Luxurious Walk-in Pantry? Beware!

Q. Why is a tall cabinet with pull-out trays better than a walk-in pantry?

A. In my experience, walk-in pantries are one of the most requested features in a new or remodeled kitchen. It's such a luxury to have a small room dedicated to storage of canned goods, pet food, small appliances and other items that we don't want cluttering up our wall cabinets and countertop space. However, so-called "walk-in pantries" can be very deceiving on paper.

Architectural plans that show a walk-in pantry are rarely as large as they seem. Like closets, the architect typically does not draw in the shelving that must go in. Subtract the 12 to 15 inches of depth for each shelf, then put that shelving on two walls of a U-shaped space, and your "walk-in" pantry can quickly become a "reach-in" pantry because there is little to no floor space to stand in.

Unless my client has a minimum of 54" across the shortest wall of the pantry, I don't recommend putting one in. Here's how I got there...54" minus 24" (12" for each shelf, assuming two walls of shelving) leaves 30" to actually stand in. Anything less than 30" gets very tight and the deeper the pantry, the more difficult it will become to maneuver in less than 30" of space with your hands full.

A great alternative is to incorporate into your cabinetry design a tall pantry with pull-out trays. An 18" wide by 24" deep tall cabinet with four pull-out trays will hold much more than a 36" wide "walk-in" pantry with a few 12" deep shelves, or even deeper shelves that hold more, but cannot be easily accessed.

You can also add as many pull-out trays as you need, and if the cabinet is pre-drilled for shelving or trays, they can be adjusted according to the height of the products you are storing. If you have large containers for dog food, you can set the bottom tray at 24" off the floor. If you have a tray for spices, the tray above it can be set at 6" to 8" from the tray below.


Another advantage of the pull-out tray system is that you will no longer be reaching over cans and bottles and boxes to access the products behind. You simply pull out the trays (I recommend full-extension glides on these trays) and you can stand to the side of the pantry to easily reach all the products in the back half of the tray.

Remember, when talking to your builder or remodeler, be sure to ask about the width of your "walk-in" pantry. If it's less than 54" wide, consider making the pantry part of your cabinetry. This will save space in your kitchen, maximize your storage space, and put the items you need closer to your preparation area.


Until next time,

Renovate Kate

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