5 Top Pantry Ideas

We get so excited when it comes to pantry design that we’ve gathered 5 Top Pantry Ideas from our past Atlanta kitchen renovation projects.

Whether you want a walk-in pantry, a butler’s pantry, a small pantry or want to maximize cabinets for pantry storage, we will help you find the best pantry ideas for your home.

#1: Create a Back Kitchen

A back kitchen has enough countertop space and other fixtures and appliances to complete prep work and cleanup. It’s also known as a dirty kitchen or a scullery. This is especially helpful during parties so you can keep the mess out of the way. Simply close the doors to hide it!

This project’s large walk-in pantry serves many purposes. It not only has room for all the pantry cabinets, but also includes a wine chiller, a large sink for doing dishes, appliances and more.

Just because this back kitchen was hidden, our clients did not bypass style. The beadboard walls, blue custom inset beaded cabinets, hardware, lighting and other finishes are all kitchen-worthy.

If you have a mini version of this, it’s nice to keep an extra beverage fridge, freezer drawers and a microwave in a walk-in pantry. Some people opt for coffee stations as well. And countertop space is helpful whether you’re working or simply for unloading groceries.

Check out 7 Coffee Station Ideas

#2: The Butler’s Pantry With Bar

A butler’s pantry is often a hallway between the kitchen and dining room that’s loaded with extra storage. It’s often the place people opt to keep their fine china and glassware. So we often recommend glass cabinetry in a butler’s pantry for display.

In this project, we transformed this bungalow’s butler’s pantry into a beautiful bar. We love the way the glass shelves and crystal let the light in from the window. And the marble mosaic backsplash is a stunner.

A wine cooler and countertop allow this area to serve as a great spot to uncork the wine or mix a cocktail for guests.

#3: The Secret Walk-In Pantry

This is one of the most fun pantry locations we’ve put together recently. If you want to play a game of “where’s the pantry?” you’ll have a hard time discerning where it is. This made for a cohesive run of cabinets and a primo spot for a game of hide and seek.

This kitchen has a modern Scandinavian-inspired look. So keeping the look of this appliance and cabinet wall clean was an important part of the design.

These faux cabinet doors open to the pantry. This maximized the space and allowed for lots of room for them to keep their food nicely organized. Also, kudos to the baskets and canisters that keep the pantry easy to navigate.

See more of this Scandinavian-inspired kitchen renovation

#4: The Hardworking Pantry Cabinet

Ah, for our 5 Top Pantry Ideas we had to include an oldie but a goodie. This is Big Blue, one of our most popular characters! We installed this hardworking pantry cabinet years ago, and it continues its viral streak online today. Once you get a peek inside, you’ll see why!

Originally, our Roswell clients only had a small closet pantry that was dark and not-so-great. They wanted to maximize the functionality of their kitchen without having to sacrifice any additional space from other rooms for a larger pantry such as a walk-in.

With Big Blue, we did not have to expand the footprint of their kitchen. Perhaps he’ll always be in our 5 top pantry ideas — he’s timeless!

The solution is this lovely piece. Big Blue has the look of a freestanding piece of furniture. The color breaks up the white in the kitchen and makes it a focal point.

Inside Big Blue, there are myriad functions and storage spots, including:

Shelves and drawers for food storage as well as cubbies for wine storage, placed at the very top out of the kids’ reach.
Integrated outlets inside allow it to serve as an appliance garage. This saves the countertops from the unsightly clutter of small appliances and their cords.
An integrated pull-out butcher block cutting board makes meal prep easy and also serves as a buffet when they host parties.
The cabinet also serves as a convenient baking station. The mixer, ingredients, tools and prep surface are all contained within it.

Homeowner Tracy Shealy shared the contents of the deep drawers:

Top drawers: Kitchen tools, Ziplock bags, foil and plastic wrap.
Middle drawers: Crackers, chips, bread, popcorn and Gatorade. “We have three children, so it works out well for them to just look in those two drawers when they are hungry for a snack,” she says.
Bottom drawers: Bulky kitchen tools including crock pots, a waffle iron, an electric skillet and the immersion blender

What To Do When You Don’t Have a Pantry

#5: Maximizing Kitchen Cabinets For Pantry Storage

You don’t have to have one big pantry cabinet the size of Big Blue to maximize pantry storage opportunities. We can outfit cabinets to serve all your food storage needs.

And if you don’t have some of the fancier bells and whistles within your budget such as pull-out shelves, we can help you find other solutions. For example, here bins and baskets make it easy to access snacks and other food items.

For smaller items packed in a deep cabinet, we do recommend pull-out shelves and drawers. It’s an easy way to navigate a hodge-podge of herbs and spices, oils, soups, pastas, baking supplies, snacks and more.

And like Big Blue, we can also incorporate space for small appliances in a pantry cabinet. Outlets in the back are great for coffee machines, mixers and more. We love the way these wire drawers contain all the coffee accoutrements right under the machine.

We hope you’ve enjoyed these 5 Top Pantry Ideas, and that they can help you with your own plans! If you are thinking about remodeling your home, please give us a call to schedule a free consultation.