There was a time when many homes had a separate food pantry, or a larder as it was called, located just off the kitchen. They were a way to store food and utensils and a place for storing extra food during long winters. About 100 years ago a food pantry or larder that was separate from the kitchen was the norm. Often the pantry was located near the outer edge of the home where they could be at a lower temperature than the kitchen. The kitchen pantry continued to be a standard feature in the home up until World War II. But as kitchens became larger and more modern, the kitchen pantry fell out of favor.
When you have many families now purchasing their groceries in bulk they often find that they simply do not have enough space. Many typical kitchens do not have enough room for storing these bulk items. Many people when planning a kitchen remodeling tend to overlook the problem of storage. This is why in the age of warehouse buying the kitchen pantry, either the walk in type or a large pantry cupboard located just off the kitchen, is starting to make a big comeback.
Whether or not you are a professional chef or you just love cooking, you could certainly use a place for all of your cooking supplies and equipment. Kitchen pantries today can provide many storage solutions regarding everything from food and food preparation and paper products. A well designed kitchen pantry can meet the needs of you keep your family organized, and help to increase the resale value of your home. Also kitchen pantries are helping reduce the need for have so many kitchen storage units located within the kitchen itself.
When deciding on a kitchen pantry design, there are two questions you need to answer first: What will your proposed pantry be used for? Exactly how much space will you have to work with? If you have a small home you may just have room for wall cabinets and put out drawers, or install built-in hutch style cabinetry for storage solutions. Larger homes can accommodate a walk-in pantry, which can be a good thing to have if your kitchen lacks enough cabinetry. Also walk-in pantries are as popular today as kitchen islands as a new kitchen design trend.
Of course you need to think about exactly where the pantry is to be located. Kitchen pantries should be located between either the kitchen and garage entrance into the home or in passageways going from the kitchen and the dining room.
Kitchen pantries generally measure less than 100 square feet with good overhead lighting and electrical outlet for appliances.
Many of the pantries being designed now use custom cabinetry every bit as beautiful and creative as those you would find in the kitchens themselves, including details such as solid-wood cabinetry and sleek state-of-the-art hardware. This creativity can even extend to the design of the doorways of many walk-in kitchen pantries as well.
Having a functional and beautiful kitchen pantry requires some careful planning. Your kitchen pantry should be well designed and well organized to be better able to meet the needs of your family, and providing good storage solutions.
James Mahoney is the author of many kitchen design articles and has a site about kitchen design ideas at Kitchen Designers Ideas.com. He also publishes a newsletter on kitchen design.
