Once you have made the decision to make changes to your kitchen you might be wondering exactly where to start on your project. What sort of questions should you be asking yourself? How do you choose the right colours and make sure everything matches? What makes the most practical options in a busy kitchen?

With all of these questions running around in your head you might be tempted to simply let a professional take over. But this won't save you money – so, read on for some answers to your questions. Hopefully they will give you the confidence to change your kitchen using replacement kitchen doors and worktops without having to resort to expensive designers.

Choose your door colour before your worktop

The fact is that replacing a cupboard door is much easier and cheaper than replacing your worktop. You don't want to make a mistake with either one. If you are replacing both, you should choose the colour door you want first and then look for a worktop to match.

There are many more door colours to choose from than there are worktops, so don't be restricted to just a few options by the colour or design of the worktop. Of course later on, if you choose to replace your doors and not your worktop, you will be slightly more restricted but at least you can stay within the same colour palette you originally liked.

Use contrasting colours

Just because you like the idea of a cream kitchen, it doesn't mean you should buy cream replacement doors, a cream worktop and top all of that off with cream tiles and cream flooring. You simply won't see anything for all the cream.

Adding contrasting colours will help each element stand out. You might opt for cream doors, a black worktop and red tiles. Why not use you imagination?

Try satin and speckled

Yes, it is true that high gloss kitchen doors are the height of fashion at the moment – but if you want practicality, they might not be suitable for you. Unfortunately, as nice as they look, high gloss options tend to show fingerprints and marks. This applies to worktops as well.

It is better to go for a satin finish door with a speckled worktop. This means that the inevitable crumbs on the worktop won't show and you won't be cleaning the doors on a daily basis.

Get a total picture for your project

Don't forget that you are replacing just one aspect of your kitchen – the doors. They will need to work in conjunction with what you already have in place. When choosing the right colours and materials always make sure they will fit in what you already have. There is no point in creating work for yourself by having to repaint or even re-tile to make it all work together.

Consider the light

When deciding on the colours and materials of your doors or worktops always take into account where your kitchen is. Is it on the shady side of the house, or is it bathed in sunlight all day? You should choose lighter colours for a dark kitchen.

Always get samples to ensure that the colours work in the room at all times of the day. Hold them up to the light and see how the colours change as the day wears on. The colours should also look good in the evening when you have just artificial light.

So, by now you should have a few ideas about how to make sure you choose the right colours for your kitchen project. Now you need to think about the design...