Whether you love to cook, run a busy household where daily family meals are a must, or only cook occasionally for friends, a well-organized kitchen pantry is essential. A well-designed pantry is a key part of designing your kitchen storage. It helps to streamline your kitchen storage and support a busy lifestyle, so key ingredients and kitchen tools are always available when you need them. Not all pantries look alike, and each household’s needs are different, so it is important to explore the different options when designing a pantry that will fit your lifestyle, space, and preferences.
Why Pantry Storage is Essential in a Busy Kitchen
Modern kitchen designs must support multitasking to meet every family member’s needs including meal preparation, grocery storage, dining, and your family’s unique routines. This means you need a kitchen with an efficient layout, storage and workspaces that maximize your available space, and durable surfaces that stand up to daily use. Proper pantry storage is essential to this, as it can help to reduce countertop clutter, improve accessibility and organization of key ingredients and tools, and maximize kitchen efficiency. A thoughtfully designed pantry becomes the “command center” of your kitchen and supports everything from easy access to healthy snacks for the kids to cooking up your family’s favorite Saturday night dinners.
Assess Your Pantry Storage Needs
Before you get started on designing your new kitchen, including an efficient and stylish pantry, you must assess your individual needs. First, take an inventory of your lifestyle:
- Do you like to shop in bulk?
- Do you cook daily or only occasionally?
- What else do you need to store, like small appliances, gadgets, and holiday items?
- Do you prefer to have all ingredients close at hand, or are you happy to only have a few essential ingredients within arm’s reach and the rest in a separate pantry?
Look at who makes up your household and how many people live at home. Families with kids will have different requirements, including pantry storage needs, than single professionals or couples. Likewise, if you are designing for a very young family vs. designing for aging in place or a multi-generational household, your needs may differ.
Examine your household’s dietary and cooking habits. Who cooks, how many people cook, and how often? If your family members have special diets, you may need more storage for special ingredients or appliances.
Assess your available space for accommodating a pantry. Depending on your kitchen’s size and layout, your space may better suit built-in pantry cabinets or a walk-in or butler’s pantry.
- A small home may require built-in pantry cabinets if there is no space for a walk-in pantry.
- A compact kitchen that has another suitable space adjacent to the kitchen could add a walk-in or pantry closet, which takes the pressure off your main kitchen’s storage.
- Or a large kitchen in a spacious home may have the room for a butler’s pantry.
Types of Pantry Storage Solutions
Depending on your needs and preferences, there are several distinct types of pantry storage solutions. Your kitchen design professional can walk you through these options in more detail to help you find the perfect solution to your space and storage needs.
Built-In Pantry Cabinets
This option works in any size kitchen design but fits especially well in a more compact space where you don’t have room for a separate pantry. They can be full-height, pull-out, adjustable shelves, or incorporated into a cabinet wall. Be sure to organize ingredients you use most frequently in the most accessible space, while less frequently used items or surplus goods can be kept in higher cabinets. Deep drawers or adjustable shelves in pantry cabinets can also be used for small countertop appliances or other gadgets.
Pantry Closet
An enclosed pantry closet is typically located directly adjacent to the main kitchen layout or within the main layout. A reach-in pantry closet should include adjustable shelving for added flexibility to store groceries, paper goods, small appliances, and more. Pantry closets can be enhanced with added accessories like matching storage containers, storage baskets, mounted spice racks, and more.
Butler’s Pantry
A butler’s pantry traditionally functions as a transitional space between the kitchen and the dining area. It provides ample storage for grocery items plus additional storage for serve ware, dishes, small appliances, and all your entertaining essentials. They often incorporate counter space, cabinetry, and sometimes a sink, extra refrigerator, or dishwasher.
Designing Pantry Storage as Part of Your Kitchen Remodel
Pantry storage is an essential element of any well-organized, efficient, and stylish kitchen design. Make sure you incorporate pantry storage during the planning stages to get it right! Work with an experienced kitchen designer to allocate space for the right pantry type for your needs, and be sure to plan a pantry that optimizes traffic flow and accessibility.
Customize your pantry by adding specially designed shelving heights or adjustable shelves, drawer inserts, and pull outs with internal accessories to keep every item carefully organized. Design your pantry to suit specific needs such as a specialized baking station, a breakfast prep zone, a snack zone for the kids, or overflow storage for extra supplies. Choose custom cabinet styles and finishes so it blends with your kitchen design style to create a seamless aesthetic.
Smart Storage Accessories Let You Maximize Function
Just like your main kitchen design storage, a pantry benefits from customized, smart storage accessories so your space stays organized, clutter free, and ready to use when you need it. Include storage features such as:
- Pull-outs, rollout shelves, and drawers improve accessibility and visibility for ingredients and small items.
- Corner storage can be tricky, so include swing out shelves or a Lazy Susan for corner pantry cabinets.
- Door storage increases your pantry’s usability, so utilize doors for extra hanging organizers, spice racks, and more.
- Clear bins and labels help you to keep track of supplies, manage inventory, and quickly retrieve items you need.
- Built-in appliance garages provide easy-access space to tuck away mixers, toasters, blenders, coffee makers, or other countertop appliances inside your pantry space.
Aesthetic Considerations for a Pantry Design
Whether you go for cabinets or a separate walk-in style, your pantry is an integral part of your kitchen design. This means that your pantry becomes a stylish asset in your kitchen design, either blending seamlessly with surrounding cabinetry, or standing out in a contrasting finish or material. The choice is yours depending on your personal preferences!
Just like choosing your main kitchen cabinets, selecting pantry cabinets offers a wealth of opportunities to bring your kitchen design vision to life. Look at options for color and material choices and select the one that fits your home design aesthetic. You could go for light tones for a spacious, airy feel, wood for warmth, or dark shades for a sophisticated look.
You can also choose between open and closed storage for your pantry, or a combination of both. Open shelving offers a modern, airy look but must be carefully maintained and organized to avoid looking cluttered. Pantry storage enclosed behind cabinet doors or even frosted glass doors provides a cleaner, concealed style.
Extra Features That Elevate Pantry Storage
For a pantry that truly elevates your home life and makes time spent in the kitchen easier and more enjoyable, consider adding extra features like the following.
- Lighting is essential throughout your kitchen and the pantry is no exception. Go for LED strip lighting, motion sensor lights, or under shelf lights to enhance visibility.
- Ventilation helps prevent moisture buildup, especially in enclosed pantries.
- Power outlets enable you to include out of the way charging stations or to use appliances inside the pantry, particularly in a walk-in or butler’s pantry.
- Tech integration is ever present in our lives, and a pantry can benefit from smart inventory systems that allow you to easily track stock levels in your pantry.
Let’s Design a Pantry That Elevates Your Kitchen Design
Are you planning a kitchen remodel this year? Make sure you include a customized pantry with specialized storage solutions to support your busy kitchen. By examining your pantry needs at the kitchen design planning stage, you can create a space that balances style and functionality and gives you storage exactly where you need it.
Go beyond basic shelving and create a customized pantry design to support an organized and efficient lifestyle. Visit McDaniels Kitchen and Bath’s Lansing showroom to view styles and practical solutions for an ideal pantry design. Then contact our team to discuss all your kitchen design needs and to start planning.