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yardboi

pondering pantries

yardboi
13 years ago

Four months into our remodel my head hurts. And they're just now getting to the kitchen. It's time to finalize things like how to finish out the pantry. This has been one of the harder things to do because I really don't want to screw it up. So I thought I'd run my idea by everyone to get some more perspective.

The pantry is about 40" wide and 24" deep. I'd like to make it look like a built in linen press. There would be four wide drawers on the bottom going up to about 48". From there up would be a traditional cupboard with two doors.

I think I would keep most of my day to day pantry items in the drawers and use the upper cabinets for small appliances and storing extra items like paper towels and other Costco purchases.

Does anyone have an arrangement like this? Does it seem practical? What problems do you see? Thanks everyone (I've already stolen so many of your ideas already).

Comments (18)

  • katsmah
    13 years ago

    I don't have this, but remember seeing pictures of pantries setup with drawers on the bottom and thinking it was a wonderful idea. The only drawback I can think of is for items that are taller than the drawers. For those you might think about putting in a couple of adjustable Rollout shelves in the cabinet with doors.

  • loveskitchens
    13 years ago

    Is this going to be behind doors ? Will you be able to see everything ? If it's behind doors will the drawers open ?
    I like the idea, it'll be neater than a completely open pantry.

  • yardboi
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    The lower drawers will not be behind doors. The bottom drawer will be 14" deep. The others will be 10".

  • melaska
    13 years ago

    Linked below is a very entertaining & educational thread by bmorepanic on (How Not to Build a Pantry(. :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: How not to build a pantry by bmorepanic

  • melaska
    13 years ago

    Another pantry thread:

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pantry closets

  • melaska
    13 years ago

    There are some nice pantry pics in this thread:

    Here is a link that might be useful: More pantries

  • yardboi
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the links melaska. I've studied those threads at length during this project and gleaned many helpful ideas.

  • laughablemoments
    13 years ago

    I like the design of the "larder" style pantry on the right in this picture. You could do enclosed drawers below instead of the baskets. I think I got this picture from Attic Magic's website.

  • Buehl
    13 years ago

    And, of course, there's the Pantry thread in the Gallery...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Pantry photos/ pics of pantries

  • melissastar
    13 years ago

    I think it sounds like a great idea. Walk in/step in pantries are wonderful if one has the space. But for those of us who don't, what you propose sounds like a really useful design. I can imagine using the drawers below for canned and jarred goods, for example, making sure that they were extra strong for the weight and perhaps even had those angled supports used in spice drawers so that one could see all the cans at a glance. Drawers would also work well for boxes or jars of pasta, rice, beans, etc. which could all be labeled on the top for ease. On the top section, I'd consider some roll out shelves since the 24" depth would otherwise make it tough to see and access what's in the back. They wouldn't be necessary, of course for cases of soda, big packs of paper towels, etc.

    I also liked the baskets for potatoes, onions, etc. in the picture laughable posted. If you didn't want to have open baskets/drawers on the bottom, you could also incorporate something like them into roll-out trays in the upper portion behind doors.

    There are always the fancy pantry cabinets sold which pull-out/fold out that work for 24" deep cabinets, but I like your idea much better.

  • mikomum
    13 years ago

    My SIL has a pantry much like laughable posted (but with drawers instead of baskets) She had her cabinets custom made 12 years ago. It is a great set-up in her kitchen, hers is actually an 'L' shape that wraps the corner. It works very well, it's to the left of the fridge so when they unload groceries, everything is in one place. If I get over there in the next few days, I'll take a picture for you.

  • yardboi
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks everyone, I appreciate help.

    mikomum thanks for the offer, a picture would be great. The one posted by laughable above is very close to what I have in mind, but with drawers going all the way across the bottom rather than the baskets.

    melissastar - that's exactly how I plan to use the drawers. Loves2cook4six has a great drawer design for her canned goods that I plan to "borrow." I hope to have enough space in the drawers for most items so that I won't need pull outs in the upper cabinet. I think dealing with the doors and the pullouts at that height would be difficult. Of course, if I determine that I need the space, I may not have much of a choice. I'm going to check with the cabinetmaker to see what we can do to make sure it will be relatively easy to retrofit with the pullouts if we later decide we need them.

  • plllog
    13 years ago

    The one caution I'd give you is to make sure you have enough room for different height goods. That is, make sure there's enough room for the cans of different sizes, but also jars and bottles. I have pantry ROTS for cans and flat things, jars and short bottles, and tall bottles. I wish some of my flats were a little taller for stacking packages, like of dried fruit and nuts. I find they keep better in the packages than they do in airtight canisters. One can actually move ROTS, unlike fixed drawers, but it's easier to move the packages to a different shelf. :)

  • norlandian
    13 years ago

    I'm currently happily using my actual built-in linen cupboard as temporary kitchen storage during our remodel, and the set-up is quite slick. It's about 52" wide. The five shelves behind the doors hold, at my fingertips, all the dishes, pans, non-perishable food items, bags/wraps, extra paper towels, etc. that my family of six has needed for the last few months. I didn't even have to empty the three drawers below of their table cloths and blankets to make more room.

    My shelves are not as deep as what you're planning, only 17", which makes it pretty easy to access without any roll-outs. (The drawers on the bottom go back a further 10", stealing space from the closet on the other side of the wall.) If the shelves were much deeper, items in the back would be lost out of reach.

    Also, you mention wanting the drawers up to 48" high. I personally would have a hard time seeing into a drawer that high (but admittedly I'm only 5'1".)

  • formerlyflorantha
    13 years ago

    possibly off topic...when I started reading the GW people discussed the Sharb pantry with the chandelier. Here it is. Then I'll post another thread.

    Here is a link that might be useful: pantry discussion including Sharb pantry

  • formerlyflorantha
    13 years ago

    Also possibly Off Topic....
    This is a followup to the Sharb pantry thread

    Here is a link that might be useful: Buehl's Sharb-inspired pantry & etc

  • norlandian
    13 years ago

    I just reread my post and realize it reads like, "Look how great my cabinet is!" Sorry about that. All I was trying to say is that I've inadvertently found out that such a configuration holds an surprising number of pantry items, that it's extremely comfortable to access, and that I'd whole-heartedly recommend something similar if you have a good spot for it. All the best with your planning.

  • pudgybaby
    13 years ago

    My pantry is a bit like you describe. Mine is 42 inches wide by 24 inches deep. Like the photo posted by laughable, my drawers on the bottom go to counter height. I have two drawers that are the full 42 inch width on the bottom, and two 1/2 width drawers above those. There are large pantry doors above the drawers with 3 rollouts and one fixed shelf at the top.

    We are really happy with this arrangement. The doors are big, and when I want to pull out one of the rollouts, I have to be sure that the doors are fully open. And the rollouts are huge. So I guess you could say that they are a little unwieldy, but I'm not sure that I would do it any differently. But I think your idea of drawers up to 48 inches would work great, too. However, I would definitely do rollouts on the upper part behind the doors. Without them you would have to be shifting the items in the front to get at the items in the back.

    Our pantry holds a ton of stuff. We use one of the 42 inch wide drawers for pots and pans since the range is nearby.

    Here's a couple of pics:

    {{!gwi}}

    {{!gwi}}