I'm wondering if you could modify the 30" pantry even more, and have the bottom half all drawers, maybe shallower for linens, trays, barbeque tools, all the 'bigger' longer items,
and then have the top part with a pullout or two, and shelves. I use the top part of one of my pantries for bag storage, and for the big flat recyling bags for mixed paper and newspaper. (I don't like to contemplate how much I paid to store all my 'free bags' LOL)

Draw it out on graph paper both ways - see what you think. You might find that having one door of 3 a different size doesn't work for you. But since you said "cabinetmaker", it sounds like a custom build - you could have a 16" and a 32", making all the doors the same width.

I like the idea of short drawers in the pantry area - regardless of width. We have some in our china cabinet, and they are perfect for tablecloths (and atlases, but that's just us). If you can make a list of what you would like to put there, the answer might be obvious!

if the 2 cabs are side by side I'd strive for matching door sizes....maybe 30 and 15 in cabs and a 3 in box filler adjacent to the mwave/oven stack.

Thanks for the replies!

I actually suggested the 16" + 32" option, and he recommended against going lower than 18" width for a pantry cabinet (w/ pull-outs).

For a consistent look - I think 2 24" cabinets would work just fine.

He suggested this 18" + 30" alternative as an option to consider - to break up the look, and to have one cabinet with a single door (easier to get stuff).

Regarding drawer banks at the bottom of the pantry cabinet -- I actually will have 8 other 3-drawer banks in the kitchen, in addition to 2 other drawers in the micro/oven cabinet and under the cooktop/oven cabinet. So I'm leaning towards keeping the pull-outs just to get some adjustable height options (pull-outs adjustable in 1" increments). Does that seem reasonable?

Thanks!

My only concern with two 24's is that you will have a lot of vertical going on in a relatively small space. I guess it depends on how busy the cabinet doors are. Again, draw it out to scale, top to bottom, and see how you like the look. Maybe form will trump function, and you will be willing to give up a little space in a 16" if you much prefer the look of 32" +16".

Personally I think 16" is pretty decent - I've seen lots of pantry pullouts on this forum that 16" or less.

Here is a link that might be useful: pull-out pantrys

I would choose the 16 + 32 option. Four tall 12" wide doors might look strange. My last kitchen had a 16.5" wide pantry cabinet with ROTs and it worked well for cans and boxes of food.

We did your #2. Turned out very workable.