Stylish and Safe Kitchen for a Spunky Senior

During my first conversation with Rivka, it was clear this job would be a treat. Rivka is a spunky senior lady who recently became a widow and made aliya from Britain to be with her family. We had a small timeframe to renovate her apartment before she had to move in. In just 2.5 months, her beautiful new home in Israel was ready.

The job began a few months after the tragic October 7, 2023 masacre. Rivka wanted a bright, yet calm kitchen with a “happy” vibe.  She needed distinctly separate meat and milk sides. Safety was at the top of our list along with easy maintenance. She loves her kitchen table, which was brought over from Britain, and wanted to keep it in the space. Additionally, she knew she wanted “blue and white” as a hint to living in Israel.

That left us a relatively small, L shaped work area to meet all her requests.

As Rivka rarely cooks large meals these days, we chose two-two burner induction stove tops. Induction stovetops reduce the risk of burns as they only heat the cookware, not the stove surface. Furthermore, we chose burners with an automatic shut-off feature. This can be a lifesaver, preventing accidental fires or burns if left on too long.

It was also important to have well-insulated ovens to ensure their fronts don’t heat up. As Rivka is petite, both ovens were placed under the counters so she would not have to reach up to pull hot items out, a potentially dangerous situation.

The meat and milk sinks needed to be placed on either side of the corner area to ensure all electric appliances function properly. This also allowed for the required safe distance between the burners and sinks.

We even managed to fit a 50 cm wide pantry unit in the kitchen.

A bright and beautiful blue was chosen for the bottom cabinets and soft “Sahara” white was used for the upper cabinets and pantry. A seamless Caesar stone with a subtle pattern was chosen for the countertops and backsplash. There is only one small grout line near one of the sinks in the entire space. This provides very easy to clean surfaces that always look fresh. Beautiful knobs and handles that are comfortable-to-the-touch finish the space. Scroll down for more images.

Rivka’s testimonial to her lovely kitchen says it all:

"Tsivya Fox-Dobuler is an interior designer whose work is very professional. She is also a pleasure to work with. She listened to my needs and desires and provided good ideas and advice when I hired her to design my kitchen and oversee my apartment renovation. Tsivya offered important information concerning “little details” that made all the difference. She held my hand throughout the process and was friendly and kind. The end result is that I now have a lovely and functional kitchen and home. I am very happy to recommend Tsivya."

Rivka Segal