The first thing to do in the design process is to sit down with your architect and decide how to best layout your kitchen. The layout should include Whether you are remodeling or starting a new kitchen, the interview with the architect will help you decide what is the best way to utilitze your space.

I’ve been living in Dallas for over 25 years, and it has been an exciting journey to see our community become more and more observant in their Jewish traditions.  So much so that now we have three Kosher Restaurants, two Kosher meat super markets, Kosher bakeries, Kosher Country Clubs, Kosher hotels and more.  With the help of educating Rabbis we have learned more about our Jewish laws and customs.  And with the help of an architect we can put those laws and customs to practical use in our homes.

To design a kitchen following Jewish law there are several things that need to be taken into consideration.  There are the laws of Kashrut, of course, and the laws of Shabbat and Yom Tov.  The first thing as a designer that we do to ensure that the kitchen will meet our clients needs is to map out the layout.  Since a  Kosher kitchen typically needs two of everything, from sinks, to ovens to dish washers the size of the kitchen will dictate what all we can do.

The first thing we had to do was figure out a way to get her into the house.  She lived in a slightly sloped site which had two steps up to the doorway and the main floor was 6” above the porch.  We had to create a ramp and also keep water from draining into the house since the porch and the main floor would be on the same level.  Since steps already existed, and they had a large front yard, we were able to create a nice ramp out of stained concrete that worked with their landscape.

Once we were in the house there were two other barriers to remove: the kitchen and her bathroom.  The bathroom was not that difficult.  There was enough room for her to move around (typically 5’ turning diameter of area on the floor), but we had to enlarge the door to 32” for her mother to wheel herself in.  We added grab bars and a seat at the bathtub.  We also had to provide some grab bars at the toilet.  And we had to change the faucet and sink with one she could readily reach and wheel herself under.  We had some manufacturers that we recommended that would not be too expensive, yet make their bathroom a nice space.

In the kitchen, where we had the most challenges, we decided to spend a bit more money.  We could have left all the cabinets in place and just replaced the sink area where her mother could wheel herself under it.  But that would only solve half of the problem.  She would still need help reaching items above her reach range.  What we did was a part of the kitchen cabinets were replaced with a brand new type of system called “adjustable cabinets”.  With a push of a button, the entire upper cabinets were lowered for ease of reach, and then would go back up to their original position.  The sink was also changed as we did in the bathroom.  The appliances were left as is, but we might go back and replace them with easier to use and easier to reach products.  At the end of our transformation, both the client and her mother were happy with the result.

There are around 30 million Americans that are restricted by wheelchairs or walkers.  This causes challenges for them to move around in their own home.  The number of people with disabilities is expected to grow to 50 million by the year 2020.  Removing architectural barriers is one way to make it possible for people to feel a sense of independence and comfort while still living with their physical impediments.   Removing architectural barriers is a team effort, from the client, the architect, and the manufacturers that make the products.  This team has a long road ahead to remove all architectural barriers from our buildings, but we are definitely way on our way.