Malene Barnett needed a new kitchen. The artist and activist, upon installing herLulu and Georgia wallpaper collection throughout her turn-of-the-century Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn brownstone, encountered as mall snag: Her refrigerator died, leading her to rethink the entire room—and the whole home.

Lewis created a truly custom kitchen—and found he wasn’t limited in the cabinet realm. 

“I really appreciated the simple way the Semihandmade panels married and matched the cabinet carcasses/boxes,” says Lewis. “There was wonderful flexibility of use on the larger panels to create customized moments in the kitchen.” 

The island and island cabinets (outfitted with Semihandmade Moss Slab cabinet doors) serve as a contrast to the darker areas of the space: Soft greens and blues add lightness. 

To both Lewis and Barnett, representing the Carribean was a step to creating a space representative of both of their backgrounds—Lewis is from Trinidad, Barnett is from Jamaica and St. Vincent. 

“The island is my favorite. Besides the color, it just reminds me of the Carribean, deep down in the ocean,” Barnett states. “I couldn’t have imagined the space looking like it is now, especially from what it was before.”