A quick overview. For close-ups and greater detail, SEE Blog.
A quick overview. For close-ups and greater detail, SEE Blog.
A quick overview. For close-ups and greater detail, SEE Blog.
A quick overview. For close-ups and greater detail, SEE Blog.
A quick overview. For close-ups and greater detail, SEE Blog.
clients
Bath & Powder
A Pantry Can Be A Destination
…a place you enjoy so much that you look for excuses to go there (beyond just grabbing a bottle of olive oil)!
If space allows, the greatest luxury for any cook is a walk-in pantry. It can be rich in color, charm, and design impact—a place you actually enjoy visiting, not just a cabinet from which one grabs an extra can of beans. There’s no law that requires pantries to look like warehouses.
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What’s gaining popularity is pantries that serve as a second kitchen for prep and cleanup while concealing the additional activity behind a wall or doorway.
Becky's Pantry
Conveniently adjoining the kitchen, Becky’s pantry is on the home’s front exterior wall and has large double windows allowing extra light to filter back into the kitchen. An open armoire gives quick access to common food items, while a tremendous amount of storage is hidden behind cupboard doors under the windows.
Items you don’t want to display such as storage containers, and extra seasonal dishes can enjoy seclusion tucked inside decorative cabinetry. Glass front doors add interest while storing beautiful glassware and other items for entertaining.
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Her Pantry also includes an extra dishwasher along with a prep sink; both end up getting a lot of day-to-day use by the couple, keeping the main kitchen area tidy until needed.
Sharon's Pantry
Another walk-in Pantry we had fun designing does just the opposite: it proudly exhibits the client’s collections. Sharon has her Le Creuset on display along with her treasured coffee mugs that commemorate places she and her husband have travelled. There’s even an array of appliances unapologetically plugged in — ready for immediate service. We found an 18” depth for the appliance countertop is very adequate for quick use. If these are needed for more involved use, she takes them out to the main Kitchen.
I have a client building a house right now with a similar pantry equipped with dishwasher, prep sink and extra cabinetry that puts everything behind closed doors. The rest of this client’s house is always neat as a pin but she admits she really appreciates not having to “art direct” her pantry’s contents.
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Becky’s pantry pictured here even serves as a quaint mini-office with two chairs and a large bulletin board. Becky can sort out her calendar and plan the day’s priorities while enjoying a hot beverage from the nearby tea and coffee bar.
Sharon is a serious cook as is evidenced by the spice collection and her variety of olive oils. Everything is visible, and accessible on a shallow shelf 4” deep. She didn’t want to store anything she uses a lot two rows deep; her desire was to be able to see it and grab it.
There’s a bookcase for cookbooks, notebooks, articles, and journals of new recipes. Food is taken seriously here, but always with an air of fun, whimsy and artistic style.
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We’ve been honored numerous times to be Sharon and Warren’s guests enjoying her incredible cuisine. She’s of Italian heritage but grew up in New Orleans, so she does Cajun, Southern and Italian cooking with stunning expertise.
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What if there’s no room for a walk-in Pantry? One idea is to build a pair of cabinets facing each other in a passageway, say, leading to the Dining Room. For one client I designed cabinets that are 4’ wide and 7.5’ tall. These two hutches have drawers and cupboard space with a tremendous amount of storage; they replaced the original pantry cabinet (before the renovation) that was only 8” deep, 15” wide and 5’ tall.
