After six years of living in her apartment with her boyfriend, interiors photographer, Jess Isaacs, decided to update her standard issue 90’s-style kitchen. Since she rents her home she didn’t want to undertake a full-scale remodel, but couldn’t stand having a room in her house be neglected for so long. Instead she decided to embrace its existing style and tweak it to make it a space she could truly love. Here are some details on how she realized her brand new pink kitchen in just two days.

On choosing pink paint

“I was trying to embrace the warm-toned cabinetry and bring it into 2019 with a monochromatic color scheme, so the pink color Wing It felt natural yet unexpected. Beige or white felt too boring and of a similar decade as its current design and anything more contrasted (green, blue) would’ve felt too busy.”

On picking a paint color

“It’s the perfect way to jumpstart your design process if you’re feeling stuck. I neglected my kitchen for years and was overwhelmed when thinking of all the possibilities for how to update it. Deciding on a color scheme can help immensely. Choose a paint color within that scheme and just paint your walls! That’s it. Everything else will fall into place naturally.”

On painting a rental

Talk to your landlord first. “We’re lucky to have an amazing landlord who trusts us. He has given us the blessing to paint in the past and was fine with it this time around.”

On the importance of editing your belongings

“I added a shelf for storage and display that didn’t compromise counter space. Then I decided that a neutral /monochromatic color palette was ideal for keeping things feeling streamlined and clean. That’s why I went with a wood that matched the cabinetry for the new knobs. When pairing down our belongings, I swapped out some old mismatched pieces for pieces that fit the color palette. We gained a lot of new cabinet space where I stashed the things that didn’t fit the palette and brought out the things that did to sit out on our new shelf. I donated a lot of stuff in the process (it’s amazing how little you really need in a functional kitchen).”

On the biggest change in the room

“The paint obviously! Changing out the knobs was probably the second biggest thing to change the look of the space. Then we paired down our belongings and vowed to never fill our kitchen with useless clutter. A kitchen should feel clean and minimal in my opinion. No one wants to tackle a new dinner recipe or do their holiday baking in a space cluttered with appliances, accessories, and cookbooks they never use that just trap crumbs and grime. Give me all the clean counter space!”

On doing a DIY paint job

“My mom shares my love of interior design and recently retired, so this was the perfect project for us to work on together. She spent the day helping me tape and prime, and it went on without a hitch.”

Related: Ready to add some color to yoru kitchen? Read our guide to kitchen cabinet colors next!