The old kitchen was kind of dark and heavy,” says Calderone. “I wanted to do something that was light and bright but still allowed me to be led by material.” She’s a proponent of open shelving and designing utilitarian spaces as you would other rooms in the house, so artwork and decorative ceramic vessels find their place among the tableware.”

So when it came to updating the rustic-meets-industrial kitchen in her midcentury Amagansett, New York, beach home, it was no surprise that she chose materials, furnishings, and accessories that—like Proust’s madeleines – would unlock the memories and unspoken narratives that fuel her creativity. It began with a graphic backsplash, floating shelf, and countertop of Calacatta Monet marble with subtle green-and-plum undertones that informed the palette for the rest of the room, from the Ash Grey paint by Farrow & Ball on the cabinetry to the antique lamp that resides at the end of the fluted-plaster kitchen island by Kamp Studios. “It was a continuation of the materiality study of the original iteration,” says Calderone, who took a DIY approach to the space. “I wanted it to feel elevated but still beachy.” Stainless steel appliances by JennAir adhere to the streamlined aesthetic, while 1970s woven rattan stools from Spain keep the vibe calm and collected.

The project spilled into the adjacent living room, where she chose to offset some of the darker, more masculine architectural elements with contrasting neutrals. “We’re all so inspired by what everyone else is doing; we put things in these little drawers in our minds and never know when one of those drawers is going to blow open,” she says of the design process.