Being fed up with Menards and Home Depot, their poorly made cabinets and their awful customer service, I finally started researching local cabinet makers and kitchen design centers with higher-quality, all-wood cabinetry. It’s worth a shot, though I fear I will fall in love with cabinets I can’t afford. TCN Cabinets visited the house today and has an “economical” line of inset cabinets that is exactly what I want. They are beautiful. There’s even a kitchen they did recently that has a very similar layout:

I am also looking forward to receiving an estimate from Amish Cabinets, which are hand made locally in a shop of about 15. That’s a step up from mass-produced, machine-assembled “furniture-grade” particleboard. But do we need to win the lottery to afford it? We’ll soon find out.