Styling a kitchen might seem too much work because you think its only purpose is to serve for cooking and eating. But you should feel like a real chef when entering the room. The place you’re spending most of the time should reflect your personality, so why not try making it pleasant and fun while keeping some elements? Small details like cabinet doors are the ones that complete the look of your furniture. Luckily, you have the option of replacing and attaching new doors or painting them to achieve the look you want. Therefore, here are some tips for choosing the best doors for your kitchen.
Look for the aesthetic
Before choosing new doors for your counters, first, you should think about adapting them to the room aesthetic. If you don’t have one and need some inspiration, here are some kitchen design ideas:
- Traditional design. The usual pattern includes white tiles and paint, detailed appliances, handcrafted drawer pulls and polished hardwood floors.
- Beach layout. The colours are usually white and blue, with large windows to capture all the sunlight and a general fresh vibe.
- Modern design. Its characteristics are minimalist styling and high-end materials.
- Transitional kitchen. A mix of traditional and modern styles.
- Rustic aesthetic. Wood and stone as the main material features.
- Industrial kitchen. Brick, metal and wood as components of counters; made for open space.
- Shabby design. Old décor elements, floral patterns.
Replace old kitchen doors
If you already have an installed kitchen, but the counter doors are old or do not fit the rest of the room, you can choose to purchase replacement kitchen doors for any aesthetic. It’s convenient and cost-efficient instead of replacing entire units. If you’re not sure you’ll make the right decision, you can order a kitchen door sample of the model you’d like.
For traditional kitchens, you have a variety of styles to choose from, like:
- Solid oak (for the country and shaker-style kitchen)
- Painted wood
- Painted smooth shaker
Meanwhile, for modern kitchens, you can choose from:
- Matt acrylic
- Gloss acrylic
- Modern high gloss
All of these materials are high-end quality and affordable. Additionally, you can opt for handleless doors to complete the modern look. For these door types, you can add soft-closing or pull-out mechanisms.
Decide on a cabinet style
Beyond kitchen styles and materials, another helpful tip is to look into cabinet styles:
- Shaker cabinets. Versatile looks through their balanced modern-traditional style.
- Base cabinets. Classic and spacious, usually equipped with racks for dishes or shelves.
- Slab cabinets. Plain and easy to clean. Perfect for modern and industrial kitchens.
- Beadboard cabinets. Versatile and budget-friendly, you can customise these cabinets as you like while keeping the classic cottage-core style.
- Ready-to assemble cabinets. These are pre-made cabinets that are easy to set up anytime.
- Tall cabinets. Spacious and cost-effective, they’re perfect for big spaces.
- Custom cabinets. It is made for small spaces to take advantage of the kitchen’s capacity fully.
- Glass-front cabinets. Equipped with glass panels, practical for displaying dishes.
Choose qualitative materials
One of the most important features of cabinets is quality. Depending on your budget and how much you want to invest in your kitchen, here are some of the best materials to look at when purchasing kitchen doors:
- Melamine. It’s easy to clean and affordable.
- Polyester. High resistance and a variety of colour selections.
- Solid wood. It is durable, customizable and offers many natural hue options, from bamboo to maple wood.
- Wood veneers. Durable, easy to take care of.
- MDF (medium-density fibreboard). Stable, easy to repaint.
- High gloss thermofoil. Fade and warp-resistant, easy to clean.
- High-pressure laminate. More resistant to scratches.
Of course, you can have more materials in each door to give your kitchen a messier look. If you have kids, think of easy to clean and repaint materials. If you don’t want to change them regularly or think about fixing them, invest in solid wood or anything that will last.
Mix different materials and textures
After you’ve seen a few of the best materials for your kitchen doors, let’s talk about mixing with other textures. Your whole kitchen shouldn’t necessarily consist of only wood or steel appliances, and you can mix wood, stone and glass to create an original look.
Even if it sounds complicated, your doors are easily customizable. For example, you could try:
- Adding a glass panel to your cabinet. You can choose between clear, frosted or ribbed glass.
- Adding a cane webbing, preferably behind a glass panel.
- Using chalkboard paint. You can paint it on any surface (glass, metal, wood), and it will transform your panel into the perfect place to write your shopping list.
- Applying self-adhesive cork paper to transform your cabinet into a practical place for any recipes, photos or post-it notes.
- Changing your drawer pulls by either purchasing new ones or painting them in bright colours.
Budget kitchen doors
If you plan to change your kitchen doors and stick to a budget at the same time, we have the solution for you. Painting your cabinets is an affordable and easy-to-do option, especially since there are many colours on the market that you can choose from. The perfect paint for your kitchen should have specific qualities, such as durability, resistance to scratches and ease of cleaning.
Before applying the paint, make sure to check the wood’s condition in your cabinets. It’s better if you sand it down to eliminate any residue and ease the painting process and leave a smooth finish. Consider a primer undercoat as a base for the paint to stick on. Some of the best paint combinations for your kitchen are light mint and gold, purple and cream, and cherry wood with greige tones.
To conclude, there are many things you can change in your kitchen, starting from doors and finishing with a whole new aesthetic. Your options are limitless regarding your budget. You can purchase new kitchen doors and replace them or make a DIY project and be creative with mixing textures and materials.
