Designing your dream Kosher Kitchen PART ONE: Dealing with the kitchen you have!
When designing a kosher kitchen there is a lot more to plan than just creating one 'side’ of a kitchen and then recreating a mirror image – one for meat and one for diary. In this two-part article series let’s first take inventory on what you have and then in Part Two we’ll talk about my favourite design tips and tricks, taking into account all the kitchen “stuff” you have!
First take a look at the kitchen you have today and examine what you have, then how you move, manoeuvre and work in your present kitchen – even if the space is too small – you will be able to get a good idea of how your ideal kosher kitchen should be designed.
Inventory that kitchen!
The best place to start is to take an inventory of all the ‘kitchen stuff’ you have! Use the following lists to get a handle on what you have and what you may need. This is also a wonderful opportunity to throw out any items that are broken, no longer work or are rusted. This is also a great time to see what items you no longer use but are in good condition and help find new homes for these items. Simply print out this blog article and write down how many pieces you have of each item and inventory away!
I am not taking Pesach kitchen items into account in this article, as in the majority of kosher kitchens Pesach items are packed away during the year.
Pareve items are always a problem, especially since they usually don’t “stay” pareve for long. With this in mind, I created an empty Pareve table to help you catalogue these items as well.
Kitchen utensils:
Now let’s tackle bowls, pots, pans, baking dishes and more:
On-the-counter items:
Other kitchen stuff:
Dishes and more:
And then there's the PAREVE stuff!
Your Kosher Kitchen today!
Now let’s look at how you move, manoeuvre and work in your present kitchen. Look at this blank room design plan and place windows, doors, fridge, stove, sink and counters in the diagram.
Now think about how you manoeuvre around your kitchen and which locations in the kitchen are the heaviest traffic areas. On your diagram draw the paths you take from the fridge to the stove, from your sink to your stove and so on. Do you have enough space to work and manoeuvre? Are there wasted or underused areas in your kitchen? Creating this kitchen “map” will help you identify all the problem areas.
Take the time to complete the lists and understand how you utilize your kitchen, in order to give yourself and your interior designer a better undertanding of the best kosher kitchen for you and your needs!
Next week we’ll put your kitchen inventory and kitchen plan to good use when I share with you my favourite kitchen design tips! See you then!
Yael Diamond, Interior Designer and Project Manager, specializes in consulting, planning and designing private residences, elite apartments, offices, and public business. You can follow Yael on www.facebook.com/yaeldiamondesigns.
