Walk in Pantry | Design Tips

On the wish list for many clients, a walk in pantry takes pressure off the main kitchen by injecting a huge amount of hidden storage into the home. If you remove all the dry goods from the main kitchen, you free up an abundance of space that can be utilised for other things such as equipment, crockery, glassware – or anything else you can think of that you don’t want in the kitchen.

Without a doubt, the number one reason to include a walk in pantry is zoning – a space dedicated to dry goods storage means you only ever have to visit one location, no more rooting through cupboards or drawers trying to find that elusive key ingredient. It just makes life easier. The Barnes village project for example (pictured above) is ultra organised with labelled Kilner jars and baskets keeping everything neat and tidy. No clutter here.

In terms of accessibility, the pantry ideally needs to be close enough to the kitchen to grab items for recipes of pre-made dishes at a moment’s notice. It’s not the end of the world but it is frustrating if the pantry is positioned on the other side of the house to the kitchen.

Our classic HM artisan shelves can be installed according to the height of the room which is great for maximising the storage space available. Artisan shelves are deep enough to store large Kilner jars, small vases etc with the bonus that everything is clearly displayed – no lost jars at the back of cupboards!

With plenty of storage space under the countertop, you can choose between deep drawers, cupboards or open shelves depending on your storage needs. Closed storage is great for unsightly items that you use infrequently or large open packets of rice, pasta or flour etc. Whereas open shelving beneath the worktop is ideal for things like wine cases, vases and hampers that all take up a lot of space and can be heavy to manoeuvre, so keeping them at a lower level makes sense from a practical point of view – plus they look great when organised!

The worktop in a pantry often acts as an additional food prep and storage space. Choosing a durable material such as quartz is important as the pantry countertop will work just as hard as a worktop in the main kitchen.

Worktops are also particularly important at busy times of the year when you’re entertaining friends and family, having an extra run of countertop space can be invaluable. Desserts and other sweet treats, cheese boards etc, can be easily kept out of the way until needed – or until you can’t resist them anymore! Other useful items such as a kitchen aid, chopping boards or large bottles.

You may have noticed that many of the walk in Humphrey Munson pantries have a rail that runs along the length of the countertop – this is for the mini wooden ladder so the top shelves can be easily reached (it is also a great spot for keeping tea towels out of view). If you have the space, an optional wall-mounted holder is a great way to store the ladder out of the way when not required, and will deter little ones from reaching goodies kept out of reach.

Continuing the theme of the kitchen into an adjoining walk in pantry is key for continuity. The clients at the Kent project (pictured above) for example specified the same weathered bronze hardware in the kitchen which runs through into the pantry also. The same goes for paint finishes, if the kitchen is cool and calm or dark and moody it pays to keep the same ethos in an ancillary room. The island in this project is finished in HM paint colour ‘Soot’ which is the same colour as the nearby pantry cabinetry.

No matter the size of the space available, there’s always a way to maximise storage. To find out more call us on 01371 821300 or email us at info@humphreymunson.co.uk.