The house I grew up in, my parents' house, has metal cabinets in the kitchen. All of the cabinets. In modern new homes, most kitchen cabinets are made of cheap wood products, including particle board. Which lasts longer? Well, if you're in a dry climate like the Arizona desert (as my parents are), the metal cabinets will last forever.

Would I use metal cabinets in my own kitchen? No way. The humidity and salt air would destroy them in a few short years. Even the cheap wood cabinets would last longer. When I had my cabinets built, I used solid wood pieces. In my climate, they'll last 40-50 years.

My parents' house was built in the 1950s. The metal cabinets that were installed are still there. Sometime in the early 70s, my mother covered them with contact paper. Later, still in the 70s, a brother-in-law laminated the outside of the cabinets with thin plywood, stained and varnished. They look real nice. The thing is, the metal cabinets are still there and they aren't corroded or anything. Not bad for more than 50 years of usage.