Pantry Designers Minding the Store

In early American kitchens, the pantry was often the size of a small bedroom. Usually windowless to keep out light and the elements, it was essential for cooks to have ample storage areas, since a trip to the market often meant daylong journeys into the nearest town for staples.

Food storage has always created problems in the kitchen. The question of where cans, boxes, bags and bottles can be kept safely and within easy reach has been the source of many headaches for the kitchen designer working with limited space.

Pantry storage is as essential to the kitchen as the refrigerator or the stove, but unfortunately, it’s not given much attention.

The key to a successful pantry in adjustability.

“We’re finding that people want to get rid of things like exotic shelves that pull out and turn,” says Paul Otto of Kitcheneering Designs in Orange. “Everyone wants the pantry to be a very flexible space.”

That flexibility is critical with changes in the way many buy their dry goods.

“Today, many families buy from these large discount warehouses that feature large packages and boxes,” says Jan Tokunaga of Kitchen & Bath Showroom in Irvine. “In most cases, they have to stack them lying down or find another cabinet where they can fit. Ideally, you want a pantry that can accommodate these odd sizes.”

The simplest solution are adjustable shelves that can be raised or lowered to fit the product. But this may not help everyone. Pantry cabinets often pose a problem for those not tall enough to reach deep into the back shelves.

“We have an interesting pantry that solves this very easily,” says Tokunaga. “The shelves are made to be shorter, and shelves for cans or jars are built in the door and can be reached by anyone.”

Such features as roll-out shelves have become popular in many new kitchens. “They’re installed in the bottom portion of the pantry, and people love them because not only do they hold a lot of dry goods, they look nicer when the doors are opened than a stack of shelves,” says Otto.

“Roll-outs can give you the back of the pantry like nothing else can,” says Elizabeth Hood of Kitchen Design Centre in Orange. “You’re not forced down on your knees to pull cans from the back, which makes them convenient.”

Traditionally a big selling point for a home, the walk-in pantry usually promises a great deal of space, but what it delivers can be deceiving. “One problem with walk-ins is that they often have a lot of dead space that’s used in the back of the shelves or for the cook to walk around in,” says interior designer Mike Hargrade of Cypress.

“One way to get around that is to consolidate that space by using adjustable shelves and, with some electrical rewiring, creating a kitchen work station inside. You can keep things like food processors, can openers, even a microwave in an area that was previously stacks of poorly used shelving. You can even use the area for a wine rack.”

The fold-out pantry could be an option for a small kitchen space, although it can be expensive. Hinged shelves are mounted on the back wall, the door or the sides swing out to allow access to various cans and jars. The fold-out creates very little wasted space, although you may have to figure on how much you want to spend on your pantry.

Remodeling your pantry can be a costly job, since shelves and drawers often must be custom-made to fit. “Features like roll-out shelving are usually made at the factory to fit certain brands of cabinets, and are designed for a remodeled kitchen, not just a pantry.”

However, there are options to expand the pantry for people without an expanded wallet. According to Layne Laster of Hold Everything in Costa Mesa, there are several inexpensive ways to get more out of your pantry.

“One of more popular choices in an over-the-door pantry rack gives you shelves on the inside of the door without using nails or screws,” says Laster. The white wire rack, which retails for $39, has six shelves and a basket at the bottom, and hooks over the top of the door.

Modular shelving can be used to create extra shelves along the pantry wall. A six-shelf unit can fit into a small space and will also be able to hold complementary wire shelves below it. Cooks who often use one type of canned good can benefit from such gadgets as can dispensers, which mount on the wall and feed cans one at a time.

“The best thing to do before looking at space-saving shelving is to take measurements of the space you already have,” says Laster. “When you start looking, you’ll see many different kinds of gadgets you might like to have, but if it’s not going to help your space requirements, it’s not worth getting.”

Laster also recommends being creative when looking for space. “Try to picture what you use the most and where you’d like it to go. If you have a large space between shelves that can’t be adjusted, there are small white wire shelves that can use that empty space. You can put cans on the lower shelf and jars above on the wire shelf.”

Reconfigure your pantry can become a new hobby. “I’ve found that once you start toying with different ideas about where to store things and you solve a storage problem, you’re often hooked,” says Laster. “From there you have to organize everything.”