Play By These Rules to Perfect Pantry Design
Pantries are the kings of kitchen upgrades. Whether you’ve got space for a stylish walk-in option or simply a cupboard pantry setup, this is an addition worth having. Finally, you can store all of your dried goods, including those bulk-bought items you’ve always had your eye on.
Or, at least, that’s the idea. Sometimes, though, poor pantry design can mean that this space becomes a cluttered, jar-dropping nightmare. But, fear not, because we’ve got a few simple rules that could well help you perfect a pantry design that never lets you down.
Rule 1: Always Optimise Storage
Storage is the name of the pantry game, and it’s a focus that you should optimise at every design stage. Installing shelves? Think about how to fit as many as possible. Looking into adding a few drawers? Get smart with designs that allow you to utilise even the smallest spaces. This is all going to make a huge difference in how well you can use the space and, importantly, how much you can store.
Storage accessibility should also feature in your designs. After all, those large numbers of shelving won’t be much good if you can’t reasonably fit your goods on them. So, get smart with things like shelving at different depths and heights. Then, you’ll be able to find an easily accessible, obvious place for everything.
Rule 2: Get Lighting Right
Let’s say you have the best pantry design ever. Your shelves are sleek, well-spaced, and generous, but there’s one big problem – your lighting is so low that you can’t see a single food label!
This is a surprisingly common mistake, and to some extent, it makes sense. While you traditionally light a kitchen well, ambient lighting is typically great for smaller, more intimate spaces. Unless you’re talking about a pantry, of course.
Lighting here needs to be just as practical as it is in your kitchen, if not more so, considering that your pantry probably doesn’t have any windows. Even if you don’t have a walk-in option, it always pays to get an electrician to integrate LEDs in everything from your pantry roof to your actual shelves and cabinets to ensure full visibility.
Rule 3: Make it Beautiful
So far, we’ve spoken about the purely practical elements of pantry design, but this is still a room in your home, and it deserves to look good. Of course, you should never add decorative pantry flourishes at the cost of functionality, but there’s no reason you can’t achieve both things.
It’s entirely possible to build a beautiful, well-functioning pantry, and simply pairing any cabinets or shelving here with your broader kitchen design is a great way to start. Equally, options like baskets, open storage, and hanging systems can all be great from a decor perspective. You could even implement flourishes like dovetail drawers or contrasting elements to add a real depth of interest to the space.
It’s easy to bypass pantry design, but these simple rules could be key to helping you love this kitchen space.
This is a collaborative post.
