They say the kitchen is the heart of your home, and I agree. We spend so much time cooking, dining and socialising in our kitchens that we need them to be functional and practical but also inviting and attractive at the same time. It all sounds simple enough, but when it comes to designing from a blank canvass, the number of decisions to be made can be overwhelming for many people. There are so many factors to consider: lighting, kitchen cabinets, worktops, tiles or splash-backs, flooring, wall colours, appliances.. And, obviously, budget….. This post covers some of the pitfalls we’ve seen in the past that might help you if undertaking a kitchen renovation project of your own.

First and foremost, the kitchen cabinets will define your entire kitchen. But it’s not as simple as finding some doors you like the look of! With such a saturated market, you’ll here a lot of conflicting information about what you need and what the best options are. Your budget should be at the top of your priority list as this will help you to get the very best available option for what you can afford.

Let’s start with doors. If you are looking for a modern high gloss kitchen, you will come across a few options.The cheapest of these are generally PVC wrapped doors, also know as Vinyl wrapped, Foil wrapped or Laminate doors. These as the name suggests are made up of a thin layer of plastic or paper which is wrapped around an MDF base.

Some higher end manufacturers will use higher quality materials than others, but low and mid-range PVC wrapped doors are known to come away at the edges or peel due to the amount of heat and steam that is often generated in a kitchen so keep this in mind even if your budget is very tight. Its not unusual for some showrooms not to mention what doors are made of, especially when you’re on a budget so its useful to be able to recognise that PVC wrapped doors have a wavy and inconsistent reflection known as an ‘orange peel’ effect. Looking at the reflection of any bulb or light in the door will tell you whether the door is made from a vinyl wrap. Most high street stores sell a number of ranges of these kitchens, and while they might look great in a showroom, it can be difficult to know how long they will last in your home. Just to clarify, not all PVC doors are bad but cheap doors made from cheap material can be. There are some great manufacturers on the market that use a robust manufacturing practices that will ensure that your doors will withstand the wear and tear for a longer period of time.

Lacquered high gloss finish doors have a few layers of paint/lacquer that are applied to an MDF base. The process can be quite time consuming, however, the result is generally a high quality finish. The colour choices in lacquered/painted doors are aplenty, with some manufactures offering a very wide variety, including custom colours. The reflection of good quality high gloss lacquered doors are mirror like with a quality finish. The only real downside is that if the doors to chip or scratch you will require a specialist company to repair or use a DIY kit for small imperfections. The cost of the lacquered doors is considerably higher than laminate/vinyl wrapped kitchens.

High gloss acrylic doors typically provide an excellent balance between quality and cost. They offer a great finish and durability and affordable prices.

The costs do depend on a manufacturer, but acrylic doors are a good all around option because they provide mirror-like reflection, plenty of colour options and are very durable. Small scratches on an acrylic door can be repaired with scratch removers which are available on amazon.com – these, basically, contain a fine sandy paste which can be worked into the acrylic and then buffed to return the mirror finish. However, as an owner of an acrylic kitchen, I can personally vouch for the durability of Acrylic doors.

So, in this blog I’ve mainly covered high gloss kitchen cabinets. I will address other kitchen door options in my upcoming blog so if you are interested, please stay tuned. I will also cover worktops in a future blog so its often the second hardest decision a lot of people will face while choosing their kitchens! Until then, good luck with any kitchen project you’re about to undertake and if you have any questions, please ask: anna@eternalkitchen.co.uk