Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Kraftmaid vs. Merillat cabinets

We are planning to remodel our 39 year old kitchen. We've gotten a cabinet layout and quote from Lowes for Kraftmaid maple cabinets, but I don't feel comfortable getting just one price. A local lumber yard carries Merillat cabinets. We had them in our previous house for 7 years (they were new when that house was built in 2001) and they seemed to have held up pretty good. But I'm not sure how they compare with Kraftmaid.

Would it be worth our time to go to the local store and get a quote for maple Merillat cabinets? Or do you think the price would be very comparable to Kraftmaid?

How do the 2 brands compare to each other - is one better than the other? Thanks.

Mark

PS: Any other brands to look at? I've not gone to Home Depot as I really do not like them but would be willing to if there was a better product or price.

Thanks for the input. Your background gives me confidence in what you say. I too do like the Kraftmaid. I'll have to go to HD (argh!) and at least talk with them. Unfortunately custom built cabinets would be out of our range. We're already pushing our $15k budget and may have to forgo Quartz counters for laminate (at least for a few years) but replacing the counters wouldn't be that bad a few years down the road.

Ask a lot of questions about how the cabinets are constructed and what materials are used. Make sure you are comparing "apples to apples" and not "apples to oranges". Good luck with your decision.

I have worked with both over the years, and both have quality lines. But I would avoid big box. Go thru a lumberyard or kitchen/bath supplier.

Things to look for in a quality cabinet:
1. plywood boxes
2. dovetail joints in drawers, no particle board or plastic.
3. solid frames on framed cabinets
4. semi or custom features, accessories.

How do cabinet prices generally compare between big box stores and lumberyard or a kitchen supplier?

For a kitchen you don't want to split hairs or quality, it will be there for a long time. If you plan on staying in the house for more than 5-7 yrs, buy the best, plan it carefully, and that won't come from big box. If you won't be in the house long, junk will do just fine.

So I assume that means big box stores are cheaper?

We plan on being here a long time but I don't have $40-50,000 budget like you see on those kitchen remodeling shows. My kitchen is 10' x 12' and we need to stay as close to $15,000 for flooring, cabinets, counters, sink, faucet and some minor demo work (which I will do). I might even install everything but the counters myself. No money for new appliances, except for a new microwave range hood as we only have a regular range hood now and want the microwave off the counter.