Efficient Pantry Layout

4 years ago

We are currently building our home and I have a smaller walk in pantry. I want to make my pantry as efficient as possible. Does anyone have any ideas on a layout for this pantry? i.e. shelf heights, cabinets...

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Patricia Colwell Consulting

4 years ago

An in swing door limits storage in an already small pantry . I actually dislike walk in pantries I find they use up space for poor storage I much prefer true pullout pantries for all kinds of storage including small appliances . Unless you have a walk in set up with counters, electrical storage of appliances is just a pain. At 4.5’ wide you really only have room for a shallow shelf along one side and across the back the rest is needed for walk space. I usually do a wall of pullouts , fridge and maybe even wall ovens depending on the kitchen

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Comments (20)

auntthelma
4 years ago
Do you need the door? I’d go without.
Ashley Bowman
Original Author
4 years ago
I really do want to keep a door so I can close it when company comes over.
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It's not a crazy idea at all! We moved into a bungalow which had a pantry and I loved it. Unfortunately, it had to go to make room for our bathroom when we renovated. I would have loved one in our new kitchen extension but due to layout & window / door placement it wasn't really possible. If you can fit one in, I'd definitely go for it.
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I'm sorry I haven't got any pictures at present as it's just in the planning stages. It's currently just a wall and an imagination haha. How much space will you have for yours? I'm looking at something like this for the inside set up so there's some worksurface strong enough for microwave/toasted etc and not just shelves.
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Wow thank you all so much for your comments and inputs. I should have mentioned before that we are also planning on blocking up the door from hall into the kitchen which will allow for more kitchen cupboards and work surfaces once the wall has come down. I have mocked up two versions of the kitchen on a design website; one with and one without the pantry. Would love to hear your thoughts (please ignore the colours, I have found that feature of the website particularly temperamental!) More details on the pantry: we think it is single walled and therefore pretty cold in there, it also gets wider towards the back (70cm) and slopes down. At one point we were hoping to stack the tumble dryer on top of the washing machine in there however the door and front of the pantry is slightly too narrow (55cm wide). Again, thanks for your comments.
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Beth. First thoughts would be to use the study as a Utility as there must be plumbing close by in the W.C Secondly, that is a beautiful big spacious room. Do you really want to cut it up for a walk in pantry? We renovated our house a few years ago and got rid of the walk in pantry so as to have a larger kitchen. It was a constant drag when cooking to have to go in there and find things. I honestly prefer tall order units with drawers for jars, tins, rice, pasta etc as they are so much easier to store and access. I want all my herbs and spices and oils right next to me when I am cooking not in a different room. Getting rid of the pantry was a blessing for us. I think you could extend the units on both walls up to where the windows are and then have a much larger island orientated in the other direction. Can you ever have too much workspace in a kitchen? Good luck
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cevamal
4 years ago
Most important: what are you planning to store there? Canned goods? Boxes of cereal? Small appliances? Not-so-small (instant pot, stand mixer) appliances?

I have several different pantry spaces and my favorite for canned goods are very shallow shelves that only go two cans deep.

In your space I would be looking at a combination of deeper shelves for larger items and a section of shallow shelves at and around eye level for canned goods.

I very much prefer solid shelves over wire.
Ashley Bowman
Original Author
4 years ago
Yes exactly you hit the nail on the head.... canned goods, snacks, instapot..etc. I just didn't know if there was good layout of the shelves depth and heights to be efficient with the space.
cevamal
4 years ago
Measure your instant pot! I have the 8 qt and that thing is huuuuuge. I had two different cabinets I thought I would keep it in and it was too deep for one and wouldn't fit through the door (!) of the other.

I found another solution but that's one to definitely be aware of.

I know I'm not answering your question, but it's because I don't have an answer. Hoping someone else will!
Carole Cupp
4 years ago
I have a new house with an identical pantry except for having wire shelving. this is what I did. I also have a ton of cabinets so am in the process of converting the area behind the door to a sewing/craft area. I also painted the inside door panels with chalk paint for my shopping list which I then take a picture of when I go shopping .. skip the extra step of writing down a list. game changer. I am also in the process of making labels since my engineer husband can't seem to figure out what the contents of the totes are. big appliances go on the bottom shelf.
PRO
Cadaxx Design
4 years ago
first, I'd move the door to one side so you can maximize the space on the opposite side; consider a sliding or pocket door?.

See some photos for ideas on how to put shelves in. Hope this helps!
felizlady
4 years ago
Depending upon your budget, you could have custom-built cabinetry, drawers and shelving, ready-made shelving, or even rolling steel open shelving units you can find at Costco or Home Depot. The purpose of a pantry is to store things that you don’t need in the kitchen all the time: large pots, extra dishes, trays, big serving pieces, bulk supplies, party goods and paper goods, extra linens. You could have your baking supplies and mixer in there. You could keep the vacuum and cleaning supplies in there.
Carole Cupp
4 years ago
Actually, the door is on the side and swings to the INSIDE. We opted to leave it that way as there is no visible hardware when the door is closed, and it just has cleaner lines that way. I think that the best use of a pantry is one that allows you to have the kitchen and pantry set up so that it functions best for you. It really is a personal preference.
jankanflan
4 years ago
Like the idea of pocket door or barn door style to maximize storage. yes, measure everything to see what you want to store. I like drawers for over storage, due to “old knees” and keeps it more orderly
jbtanyderi
4 years ago
Use a pocket door.
Laura Evers
4 years ago
Agree to loose the door or use pocket door or barn stile door. Then do shelves on only 2 walls and then hanging organization on other wall. Shelves should be graduated depths with deeper on bottom and shallow towards the top.
beesneeds
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
It's kind of hard for me to read the numbers, sorry. What are the dimensions of the pantry? And how many inches of depth is there on either side of the door? Your back wall shelves could be deeper at your will, but those sides can only go as deep as that door allows.

I have a little walk in pantry, it came with the house. 3.5'wx4'd, with double doors that open out. Same config as yours, the doorway is on one end in the middle. Solid shelves in a U shape- the sides are 8" deep, the back wall 16" deep. 5 shelves tall with roughly 15" height spacing between shelves. I only store food in it, and the pantry is great for a lot of food storage. My appliances live elsewhere, lol.
J Williams
4 years ago
Walk in are good for oversized stuff like brooms, vacuums, bags of potatoes, cookie tins etc. I would try to avoid the inward opening door as well. You just need to measure what you need to store to figure out shelving, some of it could be adjustable, doesn’t have to be fixed in place.
User
4 years ago
A pantry the size of a 4x8 sheet of plywood, with the door on the short end, doesn’t even have room for a human to get into it and find anything. This needs to be a step in pantry, from the long dimension. That is the only way that it will be useful storage. It isn’t wide enough for a walk in without wasting a whole lot of space devoted to that needed walkway.
cevamal
4 years ago
I love drawers, just keep in mind that then you can't adjust the height later if it doesn't hold what you want it to hold.
K H
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Not sure what the rest of your plan entails but I would move the door make it either a pocket door or barn door then you can have better shelving! This is a very poor drawing but gives you the general idea. I also included a photo of one I’ve seen on Houzz to help you visualize it.

Pantry · More Info
Mrs Pete
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
first, I'd move the door to one side so you can maximize the space on the opposite side; consider a sliding or pocket door?.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest; the room isn't wide enough to have the door centered. I also like the pictures you shared -- shelves in an "L shape".

I'd make the lower shelves 14" deep and the uppers 10" deep.

I'd also suggest a pegboard on the other wall, which requires less depth than the shelves. I could easily fill that much pegboard with cast iron pans, BBQ tools, etc.
J Williams
4 years ago
Yeah, given the narrowness of the room, going deep only at back might make sense with can depth shelves along the sides, the pegboard could be useful depending on what you need. My pantry is roughly a 3’ cube over stairs, one side is deep with heavy duty adjustable shelving, the other side has only can depth shelves.

Efficient Pantry Layout

Patricia Colwell Consulting

Comments (20)

auntthelma

Ashley Bowman
Original Author

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cevamal

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Efficient Pantry Layout

Comments (20)

Ashley BowmanOriginal Author

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Ashley BowmanOriginal Author

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Ashley Bowman
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Ashley Bowman
Original Author