It’s amazing what you can hide behind doors when you have ample space. In Cortney’s opinion, she claims that one of the most vital parts of her pantry design was “plenty of cabinetry to store large platters, extra serve ware, extra dishes, tablecloths, and other hosting items that you might not always want out in the open.” Kitchen cabinets do not always have space to accommodate these needs, so ensuring a pantry has plenty of room is essential.
Must-Haves for a Functional and Purposeful Pantry, According to Designers
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Published: April 24, 2024
Updated: February 21, 2024
Though such a small detail in home design, pantries possess the power to make or break a home buying or leasing agreement. We often think about appliances, table space, and the overall appearance of a kitchen, but what is a kitchen without a functional and purposeful pantry? They go far beyond food storage, and having a space that is organized and clean can transform your family’s routine from one that is disheveled and unpredictable into one that is efficient and habitual.
Kitchens have various layouts, including those with a walk-in butler-style pantry, to those with a small closet or cabinetry. Whether it be through the use of baskets or optimal shelving, your pantry should be a reflection of how your kitchen is used. Venturing into the world of aesthetics, appliance placement, and even additional counter space, our readers and interior designers are here to spill the tea on the best and brightest pantry trends. Read on for all their best tips and tricks!
02 of Style Over Function
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Homeowner Kyle shares his opinion on his pantry renovation and that he “chose style over function. There are only two of us, so it’s not a problem. If we were a family, we would need function… The best piece of advice I have is to consider how you will use it.” If you’re someone who loves the aesthetic of a pantry with open shelving and limited storage opportunities, go for it! Your kitchen should work for you and reflect what’s important in your life, and style can be one of those things.
03 of Cohesive Dry Good Jars
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As dry goods storage can become cluttered quickly, an alternative to keeping your dry goods fresh and organized is opting for glass jars with cork lids with printed labels to designate what’s inside. Beans, pasta, rice, lentils, and baking ingredients are just a few of the items that can be stored inside, ensuring prolonged storage times and less clutter. Ultimately, they look gorgeous too!
04 of Pro Tip: Pull Out Drawers
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Our trusted interior designer, Ellen Matthews, provides her with two valuable cents and what she found meaningful for kitchen storage. “Pull-out drawers are a must-have to include while designing a new pantry. A game changer for deep shelves, drawers will transform dark, inaccessible caverns into organized and accessible storage spaces. Say goodbye to digging through piles of ingredients and hello to effortlessly finding that forgotten jar of spices or bag of pasta lurking at the back. These ingenious solutions keep smaller items like packets, condiments, and snacks neatly categorized, minimizing clutter and maximizing valuable shelf space.”
05 of Linen Cupboard
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Separate from pantry design, but equally important, is how you organize your linen closet. Towels, sheets, cotton swabs, toilet paper, and medicine are all items that can be stored in a linen closet. You can create the optimal balance of style and organization by using coordinated baskets and metal bins that keep the items folded and neat. If your linen closet stands in a hallway with limited door space, you can remove the cabinet doors, exposing your beautiful storage design and making access impeccably easy.
06 of Deep Drawers
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In a home with multiple children, snacks are a must. If you prefer to organize your little bags in storage compartments, deep pantry drawers are a big win because they can store a variety of packages of different sizes. Mom Emily could not overstate the importance of this feature, explaining, “For us, we need room for lunch packing supplies, a deep storage drawer for storing water bottles, bento boxes, and lunch bags.” This simple hack makes packing lunches for school so much easier.
07 of Deep and Tall Shelves
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The most wonderful aspect of this farmhouse-inspired pantry is the various shapes and sizes of the shelving. Shelving that wraps around the corner of the wall amplifies the space available for storing larger items like coffee makers, and mixers. Nothing is more frustrating than wanting to clear the space in your kitchen and not having an appropriate place to store counter appliances when necessary, so the varied heights of these shelves permit limitless product placement.
08 of Wrap Around Shelving
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Similar to the photograph above, this walk-in pantry has the same wrap-around shelves but without the dividers sectioning off designated cubbies. This design method begs for a bit of strategy in compartmentalizing your items, but it opens up more space and allows for greater freedom in designing your storage method. The matching clear jars are great for storing dry goods in bulk while maintaining a cohesive and organized look.
09 of Pro Tip: Purposeful Appliance Placement
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Interior designer Annuska Menoita shares her experience with one of the most overlooked details of pantry design: “When planning a pantry, maximizing storage is crucial. Consider utilizing cabinetry with pull-out drawers, such as magic corner cabinetry, to optimize space efficiently. Overlooked aspects often include planning for appliance placement within the pantry and thinking about the convenience of outlets. A well-designed pantry should align with the homeowner’s cooking preferences and habits, offering both functionality and organization.”
10 of Differentiated Baskets
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Baskets can solve so many dilemmas in navigating difficult organizational situations. The large cabinet doors replace a traditional walk-in pantry but offer the same storage capacity because of how each shelf is designed. With metal racks for horizontally storing cans and matching white baskets for organizing food by type, there are limitless opportunities behind these doors to create a functional and delightful cupboard.
11 of Styled Crates
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Taking a similar approach to the cupboards with white baskets, a corner pantry with wrap-around shelves and wooden crates embraces a similar organizational method but with a consistent theme. Separating the baskets by food type keeps the pantry looking fresh and simplified, while the large crates are ideal for storing larger items. Glass jars are equally satisfying as they display which foods need a refill and optimize food storage opportunities.
12 of Beverage Station
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Butler’s pantries are famous for their limitless possibilities and go beyond typical food and small appliance storage. A beverage fridge is a win-win if you love cold drinks but don’t necessarily want to allocate space in your refrigerator for them. You can use the additional electrical wiring to install a dishwasher or a microwave on the same outlet, killing two birds with one stone in this elevated home feature.
13 of Microwave Storage
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Reader Wendy explains the best part of her pantry is the “Microwave in the pantry for sure.” It may seem impossible to install a microwave in your pantry if you don’t have a form of butler’s pantry, but this custom cabinet proves that it is indeed plausible and efficient. Situated on two drawers above a wine cubby, the microwave is hidden out of sight but still easily accessible. A bonus of this pantry design is the spice racks installed on the back of the door for additional product placement.
14 of Pro Tip: Maximizing Designated Compartments
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Interior Designer Neha Kamal has a systematic process in place of pantry design. She shares, “When planning a new pantry, I prioritize functionality by meticulously designing shelf interiors with partitions and customized storage solutions. The key is to design the interiors of pantry shelves, drawers, and cabinets with thoughtful precision. Introduce interior partitions and groupings tailored to your specific needs. This ensures that every inch of space is optimized, preventing the inevitable clutter from accumulating over time. Secondly, consider incorporating customized storage solutions within drawers. For instance, create designated compartments for knives, spoons, and forks. This enhances the aesthetic appeal of your pantry and streamlines your daily routine by providing a dedicated space for each utensil.”
No doubt this excellent advice will help you as you dream about what to include in your pantry and how to maximize your storage possibilities. Clearly, the sky is the limit!
