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The Best Kitchen Pantry Ideas Ever

Tired of the same old pantries all the time? The best kitchen pantry ideas ever mean you get the custom pantry that best fits your needs.

Of course, having some inspiration never hurts. Maybe you’ve only ever seen a dank room with a single light bulb and plain shelves lining the walls.

Kitchen pantries can be so much more. No matter how big or small your space, use these ideas to create the most amazing pantry ever.

The Library Style Pantry

This is one of the best kitchen pantry ideas. You create it in the style of a library, complete with a rolling ladder. Now, every area of your pantry is easily accessible. Plus, the ladder locks in place to avoid tipping over while you’re reaching the top shelf. You might even consider hanging a basket on a slightly lower shelf to place items in so you’re not climbing down with your hands full.

Add plenty of open shelving to easily reach everything you need. Think of it as a library, but for food.

The Semi-Circle

Typical pantries are angular. So, try something different. A semi-circle design not only looks unique and stunning, but it is highly effective. When you walk in, you’re instantly at the center of everything. This works well for medium pantries and even some smaller ones.

These also work well with ladders. For best results, consider using cabinets for the bottom half and shelves for the top half. This helps maximize the types of storage.

Turn Storage Containers Into Decoration

You often think of a pantry as something to hide away. But, show off how great your kitchen pantry looks. Use glass storage containers with labels, decorative baskets and custom cabinets to make your pantry look as great as your kitchen. Storage containers not only keep your items fresh and easy to find, but serve as decoration.

You can use clear, colorful and/or patterned containers. Mix it up for different types of items.

Miniature Pantries

One of the best kitchen pantry ideas ever is the miniature pantry. Many kitchens are just too small to have a pantry. That’s when you have to get a little creative. There are likely all kinds of nooks and crannies to add shelving and maybe even a few cabinets. Make use of those random small spaces in your home for added storage, such as a miniature pantry.

The space under your stairs is perfect for this. Of course, unused closets work well too. You can even add a faux wall by your dining room table that slides away to showcase a slender pantry. If your pantry isn’t actually in the kitchen, consider using a small cart to easily roll heavier items back to your kitchen.

Add Ceiling Storage

Shelves are great, but there’s likely a space in your kitchen pantry that you’re not using at all – your ceiling. Obviously, you can’t do this if all the space is taken up by lighting. But, if you do have available space, use it to hang pots and pans that you don’t use all the time. Some people even hang fruit baskets, especially for shorter ceilings.

Hidden In Plain Sight

Don’t really want everyone to see your pantry, or go digging around to find your hidden stash of cookies? Hide your pantry in plain sight. Use a recessed space and add a sliding door that looks more than a piece of art than a door. Or, make the door look like a row of cabinet doors. No one has to know that a fully stocked pantry lies behind. Instead, they’ll just think it’s more cabinets, likely filled with small appliances and cooking equipment.

Custom Storage Everywhere

Finally, add custom storage everywhere. Forget everything you know about pantries. The best kitchen pantry idea ever is to go custom. Use shelves, drawers, cabinets, slide-out areas and more. Get as creative with your storage as you want. Customize it specifically for how you want to use it.

If you need inspiration, House Beautiful offers 20 great ideas. For mind-blowing ideas, Next Luxury has 70 ideas you would’ve never thought of, such as a large phone-booth inspired pantry. Finally, One Kind Design offers up 53 great ideas too.

Once you’ve discovered your dream kitchen pantry idea, contact Edgewood Cabinetry to help make your pantry storage dreams come true.

Edgewood cabinetry custom cabinetsKitchen pantries have existed for centuries; they are where chefs store their essential items and recipes. The pantry started as a separate room for storage and evolved into a built-in cabinet within the kitchen. Today’s kitchen pantry design revolves around the concept of saving space while maximizing functionality.

Generally, there are two types of kitchen pantries. One type is a walk-in pantry that is a separate room. The second is a built-in pantry. Today’s built-in pantries are the most common, and it is what we usually see in homes.  Here are some types of pantries to consider when designing a custom cabinet for your kitchen.

Pull-out Pantry

Pull-out pantries are designed to utilize the vertical space of the kitchen, reducing its footprint area. It has a mechanism wherein you can pull the entire shelving unit (usually two-sided), allowing complete storage access in one opening. Its ease of storage access will enable you to organize better items, reducing clutter, and making your kitchen tasks more manageable. Various things can be accessed that otherwise would have gotten lost in the corners of standard cabinetry. For those homeowners requiring more storage, especially avid cooks, a pull-out pantry can be designed as a full-height cabinet with thick shelving.

Roll-out Pantry

Roll-out pantries are an oversized drawer. Each row can be independently pulled out, which allows partial storage access in one opening. However, you need to pull each row to access storage completely. For this reason, organizing and retrieving items can become more tedious. Roll-out pantries can be expanded the same way as pull-out pantries; however, each row must be labeled and properly organized to avoid the painstaking task of pulling each row out. Roll-out pantries are a step down in functionality as compared to pull-out pantries, while its storage to footprint area is the same as pull-out pantries.

Standard Cabinet Pantry

Standard cabinet pantries are shelves inside a cabinet. It is designed horizontally and with reduced depth to accommodate storing items and have ease of access. Its design reduces deep corners, which are difficult to reach. To save on wall space, one can opt for a full-height cabinet. Its only downside would be items are not within an arm’s length.

Portable Pantry

A portable pantry is only used in kitchens with tight space. This unit is a small cupboard mounted on wheels. Its mobility is useful in a small kitchen wherein it can be placed anywhere, depending on the need. However, it has limited storage capacity and is suited only for homeowners that rarely cook.

If you are considering remodeling or upgrading your kitchen, consider the needs and preferences when choosing a kitchen pantry. There are numerous choices available. The right choice will significantly improve your kitchen lifestyle and can save you precious time in handling and accessing items.

For more information on designing a custom pantry for your kitchen contact Edgewood Cabinetry at 919-339-7300.