Last week we got the call: our cabinets are on the way. They’re scheduled to arrive on Monday the 26th, so we can finally set the installation in motion. That means we’re likely to have a functioning kitchen before the end of the year — a very welcome start to the new year.
When we first walked into Home Depot back in September, we already knew two things: we wanted white cabinets, and we wanted KraftMaid. White felt right for the aesthetic we had in mind, and KraftMaid came highly recommended by a friend who works for a home decorating magazine. They’re near the top of the price range at both Home Depot and Lowe’s, but our designer, Nancy Kulik CKD, agreed with the recommendation. Nancy’s point was practical: cabinets are a major expense no matter what you choose, so it makes sense to spend a little more for quality and durability. She even demonstrated the build quality by showing that a child could hang from one of the open doors without causing damage — that convinced us.
At first we were tempted by the idea of solid oak cabinets, picturing the richness of painted wood. Nancy quickly tempered that notion. If we wanted white solid wood, we’d be paying about a 15% upcharge for painted oak, and the painted finish would be more likely to chip and reveal the grain beneath. Instead, she recommended Thermofoil: a plastic coating baked onto the cabinet surface that resists wear for decades. Choosing Thermofoil also reduced our cost by roughly 15%. It felt odd to settle for a plastic-coated finish, but Thermofoil closely mimics painted oak, and the durability won us over. In time we’ll probably just praise how well our “painted” cabinets have held up.
With brand and finish decided, the next step was the door style. Early on both Sherry and I fell for a style called Bel Air — clean lines and a slightly modern feel. It was attractive, but a little pricier than some alternatives, so we kept looking. We discovered Monticello next: more traditional, with thicker grooves and rounded edges. It was a touch more ornate, and a bit less expensive. After seeing it in a display kitchen and liking the look, we initially decided on Monticello.
Bel Air …………………………………………. Monticello
Over time, though, we began to worry that Monticello felt too “horsy” — less subtle and timeless than the Bel Air. The in-store display looked slightly dated to us. When we explained our concerns to Nancy, she pointed out that switching back to Bel Air would only add a few hundred dollars to the total. In the context of the whole remodel, that modest increase made the decision easy.
So we returned to our original preference: Bel Air in, Monticello out.
All told, the cabinet selection process was more complicated than we expected, even though we thought we knew exactly what we wanted at the start. We’re hopeful that when our white Thermofoil KraftMaid Bel Air cabinets arrive next week, they’ll feel like the perfect choice. We can hardly wait to see them installed.
Images courtesy of KraftMaid