I don't know anything about Starmark but I love my Omega cabinets. We did not have one cabinet arrive damaged. The stain is even and beautiful and the construction is fabulous.

I should have added that omega was a dream to deal with, and yes we also had a couple of dings and a very expensive broken cabinet due to a negligent contractor install. Omega didn't care how it got broken...it was fixed (replaced after granite installed) by omega for no cost to me and they covered the extra workers fees as well who had to be on hand because of the difficult replacement.

We are interested in this comparison as well-- particularly between starmark and Omega Dynasty, which seems like a reasonable comparison. Here is what I know:

Both have lifetime warranties, although StarMark limits the warranty to 5 years on some finishes (Omega may as well but I have not investigated). StarMark's current promotions give you 3/4" plywood sides and shelves with 1/2" plywood tops and bottoms with no upcharge (I'm told this has been going on for a while), while omega dynasty has 1/2" plywood sides and 3/8" tops and bottoms (according to their web site). That latter point surprised me as I thought omega dynasty and custom lines had the same construction quality.

I guess I am book smart about these cabs, but I want to know more about people's experiences.

We have seen both in showrooms and both look great. We have seen Omega in homes (but not StarMark) and it looks gorgeous. StarMark is a smaller company, and the nearest dealer is in NJ, so few of the local contractors even know of them. But we are leaning in that direction because I can get a very sharp deal... And there is no sales tax on cabinets delivered from out of state.

StarMark was part of Masco, the KraftMaid parent company, but was sold to Norcraft (parent company of UltraCraft and Fieldstone) in 2002. I saw some old complaints (QC and customer service) on this forum about purchases from before that transaction but only positive statements about them since.

Any recent feedback that would help on this comparison?

We are looking at Omega Dynasty. Aren't they also semi-custom?

Both quotes are very similiar. (within a few hundred of each other - we haven't finalized everything 100%, so to me that's "the same")

A close friend of mine has Starmark and is really happy with it. People seem to rave about Omega.

Either way, its expensive - about $17,500 for cabinets.

NYSteve, my cabinets were just installed in the last month. I'm not sure where in NY you are but I'm assuming we are pretty close in locale. If you want to go to a dealer that sells Omega you can try R&S Cabinets in Pearl River. They have some set up and you can find out about pricing through them.

We did also look at a cabinet line by UltraCraft - we were not impressed. The doors did seem as sturdy and the stains did not seem as even as we wanted. But that wasn't the Starmark line so please take that with a grain of salt.

ptyles- We have been to R&S twice...Ray is one of the KDs that we like. In fact, he is revising his design based on feedback we gave him today. I hope his pricing ends up in line with StarMark because we really enjoy working with him and the cabinets seem great.

FWIW, UltraCraft seems comparable to KitchenCraft, another Master Brand cabinet (same parent company as Omega). Both UltraCraft and KitchenCraft seem a slight step below their higher end counterparts in terms of finish, but not a bad cabinet at all.

I placed my order with Starmark. The quality of the cabinets and all of the features that are standard really seemed impressive. I got the deal with the 3/4 sides and am happy about it. My KD thinks they are moving out their inventory of this stock so the deal really won't go on forever (it was scheduled to end at the end of the year). He also thinks it is overkill - that 1/2 is sufficient. Nonetheless, I like the additional strength.

I should be receiving the cabinets in the next week or two - and hopefully all goes well. I'll send an update when they arrive (can't wait).

saw50st8, Omega Dynasty is semi-custom like StarMark. I thought you were comparing Omega custom to StarMark.

I had StarMark painted inset cabinets installed about a month ago and have been pleased with the quality. The inset cabinets come with 3/4 ply standard and I had a free upgrade to 3/4 ply shelves. I had a hard time finding info about them prior to ordering, but I liked what I saw compared to other brands that I had looked at. I never saw Omega.

My cabinet order arrived with both doors on an upper cabinet broken, the cabinets were shipped to the dealer first, then he brought them to me so I don't know where the issue happened. The replacement doors were at my house within a couple of weeks. I had also emailed StarMark a question that I had about the cabinets prior to ordering and they responded back that same day.

nysteve, I'm in northern NJ and know there is a StarMark dealer in Northvale and another one in Wayne, but I know nothing about them. I worked with a dealer in NW NJ that I would not recommend.

Katsmah - are you familiar with a dealer in NJ called "Depot Direct Kitchens" on Rte 23 in Little Falls, NJ? Is that the one that you considered "in Wayne?". (They are very close to Willowbrook mall...)

I am a Starmark dealer in Northern California, I like their cabinets a lot. I would tend to place them somewhere between Dynasty and Omega. They are really close to being full custom, seldom do I try to do something that they will not build.

Years ago there were some quality issues but they cleaned up their act after being acquired by Norcraft. It is rare that I have any issues with a Starmark order and on those occasions when there is an issue they respond immediately, regardless of whose fault it is. They ship on time and complete.

Starmark and Fieldstone are the same line, just different names. The Fieldstone name goes back to a time when it was a separate custom division that was manufactured in a different location.

nysteve, yes, I went to Depot Direct twice. Didn't realize that they aren't in Wayne as they are so close to Willowbrook. It was actually a visit to the appliance store on the first floor shortly after they had moved to the new building that convinced me to buy StarMark - the cabinets were setup but most didn't have counters installed yet so we could see their construction. All of the dealers of various cabinet brands we had seen up to that point always had 'finished' displays that of course look nice.

We have Omega Dynasty and love them! If I ever do another kitchen, I will most likely use them again. We actually have a mix of Omega Dynasty & Omega Custom. We used Dynasty for the majority of our cabs and Custom for the few that were less expensive via the Custom line than modifying a Dynasty cabinet. That's one of the great things about Omega...most of the doors & finishes are in both lines so you can mix them up to get your best price.

BTW...I was surprised about the cabinets that didn't have to be ordered via Custom. Our oven cabinet is 31.5" wide and it was not Custom, it was Dynasty. For a semi-custom line, they do a lot of customizing!

Their customer service (CS) is superb! They overrode our "replacement KD" when she tried to deny us the correct extra shelves I had ordered... Omega CS took care of it for us when I explained the problem...including contacting the KD & sending out our shelves. (Our original KD left when EXPO Design Center closed and we were stuck dealing with Home Depot for the finishing touches. Hence our "replacement" KD!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Omega Dynasty, would love to hear your experience

If it helps at all, I had found this website with the catalogs of Starmark cabinets (look at the links on the bottom of the page). It is amazing to see just what they offer. I spent a lot of time with these printouts to make sure I understood what my KD was ordering. It might help you to look at the pages to determine if they already have what you are looking for - or if you really need a custom piece.

Here is a link that might be useful: Starmark Catalogs

nysteve, When you were pricing Starmark at DepotDirectKitchens,who was your KD or salesperson at the showroom? Were you satisfied with the design efforts on their part or did you arrive with your own plans? Can you recommend your Starmark salesperson at DepotDirectKitchens? I pretty much put kitchen planning "on hold" for awhile. However, I have narrowed my cabinet choices to a specific style and finish in each the Starmark, OmegaDynasty and Medallion lines. I haven't been on this site since October, but was so happy to find this dsicussion/thread when I returned. Are you any closer to a decision? How comparable were the DepotDirect prices to the discounts offered on the Starmark Catalog link above?(I found that site last summer, but at that time I didn't feel confident planning my own cabinet specifications) Any tips you can offer would be really appreciated.

Buy the Omega cabinets!! My experience with Starmark cabinets has been horrendous. We rec'd our order last month, Nov. 22. By the time we had opened the last box, I was in tears. Construction and materials quality are extremely poor. The stain and finish quality are the same. Some examples of poor construction qualtity are: use of wood in cabinet construction that has been wood puttied, use of wood that has been split in manufacture and then stapled and used anyway, use of wood that has obvious circular sanding marks up and down the cabinets, 5 staples on one interior side of a cabinet and 30 on the other, staples that were not seated properly and then flattened to the side (this on a cabinet with glass doors where it will be seen), deep gouges in the wood that has been stained and finshed over, I could go on and on. The finish issues included light stripes down the stiles of every door where insufficient stain was applied, white spots in stain, uneven obvious spray marks down the furniture finished ends of cabinets, bubbles in the finish. The largest cabinet we ordered has 4 doors where one diagonal pair of doors has dark stain with shiny finish and the other pair of doors has light stain with dull finish. It's rather obvious on the 39" cabinet. I could go on and would be happy to send photos to anyone interested. Our tale of customer care is just as poor quality. We sent pictures and comments Nov. 23 and have made numerous phone calls and have only heard back from an independent sales and marketing rep. They want to replace some of the cabinets but will not replace them all or refund our money despite the horrible quality of their mechandise and obvious lack of quality control. We bought Omega cabinets for another renovation a couple of years ago. They are beautiful and as we opened the Starmark cabinets I kept running to my Omega cabinets to compare. There is no comparison. The Omega are far and away superior! I wish I had ordered them again. We ordered the Starmark because they were on sale. Oh, woe is us. If I can ever manage to speak to someone of any signifigance at Starmark and can get a refund you can bet I will order the Omega cabinets.

Thanks everyone!

We've decided to go with the Omega.

We got the Starmark quote from Depot Direct. My husband gets an extra discount from them through his office. They haven't been so responsive though, and that alone makes a huge difference. Our friend is getting us a discount through her boss (an interior designer) with the Omega.

Sorry about the confusion with Omega vs Omega Dynasty.

And we think we settled on a granite - Costa Esmerelda! I'm excited that my husband and I are on the same page because its been really tough with granite so far. We both love this one.

Sorry I let this thread run cold ... my account actually vanished from GW!

Anyhow ... I'm very concerned by Joelle's posting -- it doesn't sound like anything I've heard recently about StarMark. Would you mind posting pictures, Joelle?

saw50st8 -- I also get a discount at DepotDirect. I haven't had a real issue with responsiveness yet, but then I haven't been doing that much.. yet. we'll see if they come through with the references that I was asking for.

~S

I am also concerned by Joelle's posting. I am a kitchen designer and I have been dealing with Starmark cabinets for the last 7 years and love, love, love, this line. They are a great company to deal with and whenever I have had a problem they are always quick to resolve it.
I work with a dealer in northern NJ called Inspiring Spaces, they are great to work with and the pricing is great.

I wouldn't be concerned by Joelle's post. She registered the day she posted to bash Starmark cabinets and never posted again.

I am also suspect of someone who posts "Oh, woe is us." A little too dramatic.

I don't know how Starmark compares against Omega as I have never seen Omega cabinets. I'm happy with the Starmark cabinets that I bought.

Katsma, I have to agree. I had already dismissed the feedback and still have StarMark on the short list.

I should probably let this drop, but it's bugging me. I was wondering who would actually sign in just to post a cabinet-bashing like that. A rogue Omega rep?

"A GardenWeb member who is considering StarMark Cabinetry brought this thread to my attention. I know GardenWeb restricts advertising, however, this post is in response to a GardenWeb member�s concern. Thank you Steve for pointing out this thread.

I don�t know the details of Joelle�s experience. However, this is what I can tell you about StarMark Cabinetry.

Our construction material and construction methods are the best in the industry. Of course, that doesn't mean much if our employees aren't using quality techniques and a high standard of care. However, at StarMark Cabinetry, I can tell you we combine the best material, construction methods and employee care. Our employees take a lot of pride in their work. Each one has the authority to pull a cabinet off the line if they think the cabinet is below our standards. Time after time, after dealers and builders have toured our plant, they always tell us how engaged and focused our employees are.

One way to evaluate our team's performance is an industry measurement called NCR - no charge replacements. This measures how many cabinets needed work after they were delivered. The industry average is between 3 and 4 percent. At StarMark, this measurement has been about 1 percent for the last several years.

What this measures is, out of $100 of cabinets that are shipped, $3-$4 worth need to be replaced. So our NCR of 1% means that out of $100 of cabinets shipped, $1 worth needs to be replaced. It doesn�t seem like much of a difference, but when you can�t close on your new home, or you�ve been eating out while you remodel, it makes a lot of difference in time, money and aggravation.

Another item that dealers and builders mention after they have toured our plant is how much hands on work is done. We use technology when appropriate for efficient production, but the human eye and the human hand will always do the best job when it comes to applying artisan touches to wood cabinetry. Hand sanding is still the best way to prepare wood to accept a finish, and that is what we do at StarMark.

The plant employees are an inspiration as they never settle for "good". They continuously raise the bar, reach it, and set it higher yet again.

I cannot speak to the customer service that Joelle received if she is referring to a dealer. Again, employees at StarMark take pride in their work and this includes fixing our mistakes and providing prompt, courteous service. I encourage any homeowner who is not happy with their StarMark Cabinetry to contact their dealer or me, Jennifer, at jthom@smihq.com. "

FWIW, I did forward the link to this thread to the StarMark customer service email from their website. Since I'm still considering them, I was curious how they would respond. I had a couple of emails with Jennifer and am personally comfortable that regardless of what did or didn't happen to Joelle, it's highly unlikely that I'd find myself in the same situation should I chose StarMark. At the very least, I appreciate that Jennifer would post her email address for folks to use if they should encounter problems with their order.

So StarMark stays on the short list (for me).

Hi, folks:

My wife and I are in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime home renovation. Our investment in new kitchen cabinets amounts to a couple of month�s income and the product is something we expect to be looking at for hours on end for the rest of our lives. So maybe you can understand why this might seem dramatic to us.

We�re not constant Internet watchers, so forgive us for not seeing and immediately responding to your posts.

Our reference point for judging acceptability of the issues we found with our cabinets was the repair kit that came with them � a brown filler crayon and a dark brown magic marker. If a flaw could be rendered visually acceptable using these materials then we would be inclined to accept the cabinet.

Before I go on, I need to add some details to the story. First, these are Brookwood cabinets, which as we were assured by a woman on the Starmark service line it are built in the same factory as Starmark but marketed exclusively by Direct Buy. Second, the cabinet designer from our Direct Buy club came to our house and looked through the entire order with us before making a replacement order. He agreed with our findings and pointed out other flaws we had missed.

So, now here is what we got with our cabinets, quoting from my wife�s original post and following with photos of most of the issues:

"use of wood in cabinet construction that has been wood puttied" In the photo you see the blotches that are some kind of filler. Wood grain is visible under the blotches. This is the front frame a base cabinet.

"use of wood that has been split in manufacture and then stapled and used anyway" This is the top of a wall cabinet, that in our house, will be visible from a stairway.

"use of wood that has obvious circular sanding marks up and down the cabinets" These might be hard to see in the photo after being resized here but not hard to see in person. The example here is a wall cabinet door stile.

"5 staples on one interior side of a cabinet and 30 on the other" OK, this is a bit of exaggeration; it was 5 and 13 staples. If 5 are enough, then some of 13 are a waste. If 13 are needed, then the side with only 5 is weak. Either way, this isn�t the sign of a well-controlled manufacturing process.

"staples that were not seated properly and then flattened to the side (this on a cabinet with glass doors where it will be seen)" Sure, these aren�t visible unless you look inside the cabinet frame but they do catch you fingers if you wipe down the inside of the cabinet. Unseated staples don�t give the strength they were intended for.

"deep gouges in the wood that has been stained and finshed over" This example is the furniture finished side of a wall cabinet at the sink, right at eye level.

"The finish issues included light stripes down the [beside the] stiles of every door where insufficient stain was applied." Virtually ever door on 14 cabinets were like this.

"white spots in stain" Most of the drawer fronts and some of the cabinet frames had these spots.

Here's a commone one that wasn't listed before- dark stain dribbles.

"The largest cabinet we ordered has 4 doors where one diagonal pair of doors has dark stain with shiny finish and the other pair of doors has light stain with dull finish. It's rather obvious on the 39" cabinet."

Then there was the cracked wood used on a filelr piece:

Oh, yes, there was also the gouge in the bottom of the sink base cabinet:

There you have it for Chapter 1.

Chapter 2

The replacement order arrived last week. Some of the flaws of the original order are gone � particularly the white spots and light stripes on the doors. However, there are still flaws. We have an appointment with the region�s independent representative that handles Brookwood/Starmark and personnel from our Direct Buy club for a group inspection of the entire replacement order. Meanwhile, the renovation of the kitechen progresses and a third replacement order of cabinets will be late to schedule.

Hope this helps others make an informed purchase decision.

The problem I have with the way this thread has gone is not Joelle or the StarMark rep. It's NYSteve's comment. He made an uncalled for and unfounded accusation against Omega by implying "Joelle" was an Omega cabinet rep...regardless of the "rogue".

If he had said merely that Joelle had a bad experience and was looking for an outlet or that she seemed to have a hidden agenda (which I am in no way implying), that would have been one thing. However, he pretty much came out and accused Omega of coming here and slamming the competition.

All cabinet companies have "lemons" and this may very well be a case of StarMark's lemon, but don't try to drag Omega down or try to dismiss or downplay Joelle just b/c you want to go with StarMark and don't want to hear any negatives.

Sometimes it's nice to be in the "one percent club," like being in the top one percent of hitting efficiency if you are a volleyball player.
In other cases, it's not good to be the rare "one percent". Like in Joelle's case.

Our plant seldom ships "lemons", but I can appreciate what a situation it creates if we do. I trust that the situation will be resolved by the employees assigned to it. Joelle, my apologies, and to all other homeowners, if you are not in the 99% who receive the cabinetry they wanted, let me know. jthom@smihq.com

BTW, StarMark is a custom cabinetry line. Previous posts identified StarMark as semi-custom.

I jumped online this evening specifically to check this forum for feedback on Starmark Cabinetry. I live in Morris County, NJ. Direct Depot Kitchens, located in Little Falls, NJ is about 15 minutes away from my home. Just this afternoon I went to Direct Depot to look at Starmark, and set up an appointment with a KD there for Tuesday. I just wanted to clarify for anyone who may be reading this thread that Direct Depot Kitchens is NOT a "shopping club". Also, it is my understanding that Starmark is a CUSTOM line rather than a semi-custom line. I am neither a cabinet company rep here to bash the competition nor an employee of Direct Depot Kitchens looking for sales; simply a *potential* Direct Depot Kitchens customer (depending on how things go on Tuesday). What I am hoping to accomplish is to copy as closely as possible a Plain and Fancy door style that I have fallen in love with at a price point lower than Plain and Fancy. I am also considering Mouser Cabinetry, which (IMHO) is relatively close to Plain and Fancy in quality and the quotes I have received on each are a mere few hundred dollars apart. To me, that is equal in price. If the quote for Starmark is not considerably less than Plain and Fancy, then they are off the table and my decision will have been made. FWIW, just thought I'd pass along this information regarding Direct Depot in the event anyone here is interested. (Now, if only I could win the lottery. Then it would be Crown Point Cabinets for me. Hands down! No question about it!)

Hello all, just an update on our cabinet issue. The Starmark representative came to look at our second round of cabinets on February 9th. My husband and I were present, the Starmark rep and a rep in training? also the manager from our local Direct Buy club. While the new cabinets were somewhat better than the first ones there were still plenty of issues. A lot of the issues were the same: sand marks, bubbles in the finish, scratches, cracks in the wood, gouges, staples not seated and bent over, mottled stain application. Some were new issues: dirt in the finish of virtually every door, dark stripes where the touch up marker was run down a sand through spot and not blended in. The Starmark rep had an excuse for everything such as the sand through marks on the cabinets themselves were actually where the grain was too tight to take the stain (On almost every cabinet? I don't think so). The number of staples and haphazard way they're put in has nothing to do with quality of the cabinet. And, I'll just have to be careful while cleaning the inside of the cabinets so the staples and splinters won't poke my fingers. Anyway, when he ran out of things to say he assured me that when I put them in my kitchen everything would "blend". Aargh. He told me we would hear from him by the next Tuesday, Feb. 15th. As of this morning Feb 21 I have still not heard from him. I have left 2 messages on his cell, one Thurs. and one Fri. In the meantime the finish date for the work in our kitchen gets closer.

I have contacted customer service at the Starmark 800 number. I was told by "Dee" that they were not customer service for the consumers but for the dealers. When I said "does that leave me up the creek without a paddle?" There was only a long silence on her end.

The other thing I've noticed since I am so focused on cabinets is that yes, my Omega cabinets have a few little defects, a couple of sand marks and a ding here and there but they were so few that they did blend in. This is not the case with my Starmark/Brookwood cabinets. My Omega cabinets also have their name several times in all the cabinets. Not the Direct Buy name which I believe is Signature but, Omega. There is no name in the Starmark cabinets, not Starmark or Brookwood. I wouldn't want claim them as my product either.

I wish you all a better cabinet buying experience than ours.

Hi all.

My Starmark cabinets arrived, and for the most part are great. We did have several doors that we returned due to clumping of the glaze, but our KD was happy to get them all fixed for us. I'm not sure what the difference is working with Direct Buy, but I'm sure glad we went with the local lumberyard after the other story. I'm wondering if you really got Starmark cabinets, as mine all have the Starmark logo on the doors. Here are a few pictures that you can judge for yourselves . . .

Thanks for sharing your pics. Even though we were told our cabinets came from Starmark they must be totally different. I believe I will show these pictures to the Starmark representative and our Direct Buy KD. Congratulations on your beautiful cabinets!

Thanks Joelle. Best of luck getting everything worked out.

I just wanted to say that when they called us to tell us that they were shipping our cabinets they identified themselves as Starmark cabinets. Also when the independent sales and marketing rep was here, he became angry with me when I interchanged the Starmark and Brookwood names. He told me not to call them Starmark cabinets. I'm not sure what's up with that but it must be something. Thanks again for the pics.

I hate dragging up an old thread like this, but I've only been sporadically in touch with GW. I recently saw thread again (thanks, google!). I felt bad that my post was construed as accusatory to Joelle, who obviously had real issues with her cabinets, or as a dis against Omega, which is a fine company. Especially after seeing Buehl's post, I decided that I should apologize, so I'm sorry if anyone was offended.

Ironically, we've been debating between Starmark and Omega for our kitchen all along, and are just about to put the deposit down on the Omega (Embassy) cabinets.

For what it's worth, the deciding factors for us were:
1) The Omega dealer is way more convenient and responsive than the StarMark dealer. We've had a hard time even getting out to the StarMark dealer to put in the final details on design... which suggests that if there is an issue, it will be that more difficult to resolve. The Omega dealer, on the other hand, is about 10 minutes from our house, is a small family owned operation, and will be happy to come on-site as needed should questions arise about the cabinets during installation. And he has worked with our contractor before.

2) The *finish* on the Omega cabinets was nicer. Specifically, we liked the Merlot stain in Omega better than the corresponding color in Omega. We found it to be a richer color. We'd have to get a glaze on top of the stain to get a comparable richness out of StarMark (which would add to the cost). This may not apply to any other colors -- but for this particular color, we felt that way.

3) Price. After all was said and done, the Omega cabinets were not more expensive. We thought they would be, but the local dealer worked for our business, and they ended up costing the same or slightly less. So maybe it's more accurate to say that when price became a nonfactor, we no longer had a reason to look beyond Omega.

Was quality a question? Not really. I believe that the cabinets are of comparable quality, in general. Joelle got incredibly unlucky. Maybe StarMark handles the DirectBuy/Brookwood line differently, maybe not. But the bigger question was: if there is a problem, which dealer is in a better position to help us, and we concluded that the local guy was.

For the curious: we ended up with the Anson door

Thanks to everyone on this forum who has helped us with all of the decisions that got us here.

Joelle, I hope your cabinet problems are resolved by now.

NYSteve - if you see this - what are your flooring and countertop choices? We are going with oak floors on the lighter end, and I like a good contrast - currently have a sample cherry Omega door in burgundy. I like the darker cherry stains with a bit of red tint, but I have a nagging fear that it is just a little too red. Woul love to hear how you decided on the Merlot - thanks!

I just had omega installed, and I felt the cabinets were perfect.
My installers pointed out a few small blemishes that I would of never noticed and made a list of things they felt were not up to par.

They were back in less than 2 weeks with replacement parts. And I am talking a drawer front that may of been 1/2 a shade different, a drawer handle, I am not kidding, that they mounted a 1/8 inch too far right so they replaced the drawer front, and a few smaller things. One thing about Omega, love em or hate em, they and my contractor have been great.

Elba1: we are going with natural oak floors- no stain, just poly. Nice and light. The granite counter will probably be a lighter color with some kind of rose or burgundy veining. We have a very big bay window in the kitchen and get plenty of light, so that will help. Not sure how we decided on merlot; we just love dark rich cherry look. Burgundy might have been too red for us, but of course YMMV.

Pricepall: your experience illustrates why we went with the local vendor who has worked with the contractor before. It just seemed that any problems would be more easily resolved.

Thanks NYSteve - hope you'll be posting pictures - sounds like a beautiful combo!

Joelle, we r DirectBuy members thinking about purchasing Brookwood cabinets ...have you ironed this situation out? Why dont your cabinets have Starmark on the inside? Is there a difference bw Starmark & Brookwood?

I do not know why Brookwood cabinets aren't marked either Starmark or Brookwood. Our cabinets were not marked with anything. The Starmark/Brookwood rep that finally came to our home told me to stop calling them Starmark cabinets when I used both Starmark and Brookwood to talk about them. When I asked him why, he said they weren't Starmark cabinets but Brookwood cabinets. When I asked if they came from a different manufacturer than Starmark, he assured me again that they came from the Starmark facility. Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to claim either set of cabinets sent to us if I were Starmark. Our issue was finally resolved in that Starmark and Direct Buy refunded our money in full. That was after my husband and I loaded all 25 cabinets and extra doors and hauled them back to the Direct Buy warehouse ourselves. It took 6 months from our 1st ordering date and an incredible amount of persistence to get our money back. Communication with Direct Buy was fair but our requests to be cc'd with their communications with Starmark went unheeded. Communication was just about nonexistent with Starmark. The rep did respond to e-mails when I finally got his address at the end of the affair. We then ordered Omega cabinets from a dealer our contractor recommended. They will be quartersawn oak with the solid doors. We just couldn't face Direct Buy again if there was another issue. The Omegas, even with the upgrade to quarter sawn oak, weren't that much more expensive than the Brookwoods with a little tweaking of our kitchen plan. Good Luck.

Joelle, good luck on your Omega purchase. FWIW, one of the contractors the we spoke with said that he would never do another kitchen where the cabinets came from DirectBuy. He didn't go into details but said that he put 99% of the blame on DirectBuy and not the manufacturer. He mentioned mismeasurements and mistakes in the ordering process which took forever to work out. Another contracor warned us to stay away from them. I'm sure each DirectBuy operation is different and there are good and bad people anywhere, but I heard this kind of thing often enough to stay away. Of course all of the measurement mistakes in the world don't account for what you experienced... So I am glad that you got your ,obey back,

Wow, this is an interesting thread. It sounds to me like those Brookwood cabinets are made of Starmark seconds - pieces that didn't make the cut for Starmark were assembled as Brookwood for Direct Buy. There is NO other way to explain such a consistent disaster. It's a really good thing you got your money back.

Are the real Starmark and Omega cabinets normally (not some special) made with 3/4" sides and shelves and 1/2" bottoms? Are they stapled together or mortised and tenoned?

Go to the Omega site to see the construction details. Most likely Starmark has something similar.

Here is a link that might be useful: Omega Construction Details

To be clear: My contractors said to stay away from Direct Buy, regardless of what brand cabinet we went with. They did not say to stay away from StarMark.

"Normal" StarMark construction is 1/2", like the Omega Dynasty/Embassy line, but StarMark has been running a special for about a year now where the 3/4" construction is a free upgrade... that makes their construction more like the Omega custom line.

When we started shopping, I fixated on differences like this. But I wonder if these differences matter all that much in a typical installation. Both manufacturers offer lifetime warranties regardless of whether you get the 1/2" or 3/4" versions.

Starmark's construction details are on their site too.

Here is a link that might be useful: StarMark Construction Details

Thanks for the links!

The cabinets in my original kitchen are made of solid 3/4" thick wood and they've lasted 70 years and gone through hell (literally), so I really don't want any thinner wood. The big difference is the weight (shipping / installation). But if you are installing heavy stone counters I can't imagine that 1/2" is very good for the long term. Also, as for drawers, 1/4" bottoms seem standard for many cabinet and drawer manufacturers, and I KNOW that is no good for heavy things like dishes. I have some 1/4" plywood and it is very flimsy - perfect for the back of an upholstered headboard, but I'd never use it to carry any weight.

You bring up many good questions, and that's why we are here and why we value our Kitchen Designers and dealers so highly. Your new kitchen is an investment that is very personal and important.

Ultimately it comes down to what fits your needs and wants and budget.

Both StarMark and Fieldstone offer a wide variety of cabinets to fit most homeowner needs. To clear up any confusion, StarMark adn Fieldstone drawers and roll trays are made from 3/4" birch on all four sides.

What a great thread. I appreciate all those who shared with pictures and comments. We all need to be educated. I would never buy from DirectBuy. Thank you Joelle for sharing the pictures. So glad Joelle that you got your money back. MissMuffet, thank you for sharing the pictures of your beautiful cabinets and letting us know the name Starmark is inside each drawer. Thank you NYSteve for coming back to post and let us know you ended up choosing Omega and why and showing us what you chose. Thank you everyone else for participating. I am in NJ so when I am ready again, I will be more educated and have some more stores to visit.

Susanlynn2012...why are you dredging up a very old post? It's from 2010 - almost 5 years ago. You don't even seem to have a question...

Please do not post on old threads. You knock people off the first page or two who need help today, not 5 years ago.

I'm sorry if I seem too blunt, but we've had a lot of people doing this since the Houzz merger - particularly pros pretending to be helpful while saying, "look at me! look at me! give me business!" It hurts those who need help now. (No, I'm not saying you're one of those pros - you've been around since 2006 on GW; but it is frustrating to open such an old thread to find it bumped to the top for no reason other than someone posted on it and, from what I can tell, for no real reason.)

Sorry.... I just can't seem to find where the Forum posts are on Houzz without getting an email back to click to see the forum posts. How do I find it if I just enter Houzz? I need to get some sleep. I thought this post was worthy of an update as it is on a topic I am interested in.

Thanks for bumping the thread Susanlynn.

Lots of interesting and relevant information on this thread about Starmark. Costco is now selling this cabinet brand under the name Tuscan Hills. Hopefully someone who has purchased through Depot Direct, mkfusa, or Costco recently will add more recent experiences with Starmark direct sales. There are reviews on Starmark through Costco here.