KITCHEN DESIGN IDEAS FOR YOUR PANTRY
The design and placement of your pantry is an important consideration in your kitchen design – aside from the fridge, the pantry is the most regularly accessed area of the kitchen, and not just during cooking but by multiple people throughout the day for food preparation. Paying attention to your pantry throughout the design stage could mean the difference between an efficient kitchen you love to use, or a daily battle to access what you need. Let’s check out some common pantry designs, layout options and different technology that will ensure you’re not only able to quickly and fluently access your items, but easily see what you have back there.
Walk-in Pantries and Sculleries
If you have the space for it, a walk-in butler’s pantry is a great functional kitchen design idea, allowing for food preparation and clean-up to be done out of sight. A butler’s pantry is effectively like having a secondary kitchen, allowing the main kitchen to operate as an entertaining space and for family to gather at the end of the day. A walk-in butler’s pantry (or scullery) will often be placed off to the side of the main kitchen, out of sight, and is common in large open plan kitchen and living areas. Generally, the walk-in pantry will have all the main ingredients of a standard kitchen, such as a fridge, dishwasher, a sink, food preparation area and of course plenty of storage for your pantry items, along with other appliances such as the toaster or coffeemaker. The obvious benefit to a walk-in pantry is the ability to keep the main kitchen clutter-free and looking glamorous as an entertainment zone, however this kitchen design layout can also mean you have segregated work areas and often means the scullery will be a distance away from the cooktop or oven.
Integrated or Concealed Pantries
If you’re after a modern or minimalist kitchen design, an integrated or concealed pantry might be the way to go. Seamlessly integrated into the cabinetry, pantry units are a highly practical choice to keep your kitchen looking sleek and effortless. Hafele have a large range of pull-out pantry units to choose from that will fit into almost any space, including corner units such as LeMans, or drawer systems that pull out and are a great space saver. The great advantage to a pull-out pantry is ease of access and visibility of your items – never again will you need to hunt around for that particular spice jar in the dark depths at the back of your pantry! Pantries can also be concealed behind pocket doors (or bi-fold doors), opening to out to reveal an extra work station where you can store your appliances that would otherwise sit on your kitchen benchtop, or utilise the recess as a coffee or tea-making zone complete with your favourite crockery.
Whatever the size of your kitchen, it’s important to consider the location and configuration of your pantry, how often you’ll need to access it, and how it fits in with the cooking zones of your kitchen layout. The Maker can assist with this and offer many other kitchen design ideas to simplify your everyday use, and create a space you love to cook in. Our showroom is open Monday through Saturday and has 7 fully functional kitchens comprising different design styles. To make a booking for a design consultation with one of our award-winning kitchen designers, give us a call today on 1300 270 000.
