Planning the Perfect Kitchen Pantry

Planning a pantry you make think is no big deal. You may think it’s no problem in the design phase, but quickly realize there’s something wrong. Door swing or sliders, poorly designed racks and compartments, not enough space, bad lighting are just some of the mistakes that are easily avoided. Here are some things to think about when designing your pantry to make it perfect for your needs.

1. What type of door and which way will it open?

A major issue that comes up with planning a pantry is the door/access point. Any time there’s an option to save space for the door, I recommend doing so. Using a sliding barn door or pocket door gives more room to your pantry with less obstruction in your kitchen.

2. How will you access your storage/shelving?

Everybody thinks about maximizing the storage in the pantry. Having storage built from floor-to-ceiling. But if you don’t think about you’re going to get at the items on the top shelves, what good is it. If your pantry is large enough, have ladder on a sliding rail to access the items that are on the top shelves that you rarely use. You want to make sure to keep your everyday items easily accessible. If the pantry is smaller or you don’t like the concept of the ‘library ladder’, have a step ladder tucked away in the pantry for when you need it, but would want be considered for storage purposes when designing things.

3. Will the location of the pantry assist or obstruct traffic and cooking in the kitchen?

The pantry needs to be situated in a location that allows for easy access without obstructing the cooking process. If you have the pantry is positioned in a way that hinders flow in the kitchen, you could be walking farther to grab items or ingredients than you have to, which could hurt the meal you’re preparing. For that reason, the best location for the pantry is near the area where you’ll be preparing food the most.

Another thing to consider is the process of how you stock your pantry. A kitchen counter or island in proximity to the pantry will allow you to put your grocery or Costco bags down to organize the pantry accordingly.

4. How will the shelves be arranged?

As commenced in the 2nd question, you need to need to think about how you will be organizing the pantry in the design process. You want to have the most used items and ingredients easily accessible, generally at waist to shoulder height. You will want to ensure the shelves are not too deep and you view everything on them by organizing the larger items at the rear and smaller items at the front of the shelves. For the heavier, larger items, they can be stored on the bottom where the shelves or cubbies are typically larger and deeper.

5. What are your lighting requirements?

Lighting is more important in the pantry then people realize. Depending on the design of the home, your pantry may not have any natural light come in. The best way to ensure you have adequate lighting is to have efficient LED lighting. This can be done in the ceiling or for an aesthetic look strip lighting under shelves. The one thing to make sure is to have the light switch should be in an accessible spot from the doorway.

6. Is there any special features or design concepts that need to be implemented?

Special features of a pantry are very difficult to implement after the planning/design phase. You will want to think about anything and everything that you may want to use and/or store in there. Special features to consider are laundry and/or sink, pullout baskets for fruit and vegetables, tall and narrow cubbies for large serving ware, spice racks, wine rack/storage, beverage center, and small appliances.

7. Do you want any free wall space?

In a pantry, every square foot of real estate is critical to solve any storage concerns you may have. A pantry wall that has no shelves doesn’t mean is dead space. Whatever you do decide to do with the free space, the best rule of thumb is to keep it simple and tight to the wall. This could include hooks for utensils and aprons, calendars, artwork, cleaning supplies to be hung, grocery list area to just name a few.

8. Are there any larger items that will be in or stored in the pantry?

Are you thinking about putting appliances or laundry in your pantry? These types of appliances and cookware are best kept in the pantry instead of the kitchen mainly due to their size and ease of access to get them as they are not always used every day. Think about large uniformed cubbies or deeper shelves to accommodate the bigger items.