They do laminate exceptionally well and it's more affordable than many of the European lines. Also, you can get laminate that's white the whole way through, so there won't be any black lines.

Our kitchen will include Abet Laminati with exposed plywood edges. After seeing some high end kitchens in this style (such as Henrybuilt), we decided we liked the look.

With kids and a dog running through the house, we're hopeful that laminate is a durable choice. My KDs insist that paint gets chipped more easily than laminate is damaged.

Good luck!

We will have kids and dog running through too so durability matters to us too. But it also will be all out for every guest to see, so i would like it to look nice too. Geez...who knew it would be so difficult to find? The nieve part of me thinks that is what everyone wants! The closest leicht dealer is 2 1/2 hours away. *rchicago would you have any pics of the "all the way through" laminate to tide me over?

Anyone who has lived with laminate agree or disagree on durability of their cabinets? what are some brand names so I can find dealers in my area? It would seem like an laminate that goes all the way through would hide scratches/scuffs remarkably well.

Neonweb:

If you want color that goes all the way through, have your doors built of solid surface. They'll be expensive, but tougher than anything else and completely repairable, gloss or not.

Gloss can be done : with normal paint process which gets an 80 sheen, a fe brands offer other straight paint that goes to a higher sheen buy not as tough, then there are rubbed out film finishes (polyester or urethane)
Then there are sheet goods that come in hi gloss. Foils used in that application are not the same as what folks are familiar with for thermoforming. Cheap thermoforming is styrene, hi gloss applications use an acrylic foil.

Aside from glass there are several plastics used for surfaces. The edges are typically a vinyl edge band. The plastics used here are tougher than acrylic or hi pressure laminate (or solid surface).

Domestic brands with hi gloss options include QCCi, and NFP both in Pa canadi brands that have these include Luxor and Elmwood.

I linked to a list of 100+ European brands above. Many are available in the US.

My neighbor wanted Euro cabinets but ended up going with Crystal due to faster turnaround. They do a high gloss foil finish. I think they've held up well, but it's only been a couple years.

This is a photo of their high gloss foil:

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Princeton Cabinets & Cabinetry Crystal Cabinets

And this is their acrylic (edited, I mistyped laminate before):

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Princeton Cabinets & Cabinetry Crystal Cabinets

Here is a link that might be useful: Crystal Cabinets White Gloss

This post was edited by maxmillion on Wed, Nov 19, 14 at 0:08

I think there is more than one brand, but Formica makes ColorCore, which is white all the way through, so you would see a black line at the edges with the cabinet doors closed. But you still need to mount the laminate on something.

We're going with Baltic birch plywood, with exposed edges, but it's definitely not a look everyone would like.

I think glass is a wonderful product because it is so easy to clean, but it has to be in a frame. That crevice between glass and frame seems like a drip and spill grime collector that I am trying to avoid with slab fronts. I would like to have glass for the backsplash though.
I have thermofoil cabinets throughout the house I live in now. They looked great for about 5 years. Then the foil started failing like dominoes. I checked into replacing some of them but my pattern was discontinued. Will never do foil and would never indorse its use in anyone elses house
Acrylic is something I never knew about until this thread, so I will have to check into it some more.
Laminate I may have to give another chance. It seems not all laminate has the ugly black piping that screams cheap 70's furniture. I dont need color to go all the way through, but it did seem like cabinets like that would look new longer if the scratches were not a different color. Wonder if its possible to get different levels of gloss/matte finishes? The princeton cabinets seem so shiny that I would be blinded on a sunny day!
Wood cabinets I know I can get in my area and that seems to be what everyone has. Its too bad that i am going for a differnt look. The white painted ones I have seen do not have any gloss and look more "antique farmhouse" style than modern to me. I will have to see if lacquer is available and if it helps update the look.
You guys are giving me some great things to check into! Thanks!

Sorry, I mistyped. The second image I posted is acrylic, not laminate, from Crystal cabinets. Princeton must be the name of the local company that carries the Crystal line.

I'm confused -- do you want high gloss or just shinier than matte?

I dug up a photo I have of the glass cabinet front sample from when I was comparing colors. You can see the aluminum frame edge around it. It is a very smooth join. I don't think it will be a grime magnet, but I may be less sensitive to that than you.

Glass usually only comes in two finishes - regular (glossy) or etched.

There will be two story windows directly across from the cabinets, so too high of a gloss would be bad on sunny days. I think extreme gloss would also show scuffs more than glossy. I thought a less but still obvious gloss would be easy to clean and look modern. The three main goals are to have that many cabinets not feel oppressive because of volume and have it be easy to clean in a modern style.

Neonweb : Did u decide a brand can u please let us know, we are in the same boat and wanted to get your insight.
Thank you

Ikea has a new cabinet line that I would like to see what finishes are offered. It will be ikea or custom. The custom is lacquer over white paint. FYI: the cabinet guy said not to put a sealer over the lacquer or it will turn yellow over time.

Painted maple full overlay, not glossy but glossy enough if you have a lot of sun coming in. And probably a fraction what those European models cost.

Here is a newer pic of fridge area with pantry pullouts. Yes, we're "stuff on fridge" kind of people.

crcollins - I love your floor ... what is that?

We have a wall of acrylic cabinets. Quite happy with the way they turned out.

This post was edited by centaurs2 on Sat, Jan 31, 15 at 1:10

RChicago: "We're going with baltic birch plywood, with exposed edges"

Who is the manufacturer of your cabinets? Are they by Kerf by any chance? I assume you're done with your kitchen remodel, does the new kitchen live up to your expectation?

I'm in the Chicago area too, we're looking at Ikea, Leicht or maybe Kerf.

miruca: Sorry for the delay. Just saw your question. Our floors are select hickory, prefinished. We love them too - they are super hard, good for dogs! Thanks!