To ask kitchen pantry-havers if they are really that great?

[LuckyBea]

A very first world problem, I know. But AIBU to wonder if pantries are really the holy grail? They seem to be the trendy new thing to have in your wannabe Instagram-worthy kitchen.

We are considering having one. The interior designer says to go for it. But are they really a pain in the behind? After all, you have to open a door and walk into another little room and then walk out and close the door again every time you want to grab an item (relevant - I am a lazy cow)... OR leave the door open, which is more convenient, but means your millions of food items, cereal boxes, tins of beans etc are permanently on display, which isn't very aesthetic after all?

Also, the potential pantry would use up some space from the utility room. It wouldn't be the end of the world, but it's still a consideration.

Alternatively... in a previous house, we had one of those pantry cupboards, with the double doors and the internal countertop and sockets, and it was great. Would I be mad to just opt for one of those, when I could have a 'full' pantry?

interested in all opinions, but especially those of you who have lived with a pantry and are, like me, a lazy cow lover of convenience...

YABU - put in a full pantry, they ARE the holy grail
YANBU - don't do it... get a pantry cupboard (and max out your utility room)

I have a walk-in corner larder cupboard set as part of my fitted kitchen so it's not in another room but it's very big, takes loads of stuff including my le creuset casseroles (on the floor, they're heavy! ).
I love it and was amazed at the amount ot storage space it gave me. If your kitchen is big enough - I had to have the wall between the kitchen and the conservatory built out by about a foot to accommodate one side of the larder.
mine's like this but quite a bit bigger -
www.diy-kitchens.com/kitchen-units/tall-corner/walk-in-larder/

We have a full height 2m tall sliding pull-out narrow pantry cupboard that contains the dry goods, spices and staples. A separate room would eat up space for a table/kitchen island/utility room.

I had one once in a rented apartment and I still miss it. It was just a little floor to ceiling cupboard, basically. Sooooo handy.

We have a walk in one, basically a small room lined with shelves, and it's my favourite part of the house 😂

As long as it's close enough to the workspaces to grab something, I'd say go for it. Because of all the space, I find it easy to make it - and keep it - very aesthetically pleasing which I just never managed to do with cupboards.

I have one, my house is really old and it gets loads of condensation so I have to use a dehumidifier in there in winter. It's great though for storage

My late DGM had one in an old Victorian flat she rented. It was the original one off the “back kitchen”. It was great- where all the foodstuffs were kept bar things in the fridge, lots of shelves and a small window at one end. She used to call it the butler’s pantry, which it may well have been, once. Very atmospheric, as well as useful! Though I suspect a newly built one wouldn’t quite have the atmospheric value!

We have one, it's a bit of a dumping ground to be honest but that's not such a bad thing because you can close the door. It's handy for cereal and gadgets and bits and pieces.

One of the houses I lived in growing up had a pantry. I associate them with old houses; I didn't realise that it was a modern trend.

It was off the kitchen and down a few steps. I remember it as being a very cool part of the house. Great for food storage. I'l love a house with a pantry.

To really have a holy grail pantry; it’s more of a dirty/mini chef/ prep kitchen.

So one side actually has counter space. Put all ugly and messy things there. Toasters, microwaves etc. Potentially even a ‘dirty’ sink. So you can just close the door. And leave your beautifully curated kitchen insta-clean.

If it’s just a walk in cupboard. Then it’s kind of cute. But as you say it’s an extended larger version of a pantry cupboard and if you don’t need it - you don’t need it!

Do you have to have a door? My dad has one and there's no door, you just walk in.

I'd love one! Go for it I say

I have one, nothings perfect, but it’s far better than opening over head cupboards that when you turn around door bangs you in the head.

We have a larder cupboard - like a wardrobe size but built in.

It's so handy, every bit of my food and appliances is in there. Frees up loads of space in the rest of the kitchen and easy to find / access what I need.

I've got lots of baskets in there

Was just googling. This is a great article with loads of ideas/options..

https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/decorate/kitchen/g27318935/kitchen-larder-ideas/

Hmm, I hadn't thought about using it as an actual food prep space. We probably could fit a counter on one side, although a sink might be pushing it... so maybe not

Love mine!

I didn't realise they were back in fashion. So much easier to organise than cupboards

We live in an ex shop and we had a food preparation room/shop pantry behind the shop room, where they kept the massive bacon slicing machine and huge scales.
We made a large walk in pantry by chopping it in half, building a wall and adding a door in the kitchen.
The other half is on the way to being a downstairs loo and shower.

I wouldn’t be without the pantry now because it holds all the big cumbersome equipment, all the pans and steamers, colanders, etc hang from the ceiling and the huge jars of rice, etc are all neatly on shelves. Occasionally I go inside, just to smirk.

Yes, I think this is what I meant by pantry cupboard (seems larder cupboard is the correct term!) - we had one in a previous house and it was great. Super convenient

I don't anymore but I did and it was bloody brilliant.

I've got one similar to this, slightly larger.



I adore it. I've got more worktop area where I keep toaster, air fryer etc. I had loads of sockets and great ventilation installed. It has so much storage space and keeps the main part of the kitchen clear.

I bloody love mine. Game changer. The storage is great so we need less cupboards in the kitchen so it feelsmore spacious, and I love being able to shut the door on prep mess when we have guests. We intentionally don't have heating in ours so we can put things in there to stay cool too.

Pfft. You need a butler's pantry. Then you can move all the kitchen equipment into there so that guests may visit your actual kitchen without having to see signs of cooking.

If you can, put it on an outside wall with a low ventilator grill and a high window to allow air flow. This will keep it cool even in summer and it will bea great place for storing food, including root vegetables.

I don't have one, but the one in my last house was a ridiculous size, and would have been public photo worthy if only I had painted it a smarter colour than bog standard white. I loved it but I can live without it. I do lust after a pantry cupboard, though, even with a utility room. One of those fancy cupboards where everything folds out and you can easily access every item.

We have one, it’s fitted with the same cupboards as the kitchen. It houses the fridge and microwave with a ceiling height cupboard for the vacuum, ironing board and other cleaning stuff. We took the door off and fitted a motion activated light. It’s a God send and I wouldn’t be without it.

I have an old scullery about half the size of my kitchen maybe 8 ft x 7ft. It doubles as a pantry, but there Is a sink in it and it is very cold. My only advice is to keep your fridge in the same room you make your cuppa. I got this wrong. Kettle in the kitchen, fridge in the scullery was really really annoying. Then I took all my brew stuff to the scullery and that was fine. It has always felt like a lot of walking about though.