Pantry - worth it?

[Greenleaves20]

We’re in the process of having a kitchen-dining- living area extension done which will measure 7.7 x 5.8m. We have the option of adding a pantry as an additional area to the side of this which would measure 1.3 x 3m. We’ve just got the quote from the builder who is doing our main project and it’s looks like it’s going to cost around £13k to do it including shelving etc. We feel we probably could do with the storage space but it’s a lot to spend. Is it worth it? And if we decided to move in 5-10 years would it add any value to the house?

I got very invested in the idea before the quote came back and now I’ll be disappointed if we don’t go ahead but I also don’t want to make a mistake because of this!

Currently the cost of new build per square meter is between 2k and 3.5 k depending on finish and area , your quote for approx 4 square meters is in the 3k mark which is the upper costings but still in the right cost area
I would love a pantry as I'm a keen cook but you haven't mentioned a utility room , personally I would have your pantry if you can afford it but not instead of a utility , if you haven't got the utility room I would enlarge it slightly and incorporate both
I generally speaking think it would enhance a property value depending on area , finish and other facilities the property has ( I develop property and keep a keen eye on what creates an uplift in value )

I live in an old house that has a fairly large pantry (7' x 9') and I find it very useful! As well as dry food and cleaning stuff, it stores a lot of the kitchen stuff that isn't in daily use, so things like big serving dishes, party glasses, slow cooker etc. This leaves the cupboards in the kitchen free for the oft-used, which I can get to easily because they aren't all crammed in! Which means when we did the kitchen up, I didn't need wall cupboards, so the kitchen has a much roomier less crowded feel to it.

I love my pantry!

@madisonbridges

That's a lot of underwear you've got going on there *@SpeckledlyHen*. 😄

ha ha ha ha ha - why does MN not have an edit button!!

Our pantry & utility units came from Schuller www.schueller.de/en/kitchens/pantry
They have some great storage & worth a look to even get ideas. I have the open shelving & the pop out crates which I love & the pull out recycling bags

I’m just putting one in. It used to be the utility room but I have a new boot room and a separate laundry. So the old utility room is now earmarked for a pantry using the units from my old kitchen. I’m looking forward to having it but I do like to have a good store of food.

I would absolutely love a pantry, and plan to put one in my new house when I do the extension. £13k sounds very steep though, you could almost get a whole kitchen for that!

I'd look to see if you could carve one out within your kitchen footprint itself, Pinterest is great for getting ideas from.

13k is a LOT

Grew up with a pantry (family of 7) - I honestly think 2 full height 50/60cm wide cupboards is plenty. Carpenters have priced 1 of those for me under 1k so I’d be willing to pay that max/ install a couple of full height kitchen units

Storage space is great, but agree that too much leads to waste: American friends have a pantry cupboard and end up leaving things in there for eg 5 years so they get ruined. Id want any food used up in 1 year max

I don't know if it's worth the money but I would so LOVE a walk in pantry. Imagine being able to see everything right in front of your eyes instead of having to rummage through bloody cupboards to get your blender/cake tins out.

Having a larder/pantry is a 'must have' if we ever move. We have strange list of requirements including pantry, bath-with-handles and an electric garage door. But not having a pantry would be a deal breaker. You will never regret it.

My parents have a pantry, which is useful, but no more so than a fully functioning utility room. I wouldn't pay a £13k premium for a house with one.

We have one of these (slightly taller version) in our dining area. If ever dh and I split up, one of us can live in it. www.peakfurniture.co.uk/product-page/the-oak-parlour-cupboard

@Theoldwrinkley

Having a larder/pantry is a 'must have' if we ever move. We have strange list of requirements including pantry, bath-with-handles and an electric garage door. But not having a pantry would be a deal breaker. You will never regret it.

I've gone off the idea of electric garage doors since Storm Arwen when people living nearby, who lost power for a week or more, were unable to get their cars out of their garages.

£13k?! What’s it made of, gold?

We have a pantry, and I do like it as it frees up space in the kitchen and it is nice to have all the food together. I wouldn’t pay £13k for it though. For starters, we just have a load of ikea shelving in it which is totally fine, and probably cost about £200 in total.

The big drawback is that all the food is together so sometimes I have to lock it if the kids are being particularly greedy and raiding it every two seconds (and then not eating dinner). Also, it has a lot of food in it, and we are not good at eating our way through everything promptly (tins, dried stuff, not worried about use by dates.