With all of the television programs on re-purposing retro furniture, baking bread in pastel kitchens and creating a housewives dream of a kitchen which also meets the needs of a modern home, you may have decided that you would also like to get a 1950's feel in your kitchen. After all, it is all the rage! You can easily achieve this look and feel with replacement kitchen doors and for a great price.

The 1950's was a time of forward thinking in terms of kitchen design. Being just after the war, people had money to spend. And it was certainly tricky to encourage women back into the everyday life of cooking and caring for their families after they had been so involved in the war effort. It was a time of new gadgets, attractive coloured and fitted kitchens to entice women back into the kitchen – and it worked.

These days, men are just as likely to tie on an apron and cook the family meal, but that doesn't mean that the practical and design-led feeling of the 1950's doesn't have a place in their hearts too. Women seem to love this look and a raft of 50's inspired kitchen accessories are easily available for anyone to buy to create the look for themselves. So what do you need to do to get this look in no time?

Go pastel

Baby blues and pinks are ideal colours for a retro-feel kitchen. Either on the walls, tiles or floors and in combination with a white kitchen unit. Or you can always buy our Paintable Vinyl doors and create the exact colour you wish. Mint greens, soft lilacs and daisy yellows are also great options. In fact why not try out several colours together for an eclectic look which will really impress.

Checkerboards

Setting out your tiles in a checkerboard fashion will give you the feeling of an American diner and this can be replicated on your floor. A few shiny accessories like milkshake machines and mixers will set off the ambience even further. If you don't want black and white, a more muted light blue and white would be ideal with white replacement doors.

Handles

The addition of the right handle in your kitchen is crucial in creating the exact look you are searching for. For a retro kitchen you should be looking for cupped handles which are chunky and made of shiny chrome. They will really work well on a plain fronted door, but could also be used on any woodgrain, if you want a more traditional look.

A fitted look

Kitchen designers of the 1950's drew their inspiration and manufacturing capabilities from the plane building which occurred during the war. This mean that metal kitchens were all the rage. And they were riveted together in smooth lines and perfectly fitted to the shape of the kitchen. This was the first time fitted kitchens were routinely used. Nowadays we all have a fitted kitchen and wouldn't think of having metal cabinets. However the same streamlined approach can be easily created. Simply choose the replacement cabinet doors which suit your needs and use them on your current cabinets and hey, presto! Fitted kitchen in a matter of hours.

You might feel that a retro kitchen is perfect for your needs and that it will fit your personality. But that doesn't mean you need to skimp on quality, search high and low for examples from the era or spend a fortune. With replacement kitchen doors you can change your decade in a flash. Next year you could try the 1970's!