Worth it to upgrade kitchen cabinet material?

[origami]

My insurance is paying for new cabinets & countertops after my dishwasher destroyed my kitchen. The old cabinets were melamine so that's what insurance will pay to replace. I don't want to pay a ton of money b/c all of this was completely unexpected. But I also don't want to regret not taking this chance to get what I really want. The old cabinets were.... fine. I didn't love them though and they seemed to wear easily. could have been the brand or grade or something. I have no idea when they were originally bought.

Does anyone have nice melamine cabinets, or opinions on that material vs wood?

[dr.girlfriend]

I redid my kitchen with IKEA cabinets about 8 years ago (I assume they are melamine?), and I think I would have been better going with solid wood. I'm starting to see peeling, especially around the sink. At the time people said their kitchens held up well, and maybe 8 years is the best you can expect, but if I had the money I would definitely do solid wood and probably will next time.

[dancingirl21]

Is this a house you plan to be in long term? If you think you will move, I would do melamine again. If not, I would spend the money for real wood if you can. You’re essentially getting a new kitchen for only part of the cost so as much as it wasn’t in the plans, it might make sense to upgrade if you will stay.

[lessel]

I think the question about your plans to stay in the house is a good one.

Not all melamine cabinets are created equal too. That's basically just a type of veneer put on cabinet doors/boxes. The actual stuff of what the cabinet doors and boxes are made up of matters a lot too. We had cabinets that were plywood with veneer and they were really good quality. Felt like real wood--heavier weight, seemed to take a bit more of a beating and weather well. There are also cabinets with veneer that are made up of MDF or particle board that do not withstand as much wear and tear--and have bigger issues with heat/water/etc.

[bee20]

I'd prefer melamine because it's easier to clean and touchup. My first house had a ~10 year old ikea kitchen. A couple of spots the finish was peeling but it was easy enough to glue it back or touch it up with a whiteout pen. It was very wipeable and I liked it.

Current house has midgrade wood (I didn't pick it but it was brand new when we moved in), and after 10 years of pretty gentle use (no kids, no pets, I don't cook every night) there are many spots where the finish is wearing away and refinishing/restaining is much harder than touching up white. It's also a PITA to wipe down, we do an annual family recipe that involves oil and I dread it every year.

If you can upgrade to really nice wood, it might be worth it, but durability wise I think cheaper wood isn't going to be much better than melamine so go with the look you like.

[Susie]

It depends on how long you plan to stay.  My ideal is a very hard wood, like cherry, but I would not splurge for that if I didn't plan to stay long term.  I've already been burned once on springing for that (thankfully on a smaller scale, in a bathroom) and then selling the house.  I do plan to do that when we eventually do the kitchen in our current house though.

For shorter term, I wouldn't bother "upgrading" to anything that is only partly wood, like wood faces with particle board and faux wood veneer on the end panels.  If that costs more than melamine, I'd rather just have white melamine and embrace that look.

[lolalolalola]

We have laminate and I prefer it to real wood. Our last house had really crappy maple cabinets so not all wood is created equal.