Recessed, shallow pantry situation - how would you handle this?

10 years ago

Hi everyone,

We are planning for a shallow pantry along one side of our kitchen - the inside of the box will be recessed into the wall 3" and we will have approximately 6" additional floor space taken up for the portion that comes out of the wall and into the kitchen. The usable space will be approximately 7.5" deep x 72" wide after accounting for the box and door front.

My question is related to how to frame in the portion that is sticking into the kitchen. We considered purchasing 2 - 36" wide tall pantry units and cutting them down so that the cabinet fronts would match the rest of the kitchen cabinets. However, this is an extra 3k! We came up with another idea to put in sliding doors over this area instead (see ideas / pictures below - chalkboard/corkboard, etc). Our carpenter can make the box / shelves and suggested to frame it in and paint the portion sticking out the same color as the wall and then putting two sliding doors over that section. This option was significantly cheaper and DH and I really like the idea.

Thoughts on this design? Will that piece sticking out into the kitchen look odd, even if it is framed up and looks like it's just part of the wall? Should we consider making that entire wall the same depth?

I am including our revised layout so you can have another idea of where this fits in our space.

Thanks!

Modern Kitchen by Chantilly Kitchen & Bath Designers Erin Hoopes

Traditional Kitchen by Charlotte Design-Build Firms New Old, LLC

Featured Answer

Karenseb

10 years ago

We did regular doors to match the other doors in the house. Our shelves were 11 deep and the closet with wall was 14 inches deep I believe. I can't measure since we have since moved. Our doors were probably about 18 inches wide each and it was great pantry.
You could also skip the pantry and add a few inches to the island with access on the back. Maybe a 24 inch deep cab backed with a 10 inch deep cab? Add glass fronts for something pretty or solid doors for storage.

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Comments (8)

scrappy25
10 years ago
I'm not a fan of sliding doors unless you have to have them for clearance purposes.

Can you just buy the pantry doors and cabinet "skins" from your cabinet company and have your carpenter build the insides to fit the doors?

Alternative is to do the doors and cover panels or skins in a contrasting or complementary finish.
kcorn
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks scrappy25. We can purchase the cabinet doors / skins and have the carpenter make the insides. However, in this option, it is still 1K more than using the sliding doors.

Also, DH brought up a point last night after looking at the cabinet images from the KDÃ¢ÂÂ¦since we cannot go to the ceiling with the pantry (due to header on that wall), the top of the pantry cabinet will be shorter than the rest of the cabinets in the space. So, he was also concerned that by using the same cabinet doors, it might look "odd".

Maybe we can get the cost down by using a different door style / wood / finish for that area (possibly matching the island).
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lazy_gardens
10 years ago
How about painting it to match the walls and have it "disappear"?
cluelessincolorado
10 years ago
Like the sliding doors! I'd like to advise though that you get the absolute best hardware out there if you'll be accessing these pantries regularly. You want them to slide easily!
live_wire_oak
10 years ago
I did that in a previous house for just the depth of the studs. I took off the drywall and hung sliding doors there, then did single can depth shelves between the studs. It was really useful, and nothing ever got lost!

For your application, I think the issue is the fact that you want the cantry to project beyond the wall depth. That's what's making it awkward in appearance, no matter what you do for a door. What's behind that that could be accessed to steal space from?
scrappy25
10 years ago
Hmm- Karenseb's idea of closet french doors might work with a thickened wall that runs from the 30 inch doorway on the right (as I am looking at the diagram) to the end of the pantry on the left. That would leave space for your 36" doorway. Those doors are MUCH cheaper than cabinet doors and solves the problem of the differing heights of the cabinets.
kcorn
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks everyone for the ideas! I think building out the wall a but so we could use doors might work and look better than having a bump out in the wall. I like the idea of adding 9" of cabinets to the back of the island but worried that it might stick out to far into the aisle where you walk into the kitchen. More to ponder...

Thank you very much for the feedback!