When you decide to replace your kitchen doors it can be difficult to know where to start. What colours, designs, styles and materials should you choose? The number of options is often overwhelming and when you are spending hard-earned money, you need to be sure you are making the right choices. To avoid costly mistakes, the best thing is to do your homework, think carefully about it before you make a purchase and to take advantage of the tips and tricks adopted by the designers themselves.

Create a mood board

Spend some time flicking through magazines and brochures and pull out anything which catches your eye. It may not even be a kitchen but a colour or material which might be exactly what you are looking for. Lay the pictures out on the floor and group them together in different ways to see what style seems to catch your eye the most.

Once you have a style which seems right for you (made up from several different magazine pictures) attach them to a board and then start to gather the rest of your inspiration.

Get some samples

Now that you have a good idea of the range of colours, materials and styles which go well together you can start to send away for samples from your manufacturer. On our website you can order free colour samples of our all door finishes. Try several different colours from the range you have chosen.

Next you need to order a worktop sample (also for free from our website) to see how well it will work next to the colours you have. The simplicity of worktops makes it easy to find one which will fit with almost all colours. If all else fails a solid wood or a plain black worktop is always a good option.

Finally you may decide to order a sample door, just to be sure. This will cost £9.99 from our website, but is worthwhile if you really do not know whether the style and material will work with the colours you have chosen. Don't forget that your replacement kitchen door can be chosen from the website without having to buy a sample.

Your last addition to your mood board is paint samples, tile examples and even pictures of great accessories for your brand new kitchen.

Reassess your original plan

Now take a look at the mood board and shift things around. Look at how the colours work together, what materials work with each other and what additions you might like to make to get the perfect effect. Remember that this is a work in progress and you may find yourself making changes for several days before you settle on perfection.

All sound too hard?

Another option is to find the right kitchen in a magazine and set about copying it exactly. This method will be quicker and easier, but less original. Simply find the right replacement door on our website, add the same or similar worktop and you have a ready made designer kitchen.

Many of the kitchen designs in magazines are very expensive, but you will be surprised how close you can get with a replacement kitchen door. With the range of colours, styles and materials available on our website, you are bound to find something which will create the look on a fraction of the budget.

Your kitchen is likely to last you several years before you decide to change it for a new one, so spending a few days getting the style and colours just right is a worthwhile investment of time. Use magazines as an inspiration and see what your imagination can achieve.