Kitchen Design: Pantry Question

[Beth]

We are finally getting serious about picking out our appliances, countertops, etc. Our plan had been to keep the same footprint and only change cabinet doors, install some pull-outs, etc. I was recently looking at out kitchen and thinking that if we relocted the ovens to the end of the wall (where a step-in pantry is) and put in upper and lower pullout cabinets for the pantry space, we could pick 4- 5 feet of additional counter space. If we do a full length pantry cabinet ot pull out, we could still get 2-3 additional feet. This would require replacing just a few tiles where the pantry wall is and we have some left over.

This would be on the side of the island opposite the sink and cooktop, but in the area I have been calling my bake center. I think extra counterspace is always a plus. I'm just nervous about not having what is a traditional pantry in this area (remember, my last house was a deep walk-in and I gave that up for this step-in).

Would it bother you to have a kitchen in a 3000+ sq ft home with only upper and lower cabinets and maybe one full length pull out for pantry space? The utility room behind the kitchen does have a wall of full length 12-inch deep cabinets, so there is additional storeage, but the configureation does not lend itself to taking in that space even if we could match the tile where the wall it now.

[wallycat]

I'd kill for a 3000 sq. ft. home :D :p

Yes, personally...it would.
We will have nowhere NEAR that size home and I am insisting on a pantry somewhere...even if I have to give up a laundry room :eek:
Of course, DH thinks I have outrageous expectations...and he's probably right :o

[donleyk]

Beth, are you concerned about resale value with your question, that's the impression I have. If so, I don't think it would bother me. When someone is looking at your kitchen the counter space is going to make the statement.

I could use more cabinet space but I also have what I consider a working kitchen and as such, it would kill me to give up any counter space.

Good luck!

[BeachBum]

I think you should just do what works best for you and your cooking style. If you are planning for resell value, I don't think there is a "wrong" answer. Homebuyer's preferences are so different anyway. This is only one small component of the final decision.

It sounds like your step-in pantry isn't particularly spacious, so giving it up for a well configured pull-out may not be that big of a deal. I do think its nice that you can store seldom used pots and appliances in your utility room.

I guess the original question is would it bother me, and the answer is yes. Assuming that your current counter space is adequate, I would prefer the storage of a pantry. But once again, I haven't seen your space and some things that I currently store in my pantry may go in your utility room.


I'd kill for a 3000 sq. ft. home
Well I'd kill for someone else to clean mine! :D :p

[LMckay]

Personally, a big, walk-in pantry will be at the top of the wish list for my next house. We're also in a 3,000+ SF house and the pantry is woefully small. It's located adjacent to our ridiculously small laundry room, and I've been seriously considering relocating the washer/dryer in order to turn this space into a pantry.

Liz

[Beth]

I think that by going full height on cabinets (we have 10 ft ceilings and would gain a lot of space for seldom used items n that wall) and using pullouts, we would have at least as much shelving sapce as we do now. The step-in pantry is okay, but we have had to work at organizing so that the corners (1/3 to 1/2 the space) are not lost. There is also waisted space above.

To be honest, I thought the walk-in pantry (6-7 feet deep) was a to-die-for feature when we bought that house. By the time we moved, I was sick of having to walk across the kitchen and hall to the garage and then into the pantry. Had it been more convenient for actual use, it might have been. This one holds what I need, with some overflow of stock items and my canning stash in the utility room cabinets.

DH says he wants to stay here until he leaves in a box, so the concern is both my use adapting to something different and to some extent resale since a kitchen redo is such a major thing. But kitchen layouts and features change all the time. I had a larger kitchen in CA with only a 24 or 30" wide cabinet unit as a pantry. At least pullouts would be more user friendly than that!

If the utility room were configured so that I could make a walk-in pantry and still have my landry area, I would. There is no where else to put the washer and dryer. I did see a hidden washer and dryer redo in a magazine last night (Southern Living, I think) that I am mulling over to see if it sugests any possibilities. They took a closet installation with bifold doors and made it look like a built-in cabinet -- the lower part hiding the W&D and the upper part being dressed up upper cabinets with a regular counter surface and backsplash in between. Hmmmm

[mbrogier]

My mom put up bracket shelving in her laundry room for a pantry. It worked fine for us.

My kitchen in my old house was huge, and we didn't have a pantry. I had two corner cabinets with lazy susans, and a "pantry" cabinet with pull out shelves by the fridge. I had tons of space and didn't miss not having an actual pantry.

The one thing I wished I did have was one of those rolling library stools. It was a pain to get something from the top shelves...I had really high cabinets too. I know Chef's catalogue has those stools in different colors for around $50. They lock in place when you step on them but roll out of the way the rest of the time. My next kitchen will have one. :D

[karen w]

I don't think you will hurt the resale value of your home by not having the pantry. That being said, DH and I have a very large house as well(5700sq. ft.). Our kitchen is HUGE!(DH's fault, but that's another story). I have a very large walk in pantry which is located right next to the refrigerator on one side and very close to the kitchen sink on the other. Thus it IS in a convenient spot. I LOVE LOVE LOVE having everything in one place! However, we do have what we refer to as the "fall out shelter" in the unfinished area of our basement. It consists of two walls of floor to ceiling shelving that DH built for me to put pantry overflow(yep, can you beleive there is some, too:rolleyes: ). The shelves are next to the basement freezer. I use them for stuff like canned goods, paper goods, or anything that I might stock up on when there is a sale at the store. So if there is room in your basement that might be an option for you to consider. You could store seldom used pots, the good china, or other infrequently used items there as well. Good luck with the renovations.

Karen

[Beth]

Karen, I think we'd get along very well in a kitchen, except I'd probably be a bit envious. The one thing I would change about this kitchen would be to make it a bit larger, have a second sink and second dishwasher, but that's not going to happen.

We don't have basements here -- too close to the gulf, water table is too high, etc. So, my "basement" is the overflow shelving in the utility room and what I would add between 8 and 10 feet overhead. ;) I think that maybe if I do a good job of making the kitchen function better, it will not matter so much that it is smaller than I would like. It's more than fine for ordinary stuff, but for baking and canning frenzies, parties -- well, who couldn't use a little more?

[karen w]

I can't agree with you more, Beth. I think the more space I have, the more stuff I accumulate. Sometimes smaller IS better!:D Have fun with the remodel. It will be exciting!

Karen

[Vanessa]

I think a walk in pantry is a great idea same as walk in closets (his and hers). Its amazing how easier life gets when you have things close by and you don't have to go to basement etc to get a pan or something else.
For resale value my very personal advice is think of what you will enjoy and what will make things easier for you. Sometime down the road when selling your house the new buyers might have different taste and needs than you so for now I would go with whatever makes cooking entertaining and storage easier for you.

[Beth]

We're still mulling this over, and it may be the last big decision before we can charge forward (may because we are also deciding whether to replace cabinet doors and install pullouts, replace cabinets or some of each -- part of that will be decided by the oven/pantry issue).

I was talking to my dad about it this weekend. He could not fathom not having a walk-in door kind of pantry. It is the only thing he has known in all my memory. I was explaining to him that what we were losing was the door and standing space. We think we can pick up as much or more linear shelf space, lose the problematic corner and make the shelf space easier to access, make use of the now-dead overhead space, and pick up anywhere from 2-5 feet of counter space depending on whether we put in a full height pantry cabinet or break it with upper and lower cabinets.

All those factors say do it, but I have never used those type of cabinets and am reluctant to make that kind of investment in a change I'm not sure about. I wish it were like a mattress change and I could go find a hotel that had the cabinets I was thinking of and I could use them for a week. If everything fits, it would be great. Still pondering.