Larder/pantry

[deepfriedsage]

I am about to speak to an architect, to discuss a kitchen extension. I want to squeeze in a shower room, utility and pantry/larder, do you have any tips for layout? Do you have to put ventilation in? I would have the outside wall facing North.

on your outside wall, it will benefit from at least an airbrick. As it will be cooler than the rest of the house, any warm moist air that diffuses in will tend to condense on the cold wall. Even if you put a big fridge freezer in there, modern ones use little electricity so will not keep it warm.

Watching with interest as I am putting in one in behind the stairs off my new kitchen extension. I'm not planning on having big appliance in it but was thinking of having a small appliances open shelf so things like my kenwood chef and food processor can sit out ready for use. Other than that lots of shelves and no underfloor heating in that bit.

I have a utility room and a cold room. They mean that my kitchen is kept clear of 'stuff'. My cold room is north facing, insulated, has no windows and has a high level air brick. I didn't think it was a good idea to put a fridge or freezer in the cold room as I thought it would chuck out too much heat. I had the big deep shelves put up throughout the cold room along with a big wine rack. The cold room stays surprisingly cold (we live in the outskirts of London) We haven't had any condensation/damp problems but would put a secondary low level air brick if we did. I don't keep veg or fruit in the old room.
I keep my microwave, washer and dryer in the utility. I also have an extra deep sink so I can put big pots out of site while they soak. I also have all the sandwich making stuff in the utility and have trained the kids to make their sandwiches (and mess) in there. This really helps keep my kitchen tidy.

My cold room leads off my utility room which leads off my kitchen.
My cold room is about 8' by 10' and I can bulk buy to my hearts content. I love it. Everything is easy to see and easy to access.

I was planning to place the washing machine, tumble dryer, airer, ironing board and iron in the utility, and the fridge freezer, and small appliances in the kitchen, just food in the larder. I do think putting appliances not often used in the pantry is a good idea and something I will consider now.

How would someone avoid rodents and pests coming through the air brick?

High level air brick plus you can get rodent proof air brick covers (or you could just use some rodent proof mesh)

www.screwfix.com/p/manrose-adjustable-vent-white-229mm-x-152mm/15823