Kitchen Pantry Designs For Storage or Display

Your remodeled kitchen will not be very user friendly without a kitchen pantry for storage.  Pantries are growing in popularity, and in sophistication.  They are constantly being reinvented, and redesigned for multiple purposes.  Some pantries are used to keep things out of sight, while others are used as a display area.  Which you choose is strictly up to you, and is a matter of personal taste.  

Once upon a time, visitors would not even see the kitchen.  Those fortunate enough to stay for diner would sit at the table and the food would seem to just appear.  This was due to a space known as the butlers pantry.  Almost every kitchen at the beginning of the 20th century had a hallway separating the kitchen from the dining room in middle - class and upper - class homes.  In the butlers pantry, you could find serving pieces, tableware, glasses, dishes, linens, silverware, and even a sink.  This was the area from where the table was set, and where the dishes were cleaned and put away at the end of the evening.  

This type of kitchen pantry is making a comeback in a modified form.  They now tend to include a good amount of shelf space for platters and dishes.  They might also include a small sink from cleaning or a desk for menu planning.  In some cases, it is a stand - alone washing room that is complete with a dishwasher, full sink, trash compactor, and dish storage.  Modern pantries are now commonly situated just off of the kitchen rather than between the kitchen and dining area.  This goes along with the modern trend of people wanting more connection between the living and cooking areas, not less. 

Also gaining in popularity are food pantries.  This is what most people now commonly refer to as a pantry.  We all need a place to store canned and dry goods.  Some households need both upper cabinet space and pantry space for this storage.  The amount of food storage space you need depends on the size of the family, how much cooking is done in the house, how much food is being bought in bulk.

Walk - in pantries are a luxury, but do not have to be big.  A kitchen closet with shelves and drawers can hold as much as a large back of upper cabinets if designed properly.  If you do not currently have a pantry, you can convert an existing broom closet quite easily.  A sliding door wall closet can also be quickly transformed into a useful pantry.  Cabinet based solutions can be considered as well.  A full height set of cabinets can be fitted with vertical storage clots and pull out shelving for efficiency.

The key to a successful pantry design is organization.  It should not be a place to stash stuff.  It is easy for food items to get lost in a poorly organized pantry space.  Design the area so that it is easy to see everything, with an eye to the visibility of expiration dates.  And, try not to buy more than you can comfortably keep an eye on.

A kitchen pantry is a very useful and important part of any kitchen design.  It is impossible to design a functional kitchen without regard to where the food will be stored.  A poor design can lead to a disorganized closet of clutter where expired food can go unnoticed for years.  A well designed pantry will be as functional as it is aesthetically appealing.  When considering designs for your own pantry, design what you current kitchen does and does not have room for.  Then plan your pantry space to solve the problems that are inherent in your current kitchen design.