I have discussed the ordering process, packaging and the assembly process of Barker Cabinets the past couple of days. Today I am going to wrap up and share with you the final bits of info. We’re talking drawers and doors!
I had forgotten about the drawer boxes when I had placed the order. So, I was happy to see that they were wood with dovetail joints. The underside are predrilled for the drawer glide components. These pieces installed quickly and easily.
When you assemble the cabinet boxes, you install the Blum drawer glides at that time. To install the drawers you just push the drawer box into the opening until you hear a click. Simple!
Barker Cabinet has lots of different door styles. Because we are in an updated Ranch, I felt the doors should be simple. So, I went with the Shaker door style. It worked out in our favor, as it was the least expensive.
They have a lot of different style doors that would fit into a variety of home styles.
I ended up selecting the unfinished option. I was considering ordering them in white, but when I saw that the front face of the inside box was plastic, I just decided that I would paint them myself. I felt that that strip of plastic really devalued the cabinets. It felt like something you would find on an Ikea or low end cabinet.
Painting the cabinet faces have not been difficult, especially because the interior is clear coated. I didn’t tape it off, I just had a damp rag handy to wipe up any goof areas. I did take some steel wool after painting with primer, just to knock down any rough areas. It actually went really quickly.
To paint the doors, we are planning on using the Cricket paint gun. Stay tuned for the results!
The things I love about these cabinets:
- Easy to assemble
- All the hardware you need is included
- Soft close hardware.
- Cost
- Did I mention soft close hardware?
Want to know more about these cabinets and our experience? Check out the ordering process and about the receiving and assemby.
I feel like I need to say this, especially with my positive review. I have not been compensated for this review, nor did I receive a discount. The review is entirely my opinion!
I would love to hear from you! Have you considered RTA cabinets? What was your experience with different cabinet makers?
I think I too would paint them white myself, the plastic would really be a shame.
Yes, Bek, it’s too bad they don’t paint the cabinet face or find a better solution.
Thank you for such a great site and review. Can you please help me understand what you mean about plastic? Are there images of this?
Kathy,
I don’t have an actual photo to show you (my sample cabinet is long gone). But, if you Google Barker’s pre-painted cabinets, you should find a photo depicting the edge banding I am referring to. Instead of it being painted, it is a piece of “plastic” adhered to the front face of the cabinet boxes. You do not see this edge when the cabinet doors are shut, but see it when they are open. I hope that helps!
I love hearing reviews of products when people are compelled to write them without compensation. Not that the others are suspect, but the reviews are more heartfelt when it comes from personally using a product.
Missy, When I am researching a product I always check out the reviews. I think that is why I felt the need to clarify that I hadn’t been compensated.
Great post! Looking forward to your painting experience. We are in the process of ordering from them.
I would love to hear your experience after you receive your cabinets! Make sure to come back and update me! Did you end up going with unfinished too?
We ordered them unfinished also. Ordered them in Hard White Maple after reading maple is good for painting/durability. Only realized later that Hard Maple is difficult for painting and need lots of prep work unlike soft maple. They don’t allow changes after order has been made (only been 7 days that we placed an order which includes weekend). We couldn’t add factory finish option anymore either. Not sure about how difficult to add painting option (painting is at the end of the process). Anyway, we were the one who placed the order. So can’t complain much either. A reminder to those who wants to make order is “once you press the button, everything is final. No room for error”. But their response to emails are very prompt. Can’t wait to receive our cabinets!!
Make sure and come back when you receive them! I would love for you to post your photos on my Facebook page. I know I searched and searched for customer feedback and reviews when I was deciding whether or not to go with Barker.
Thanks for sharing your experience! Mine was a bit different. I needed to change a cabinet size and they did so without issue. I’m sure the difference was that they hadn’t started mine yet.
Good luck with your cabinets and please let me know how it goes!
Great blog!
We are in the process of updating our house and one area we looked at is the Kitchen. We had Home Depot come out and quote refacing our cabinets. At the tune of $17,000 we said “no” and are now looking for alternatives. I came across Barker and this website today and enjoyed your posts. Do you have any pics of the final install? What was the total cost of your cabinets? If you had to re-do this process are there any steps you would have done differently?
Thank you again for this blog. It has been very entertaining and informative.
Hi Chris,
Wow, I can’t believe a reface is $17K!!! Sometimes, I think Home Depot has marketed themselves well. We all assume they are the best price in town. You may want to talk to a kitchen and bath showroom. They are aware of what lines would fit in your budget and can try to customize it for you.
Now, if you don’t mind a little work in exchange for good quality, Barker may be the right match for you.
As far as the cost: we have a very large kitchen, three baths, a laundry room, office and a large span of cabinets for a homework station and we came in around $13K for unfinished. They are good solid boxes/doors. I did not even check how much prefinished would cost, because I knew I wanted a white kitchen.
If you are not working with an Interior Designer, I really recommend spending some time drawing out a layout and thinking through what will go where. There are a lot of customizations with the cabinets, so it gives you a lot of room for creativity. Barker does recommend a software program that has a free trial, but my experience with CAD, I found it to be counterintuitive, so stuck with what I knew. But, I don’t think others have the issue I seemed to have.
Some days I regret not getting prefinished, because the remodel has been such a long process. Right now our kitchen is complete, except for the doors. If we had gone with prefinished, they would be done. Painting them is on my list this coming weekend. So, make sure to check back. Once I am done, I know I will be happy I went with white, though.
Thanks for your questions. I’m sure they will help others. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck in your search!
I have been considering Barker…Can you tell me what type of wood you selected? and why? Love your suggestion for a ‘helper’ to review your design plans with cabinet order – that would be perfect!- pushing that ‘order’ button online is quite scary…
Hello,
Sorry for the late reply! We ordered the paint grade maple with MDF inset panels. From my understanding the MDF panels offer less contraction & expansion, which is a good thing when you are painting them! I have had cabinets in the past that have been solid wood & you get a separation where the panel meets the stiles and rails.
Good luck with your cabinet decisions!
Thanks for all of this great info! We’re getting ready to order an entire kitchen plus a few other cabinets for a powder room and entertainment center. I’ve been a little concerned that Barker hasn’t responded to an email inquiry and when I call it’s just a recording saying, “send us an email, we always respond right away.” The sour taste of them not communicating with customers forking out tens-of-thousands of dollars in disconcerting. I sent them another note today, will see if things get better. As a DIY guy I may need a little more TLC than a professional contractor but I’m getting the impression that Barker keeps there prices down by being invisible.
Anybody else have experiences with Barker they can share?
I actually had the same experience as you when I called, but when I emailed them I received a quick response. My guess is their preferred method of communication is email. Maybe try another email? I know my husband has awful reliability with his yahoo account; or maybe Barker is at the point of needing to hire additional staff to man the phone/email?
I do wish they had an option for people who need a bit more help with design and specs. I think most people would be willing to pay a small fee for the knowledge that the layout is one that will work. Just make sure to watch ALL of their photos & take notes on things such as end panels and reveals, because these are the details that really distinguishes a DIY project from a professional cabinet installer.
Our cabinets have worn extremely well. I’ve had kids hanging on the drawers, so I know that their drawer glides are strong!
I hope there are others here that have purchased who are willing to share their experience here.
Good luck and make sure to come back and share your ordering and install experience if you decide to go with Barker.
We just recently discovered Barker Cabinets and we are impressed! I am curious about the paint/finish you used. While I would like to have BC paint them, the cost just for painting (esp. windowed) cabinets seems to skyrocket. We too are worried about the plastic facing. I just want to make sure we can get a nice smooth finish if we do it ourselves.
Hi Scott,
I really wish Barker would find another solution for the cabinet face. It really cheapens the look and so many people are going with painted finishes anymore.
I debated as well, because I wanted the smooth factory finish that is impossible to get at home with a paintbrush/roller. I ended up using a Graco X7 paint sprayer. It did take some time because I didn’t have a large staging area and could only paint one side at a time, because the paint I used was a 24 hour dry time. I used Ace Hardware’s Cabinet Door & Trim Paint in Alkatex, color matched to the Benjamin Moore color I wanted. I started out with Benjamin Moore’s Advance Line, but did not like how it looked and covered. The Ace Hardware paint covered extremely well and I only had to do one coat after the primer coat. It laid down thick and very smoothly. I did have all of the doors laying horizontally…I didn’t want to end up with paint drip lines! This was what lead to the lack of staging space for painting.
If your up for a little labor (sanding was required after priming), I say go for it! We have been really happy with the paint finish on our cabinets and they have held up well with three kiddos. Come back and let me know how it goes!