COOKING UP A GOOD TIME
Thanks to an inspired redo that made it perfect for its owner, a Ridgewood kitchen fulfills a social destiny as well as a culinary one. TEXT by MARISA SANDORA CARR
DESIGN by SHARON SHERMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY by MIKE VAN TASSELL
A for 15 years, but you know how it is with older homes: First they had to put in air conditioning, then replace the
NEW KITCHEN HAD BEEN ON RACHEL SCHAPIRO’S TO DO LIST
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windows, then paint and do a few other small projects. Finally, in 2021, it was time, and Schapiro was ready with a vision. “I wanted the kitchen to be more open to the rest of the house,” she remembers. “I wanted a big island, so that when I was cooking I could still be with people. And I wanted really good appliances because I love to cook.” Schapiro also knew what she didn’t want—an all-white kitchen, a design choice she felt was overdone. Enter Sharon Sherman of Thyme & Place Design in Wyckoff, who suggested Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore for the cabinets, which Schapiro thought would perfectly complement the eclectic style of the rest of the house, a Ridgewood colonial built in 1904. Schapiro didn’t want the typical subway tile backsplash either, so she chose an iridescent octagon ceramic tile that, depending on the light, changes color from silver to bluish. “I like how it is soothing and calm but a little bit different,” she says. Natural maple Designer Sharon Sherman opened up this Ridgewood kitchen by removing the wall that separated it from the living room, removing the drop ceiling and adding a large window to bring in more natural light. “Sharon is great about figuring out how to maximize space,” says homeowner Rachel Schapiro. “The footprint didn’t change, but it feels so much bigger now.”
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2/28/22 9:51 AM