Kitchen cabinet door styles: Weighing up your options

It can be hard to get your head around the myriad choices in kitchen door styles: colours, finishes, materials - there are seemingly endless choices in doors for your kitchen. Here are some tips to help you get it right.

Choices, choices. Kitchen doors are no exception when it comes to choosing a style. "The door style needs to be sympathetic with the style of your kitchen," says Paul Charlier of Tesrol Doors. "Luckily, any look can be achieved with the wide variety of designs, colours and finishes available."

Types of kitchen doors

Laminated cupboard doors - According to Paul, vacuum-formed doors are the most durable, due to the tough PVC foil heat-laminated to the surface. "Cleaning is easy and the face and edges are seamless," he says. "They also come in the widest range of colours and finishes, such as textured, matte, high-gloss and printed designs which simulate timber remarkably."

Glossy painted cabinet doors - Another popular style that is leading the latest kitchen door trends is the high-gloss look of polyurethane painted door styles in kitchens, which have a two-pak epoxy finish. "You've got free rein with colour choice, but timber-grain looks or textures aren't possible," Paul says. "They also tend to chip on the edges over time."

Painted kitchen cupboards - If your kitchen is French provincial or country style, then you may want to consider hand-painted doors. Most colours are achievable and offer different degrees of ageing and patina. On the downside, they tend to chip on door and drawer edges in time.

Aluminium cupboard doors - Aluminium-framed doors for the kitchen are another style possibility, with glass, laminate or painted inserts. "These are most popular as feature doors, although some trendy homes have them throughout," says Paul.

Timber doors - Solid timber and timber veneer door designs for kitchens are popular options too. But unlike other door styles, which are available in both flat-panel and routered designs, timber veneer doors are only available in flat-panel designs.

How to choose kitchen doors that are right for your home?

Doors for kitchens in modern, contemporary and classic styles tend to have more flat-panel designs with a minimum of routing. "Country and heritage kitchens generally have more intricate door designs with routered faces," Paul says.

To visualise particular door styles in your own kitchen, Paul recommends visiting as many showrooms as possible. "A door manufacturer will often recommend the best kitchen showrooms to visit for the style you're after," he explains. "Get swatch samples of colours from a manufacturer or borrow or purchase a sample door to take home and consider."

It's also a good idea to check that the manufacturer has a good range of accessories, like matching end panels, bar panels, capping and glazing. A final tip is to check the manufacturer's warranties on different products, as they can vary markedly.

To see different kitchen door styles in action, and what looks are possible in your own kitchen, find a kitchen furniture and fittings store in your area:

Photo: 'Softline' kitchen doors, courtesy of Tesrol Doors