Designer Pantries—The Architects Making Food Storage Stylish

In her now world-famous 1861 Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, Isabella Beeton laid out the requisites of a good kitchen. Among them was “convenience of distribution in its parts, excellence of light and a scullery, pantry and storeroom that should be so near the kitchen as to offer the smallest possible trouble in reaching them.” Fast forward 150 years and pantries—rooms providing food storage and a place to keep dishes, cleaning items, and kitchen equipment—are increasingly in demand with homeowners.

“Pantries make everything visible; they make storing things—and being able to find them—much easier,” says kitchen designer Johnny Grey, who has incorporated larders for food storage into many of his designs. “A pantry lets you put all the stuff that clutters up your worktops in another place.” In his own Sussex, home Grey has a pantry used for, among other things, food storage—items such as “grains, pulses, and store cupboard ingredients that you can stock up on, so you don’t have to go shopping so often.”

Create your perfect storage space 

Massachusetts-based designer Liz Caan joins Grey in praising the pantry’s food and equipment storage charms. “It can house all the things that take up valuable real estate in your primary kitchen.” But, she adds: “A pantry can also become a bake or prep zone, relieving congestion in the primary kitchen so that it can function at its best. And when entertaining or hosting, a pantry provides the perfect space for caterers to serve and plate food.”

Related: Food Follows Form: 7 Homes with Luxury Kitchens

The word pantry can be used to describe a spacious cupboard that sits within a kitchen, or a dedicated room attached to it. In the past, bigger houses wouldn’t have had just one pantry but two or three—a butler’s pantry for silverware and best china, a meat and game larder, and somewhere for dry goods and vegetables. Today’s pantry is usually a hybrid of all of these and can also house washing and drying appliances.

A pantry can also become a bake or prep zone, relieving congestion in the primary kitchen so that it can function at its best. And when entertaining or hosting, a pantry provides the perfect space for caterers to serve and plate food—Liz Caan, founder and principal, Liz Caan & Co.

“A classic pantry is wonderful because you can walk in and actually see all your pots and pans and canned goods,” observes Cindy Rinfret, principal at Rinfret, Ltd. “These spaces are so serviceable for your larger items and you don’t break your back by leaning down in lower cabinets to access your specialty dishes, pans or extra supplies.”

A pantry to fit your requirements 

“The pantry evokes a sense of nostalgia, looking back to a time when it was the centerpiece of a kitchen, particularly synonymous with the great country houses of England,” says Ben Burbidge, managing director of Kitchen Makers. “Pantries have always been top of wish lists, increasing again with the growth in sharing images of homes online. They can be created to be as individual as the homeowner—we’ve crafted both built-in and freestanding pantries.”

Demand for pantries has increased during the global pandemic, driven perhaps by more time spent in the kitchen and more dining in. According to Britain’s National Association of Home Builders, 85% of homebuyers now ask for a walk-in pantry.

Grey believes that increased time in the kitchen might have changed people’s expectations of the room. “One of the big problems of the modern kitchen is the plethora of cabinets. And cabinets get in the way. You open a door they spike your eye out, you shut them, you can’t see what’s in them… The way the modern kitchen is designed also means that cupboards are attached to the walls with work surfaces underneath them, so they make the place unsociable—you have to have your back to other people if you’re preparing food and so on.” To counter this, many of Grey’s kitchens have a central island where people can prepare food and gather in a more sociable way.

Pantries make everything visible; they make storing things—and being able to find them—much easier. A pantry lets you put all the stuff that clutters up your worktops in another place—Johnny Grey, kitchen designer

Architect Declan Scullion concurs. “The pantry frees up the kitchen to take on more of the social functions that modern life demands. By giving separate dedicated space to dry goods, the coffee machine, the toaster, and the other ‘machines,’ you generate more space not just for food preparation, but also for sitting, talking, and sharing family life together.”

Scullion recently added a pantry to a house in Dublin, Ireland as part of a larger extension. “The clients had a large family, and as a result their kitchen had more asked of it in terms of performance and functionality. In short, that would often mean more cooking equipment and storage units than you might want for a room that’s also about entertaining and having friends over. A pantry gives you the opportunity to tidy away the clutter without losing functionality.”

When designing the perfect pantry, Grey recommends a series of narrow shelves where things can be easily seen and reached: “At home, we’ve got a Chinese shelf, a Japanese shelf, a shelf for herbs and spices, a vegetarian shelf . . . ”

Burbidge adds that a pantry-style cupboard or dresser can be utilized to similar effect: “Incorporating pull-out racks and drawers will help maximize the space, while conveniently allowing homeowners to see and utilize the full depth of the dresser.”

Related: A Top Designer’s Recipe for the Classic Kitchen of Your Dreams 

Grey also recommends having at least one electrical socket in the room, but to avoid any appliances that generate heat if you are using it for food storage. He also suggests a Belfast sink—“great for washing the mud off your vegetables and for cut flowers”—and recommends adding a wooden draining board in Iroko or recycled teak, which both have natural oils that repel water.

Big houses with staff, he adds, might want a pantry with a swing door and a glass panel, so that people can see each other coming and going.

The last word on pantries goes to Caan, who advises: “Treat your pantry as an escape from your main living and entertaining spaces and have some fun with it when decorating.”

Banner image: Kitchen Makers