My pantry works really well for me, mainly because I've put stuff in it that is in regular-ish use, but not everyday level of regular.
We didn't get to design the house so had to use what was already here (to be clear, we're very lucky with what we have; just trying to say that if I was designing from scratch I might think about things differently).
It's a good-sized kitchen, but right outside it is basically a spare bit of corridor - it doesn't go anywhere, except to a window at the end of it, and it's about the width of a wide corridor. We've got IKEA tall cupboards all down one side (with doors, so not open shelving) and it houses:
- Kitchen appliances that come out anywhere from 2-3 times a week to a few times a year - food processor (and its accessories), stick blender, hand mixer, fondue set, popcorn maker, bread machine
- Other kitchen-type stuff that can be kept out of the way - re-usable water bottles (and all their effing lids and straws and pieces!), tupperware and re-usable takeaway containers, spare lunch boxes / bags
- Cleaning products - everything except the multi-purpose spray bottle, which lives under the kitchen sink as that's used everyday and needs to be close at hand; plus things like spare tea towels, etc.
- Pet stuff - cat food, spare litter tray, cat medicines and accessories, etc.
- Tool-drawer stuff - spare lightbulbs, batteries, a few screwdrivers (main DIY stuff is out in the garden shed, but having a few bits like this close at hand is super useful)
- Medicine cabinet stuff - our paracetamol, calpol, savlon, cough medicines, etc. are all in there
- Snacks - crisps, biscuits, chocolate, etc. Guess because these aren't used for preparing food or proper cooking, it's made sense to keep them out of the kitchen. Plus by having these in a large pantry space, I've been able to compartmentalise them, so there's a box with food specifically for lunchboxes and everyone knows they can't touch that stuff (i.e. the oat bars DD has one of everyday in her school lunchbox).
So it doesn't included things like saucepans, or food tins and packages, which I guess other people would want to have in their pantries. I've got those in a kitchen cupboard and it works for me, as I'm reaching for them every day when cooking.
I also use the different height stuff very purposefully. The medicines, tool stuff, cleaning products are relatively high-up, so the young DC can't get to them. But they can open the lower doors and still get their lunch boxes for school, a water bottle, etc.