b'Creating aHard-working ShowpieceMy kitchen is a modern reflection of the pastBY CARLA LABIANCA PHOTOGRAPHY BY AIMEE RYANM y husband and I are no different from mostpeople.Ineveryapartmentor homewevelivedin,wecompletely renovated the kitchenin our imagi-nations. In the fall of 2019, both of us nowinourmid-40s,wewerefinally ready to renovate for real. We hired a local architectural firm to help us put together a multi-year plan to restore our 1884 Victorian in Maplewood. We needed a lot more than just a kitchen. At some point in the houses life, a flipper got ahold of her, and now those renovations were start-ing to crack, quite literally: Two weeks into the Covid-19 shutdown, 50 pounds of plaster, lath, and shoddy sheetrock patches crashed down from our living room ceiling while we ate dinner in the next room. BOOM! But a few months into our planning, my husband, Gary, was di-agnosed with a motor neuron disease. We no longer had the luxury of time; everything had to be done now. We scrapped the multi-year plan and started over with our architects. If I had more than 1,500 words for this article, I would detail our complete renovation, which transformed every space in our home to be a pleasure to use on foot or in a wheelchair. I would include a bit about the extraordinary team that cleared their schedules and dedicated themselves to help-ing our family and to elegantly restoring our historic home. But this article is about playing the role of interior designer for our new kitchen. I can write about the rest another time. Allow me to set the stage. My design aesthetic is maximalist. Each time you enter our home, something different will catch your eyea new piece, something weve had forever, or something weve simply moved from one wall to another. Antique, vintage and new are all in the mix. Fashion provides a good analogy. Until fairly recently, decades were defined by a recognizable style. The Victorians donned cor-sets and celluloid collars. In the 1920s, folks showed some leg and partied in three-piece suits. Hippies protested in bell bottoms and macram. Thankfully we inhabit an era where fashion can take a cue from any decade or combine them all. I take the same approach to our home. The walls are not permanent exhibitions stuck in time, but slates that reflect our evolving tastes. Local interior stylist Sarah Gee, a good friend and fellow admin-istrator of our SOMa at Home Facebook group, is fond of saying, Curate, dont decorate. My Nanas antique tea cups look perfect with our Fishs Eddy melamine tray that features the Brooklyn sky-14/ matters magazine / hearth + home 2022'