It’s a challenge she has had to solve for many of her clients in north-west London, where she has designed for several observant Jewish families. But keeping kosher within space restrictions is doable, she says, even for those with no room for two dishwashers and two fridges, let alone the luxury of two separate kitchens as she has encountered in the past.
“Keeping meat and milk separate and storing stuff for Pesach and other chagim can be done, as long as you plan your space to use every available centimetre in the most efficient way,” says the designer.
Cigal Kaplan created this kitchen with a curved-edge island to be child-friendly[Missing Credit]
As an active member of the community since arriving here in 2008, she learnt first-hand the special considerations of planning a Jewish kitchen while raising her own family: “The first thing is to measure, and that means including all pans including the tallest soup pan. It will need a extra-deep drawer to live in when it’s not in use.”
But without a good eye, all the space in the world won’t make even the largest kitchen beautiful as well as functional, says Cigal, who boasts wryly: “I have mastered the art of making two sinks and/or two dishwashers look classy.”
Where she believes she has an edge is her own experience of the rhythms of Jewish life. “Designing for Jewish clients means thinking about more than just the visual style of a room; it’s about understanding how the home will be used throughout the year – for weekly Shabbat dinners, large gatherings when hosting over the chagim as well as everyday entertaining. A table that can seat 12 to 16 is invariably part of the discussion, and we also look at where else in the house there may be space to entertain.”
There is also the importance of making room for menorahs and other ritual objects in a Jewish home. “Combining modernity with heritage features in a happy dialogue” is how she likes to put it.
Born on Kibbutz Yizre’el between Haifa and Kinneret and a graduate of London’s Chelsea School of Art and Design, the mother-of-two has become adroit at creating design solutions for young families: “Like bespoke joinery, which I have been able to spec with curved edges rather than corners to be more child-friendly, and pull-out towel racks in the under-stairs space which make the most of every centimetre of living space including the parts hidden from view.”
She is also an advocate of multiple layers of lighting, creating a different and more calming mood as afternoon segues into evening by adding floor and table lamps and later using them alone in a room already fitted with ceiling pendants and wall lights.
Well aware of the importance of making the use of every penny during a cost-of-living crisis, Cigal has introduced a “Designer for a Day” package that makes her services more affordable by limiting her involvement to a one-hour site visit followed by a four-hour meeting to discuss the recommendations she compiles into a report, including essential practicalities like choosing colours and sourcing materials in the discussion.
Cigal Kaplan's space-saving solution - a pull-out drying rack which can be folded back under the stairs[Missing Credit]
“Clients often try us out by asking us to do a living room or master bedroom to see how the collaboration goes, and then come back to us to do their whole home.”
With two daughters at JFS, she is also well aware of the extra constraints school holidays and religious ones can put on calling in the workmen: “We can plan renovation schedules around festivals so building work doesn’t fall over chagim and can be paused weekly for families who observe Shabbat.” The finished result should be pleasing to the eye as well as functional, she emphasises, but we should never forget that: “A Jewish home is shaped not by aesthetics or practicality alone but an emphasis on ritual, family life and hospitality.”
CIGAL KAPLAN’s TIPS FOR PLANNING A KOSHER KITCHEN
* The smaller the space, the more meticulous space planning must be – storage is an enormous consideration in a kosher kitchen.
* Plan how every cupboard will be used and consider multi-layered shelves within each of them.
* Plan space for at least one really deep drawer to hold a soup pot large enough to feed a holiday crowd over Pesach or other chagim.
* Measure all pots and pans ahead of commissioning joinery – this is as essential as planning the space inside a cupboard.
* A large kitchen can accommodate extra appliances, which make easier work of washing dishes after both meat meals and milk meals, especially at times when a single dishwasher is not fully loaded in between.
* Corners can be cut on appliances like hobs, where a less expensive choice will not affect the overall quality of the kitchen.
* Air-fryers can eliminate the need for an extra oven, and one or more refrigerated drawers can be a useful storage solution for a kitchen which does not have room for separate milk and meat fridges.
More information at Cigal Kaplan Interiors: cigalkaplaninteriors.com/
