You don’t have to be a top-chef to have a fabulous kitchen. Just like everyone can be an acolyte to Marie Kondo’s Konmari method, you can also ‘change your life’ by redecorating. With the debut of the petite and soft-spoken guru’s eight-episode Netflix series, Tidying Up, it’s the perfect time to spruce up your kitchen because tidying up has never been more popular.

Designing the kitchen is not for the soft at heart. It takes much more than just choosing appliances, cabinets, and .countertop. It takes personality to choose the best kitchen paint colors and a bit of ingenuity to secure stuff that would complement the paint because a stylish and functional kitchen is a nice addition to every home. To help you get started, we’re providing a few tips for you:

Steps to upgrade your kitchen:

1. Update kitchen hardware and gadgetry.

“Kitchen hardware is so important because it’s the jewelry of the room,” says designer Tamara Eaton. Just as you take care in picking the right jewelry for every outfit you wear, choosing the right kitchen hardware and gadget require as much attention. If you’re a foodie, they are essentially the icing and sprinkles on your cake. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter if the cake is delicious, but if it isn’t frosted and dressed up enough, not many people like it.

Whether you use warm brass is “a timeless material” or steel, both hardware and kitchen gadgets should be kept smudge-free and dust-free. Adding artful accents can also make any functional kitchen look nice. Hang up a piece of art, or capture a decor win by taking an artistic approach to your cabinetry colors.

But no matter what material and gadget you choose to own, know that its impact will always be greater than the sum of its parts — so it’s important to choose something you really love.

2. Don’t overlook the spaces.

Spaces or surfaces require much more attention than you think. For most people, kitchens trend toward neutrality — but too much beige, white, or gray is a missed opportunity – either for geometric spaces, lively patterns, or a standout accent wall, which can make a kitchen feel more like home.

This design trick is the epitome of easy — no heavy-lifting, no new fixtures, just tiles, or paint (on a single wall!). And yet the result can breathe far greater life than any effort you’ll ever need to make to get it done. They can also coexist beautifully with solid surfaces which takes the edge off of modern kitchens.

Our advice: Invest in sealed-stone countertops and don’t overlook the kitchen ceiling as it can either absorb or reflect light back down — which is important for food preparation.” The lighter the hue, the easier it might be to see that onion you’re trying to chop.

3. Light up and grow your space.

Just because the kitchen is functional doesn’t mean that it should be overlooked in the design department. Make a statement with lighting and don’t let your kitchen’s lighting be an afterthought — as lighting it up not only helps fully illuminate the work area, but it can also help as a decorative focal point that encourages congregation.

Kitchens can be an instant gathering space so we suggest taking a cue from the living room. Paint your kitchen in exciting colors and tweaked inventive (and stylish!) items so it works for you. As blogger Denise Sabia of The Painted Home had said, “Don’t be afraid to alter items to make them work for your life, not the life you see on TV.”

Creating the picture-perfect kitchen can be a dream that takes much longer to achieve, but if you have chosen the best kitchen paint colors, to begin with, you could at least have enjoyed a lighter, brighter kitchen with the illusion of a bigger space. We believe they’re kind of the same thing.