scavolini vs. others

we're redoing our kitchen. Love scavolini, but not sure we can/should spend the dough. anyone love italian design but gone another way (NOT IKEA)? also interested in the industrial look. any suggestions?

I am going with Berloni, which, from what I can tell, is virtually indistinguishable from the high-end Italian/German manufacturers in terms of design and quality. I looked at Ikea cabinets, but there was something "not quite right" about them to me. For all I know, it could have been due to a poor installation at the showroom (loose knobs, wobbly hinges, doors that were not lined up perfectly, etc.) that turned me off. But then there was also the manic free-for-all environment that you had to deal with in order to grab the attention of an Ikea kitchen designer. And it just seemed like there was only so much you could do with their limited palette of dimensions, shapes, boxes, fittings, etc.

Berloni is not cheap, but I would say it is probably a smidge more than the highest end offered at Home Depot/Expo (Omega, etc.). What struck me about Berloni were the details- the fittings, hinges, glides, handles, etc. Very solid. Very heavy. Very clever (e.g., sink cabinet with a functional drawer under the sink). And supposedly, these cabinets are relatively simple to install/remove because they use a cleat/hanger system. Supposedly it only takes a day or so to install, so if you are not doing your own installation, you may save a few drakmas on installation.

I believe the URL is http://www.berloni.it .

I'm not sure if I'm much help, but one thing to consider is that the Kitchen seems to be the most renovated room in the house. So you really don't need to purchase cabinets that will alst 20 years, as odds are they'll be replaced anyways in 10.

Ikea's stuff isn't the longest lasting, but the key question is 'does it last long enough?'

I used scavolini for my kitchen - very happy with them so far - drawers feel more solid than ikea, blu motion hardware, aluminum edging adds a nice effect. you can see the before and after pics here of the kitchen...

http://www.livemodern.com/Members/vik1109/blog/051306