Hate your kitchen? Want to upgrade? Would love a designer kitchen but don't have the cash? Never fear, it is possible, believe it or not, to get a designer kitchen (or your kitchen looking designer) without having to sell one of your kidneys. There are a few tricks out there that can transform your kitchen from bleak and basic, into something much more suited to your style. If you are someone with champagne taste on a prosecco budget (or even a cheap white wine budget) then read on for my tips to get that designer kitchen for less!

If your kitchen cabinet carcasses are in good condition, did you know that you can actually just buy new cabinet doors for them, rather than an entire unit? Head down to your favourite designer kitchen company and inquire about some replacement doors. Be aware that unit doors can vary in size from one kitchen company to another, so take the measurements of your existing units and see if they sell doors the same size. Any decent builder or joiner can swap over your cabinet doors in your kitchen for you and add in new hinges for a few hundred pounds. I did this in the kitchen in my last house, and it was literally one of the best things I've ever done interior-wise. The whole kitchen looked brand new for little money and little effort. Once your new doors are on, take time to find a good quality eggshell paint that is the exact colour-match to your new doors, then paint in any visible carcass sides or bases to blend in with the new door fronts.

Alternatively, if you love a particular style of kitchen door, ask a qualified carpenter if they would replicate a version for your existing units.

A vast number of people are also purchasing 'hacked' doors and units, where a cheap, basic kitchen door is completely transformed and looks nothing like it did to begin with! Instead, it becomes a designer, bespoke piece. These units below are from Ikea and have been very cleverly re-designed into something completely different and much more beautiful:

Nothing says 'designer' or 'luxury' like material such as gold or marble! Gold and marble are also completely on-trend in interiors right now and won't be going away any time soon. Make your kitchen look designer and vastly more expensive by adding in a gold or marble splash back. For a beautiful patina get a brushed brass metal sheet cut to size. For something more polished and clean cut, try reflective gold acrylic mirror or use coloured cut Plastic Sheets to help you recreate a design in a more cost-effective way.

Rather than investing in real marble, there are a variety of large faux marble tiles out there that would create a great splash back.

Get the real deal without completely splashing out! Companies like the Used Kitchen Exchange offer you the chance to purchase your dream kitchen worth thousands at a fraction of the cost. An incredibly environmental concept, you can buy an ex-display or previously owned kitchen through them which can then be reconfigured for your own kitchen layout. Kitchens which are pretty much brand new can need to be removed for a whole host of reasons - from building work such as basement conversions and extensions, to new owners wanting something else when they move in. 

The price usually includes everything - from the appliances, oven, taps and extractor fan down to the handles. If you are hankering after a half-price Harvey Jones, or pleading after a Plain English, then check out the wide range of kitchens the Used kitchen Exchange currently have for sale here.

If you can only afford to do one thing - replace your worktop. The vast surface area your worktop covers means that it is such a prominent component to the make-up of your kitchen. You can get a new worktop for a few hundred quid (unless you want it made from marble or granite, of course.) This polished concrete worktop below would have been inexpensive, but looks completely designer and on-trend.  It is the first thing that draws your eye when you look at the picture. Paint in your existing units to compliment the new worktop.

Can't afford to do any major work on your kitchen? Draw the eye instead with beautiful designer kitchen accessories:

Exquisite toasters, kettles, ceramics and glassware will totally up the designer ante of your kitchen.

Have you done anything in your kitchen to take it to the next level? Let me know in the comments section below! Also, if you love seeing kitchen inspiration, why not follow my Kitchen Inspo Pinterest board?

* This post was written as part of a collaboration with Used Kitchen Exchange, a company I wholeheartedly support due to its re-use and recycle ethics. All thoughts, opinions and ideas in this post are my own.