A Functional & Pretty Pantry-One of My Favorite Things

Thanks to Lydia at The Perfect Pantry for highlighting various pantries. My pantry will appear on her blog site March 15th. http://www.theperfectpantry.com/


A year before we built our home, I worked with simple architectural design computer software to figure out the floor plan I wanted. In the initial stages of development, I started with the pantry. In my previous home, I had one closet pantry which was adequate for just storing food stuff. I ended up turning a bar area that went unused into an additional pantry to handle everything from extra sets of dishes and serving pieces, to appliances used only occasionally, to cookbooks. I also needed such a place in the new home. I had torn pictures from magazines and saved ideas in a book that I could show the builder. When it came down to the final design, I talked with a gifted trim carpenter and his son who took my ideas and turned them into reality. The result is something I am proud to show to visitors and that functions like a dream. Here is the result.

This is the door that leads from my kitchen into the pantry.


Inside the pantry, are lots of counter surfaces for preparing food and storing various items. All the shelving is open so items can be easily seen and readily available. The bottom shelves are on pull out slides to make access easier.
There is a magnetic chalkboard mounted on the wall beside the door. I bought the board at a discount store and showed it to the trim carpenter before he began building the pantry cabinets. The way it is incorporated was his idea. Along the back wall of the pantry, the top cabinets are used for storing cookbooks, various serving pieces, and a few old kitchen gadgets from my parents and grandparents.
The spice cabinet below is actually in the kitchen. It was one of those fortuitous events during the design of the house. The air conditioning people needed a place to position an air return. The most logical place ended up being at the end of the kitchen. Since that would bump out this cabinet from the original depth, it was decided the space might best be made into shallow shelving. You can see the change in the wall depth at the top of the spice cabinet. The builder asked if I would ever be able to fill it up. As you can see, that wasn't a problem.

Comments

Tammy said…
Hello, Heart of Texas--I just found you tonight after receiving Lydia's post with your AMAZING pantry! It's beautiful and yes, I believe that word should be used about pantries!
Your blog is striking a cord with me since my dad is from East Texas (just south of Dallas). Many of the recipes I saw that you've posted are familiar--at least by name, if not by ingredient.
I started my blog last November. Feel free to stop by and say "hi". It's not strictly a food blog, but I have plenty of food stories and recipes. (tammycirceo.typepad.com)
Nice to meet you!
tammy
Gretchen Noelle said…
These are wonderful pictures! My kitchen/pantry are just the opposite - everything crammed into small spaces. I love seeing things like this, it makes me hope that one day I will be able to enjoy cooking in a large, spacious kitchen. Yours is gorgeous and looks like it would be incredibly fun to play in! I too followed the link from Lydia.
Mary Bohner said…
Thanks, Gretchen. I enjoy it every day. I realize that getting to design a house to function the way you want from the ground up isn't something everyone gets to do. I too at one time had things crammed into corners in and under cabinets, and in other rooms even. That's probably one of the reasons why when I could do something like this, it was important to do it so I would be happy with it for a long time. Keep a design plan going so that one day you will be ready to do your own perfect pantry.
Mar said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mar said…
Guauuuuuu que maravilla tu cocina, da ganas de entrar y experimentar en tu laborario tan completo!!!
felicitaciones!!!
Anonymous said…
I am so envious of your pantry!! It is so full of good ideas, I may steal a couple to incorporate into my utility room next to my kitchen. You can never have too many shelves for books and impements can you?LOL I am going to bookmark this blog, It is very enjoyable to read. I am in the UK by the way.
Jeannette
Mary Bohner said…
Thanks, Jeannette. If you would like any insights I came up with in designing the pantry or what I have learned from using this one, let me know. I look forward to hearing from you again.
* speechless *

Found on The Perfect Pantry 's 2008 post featuring this outstanding home grocery store.
Unknown said…
Where did you find the bread tin? I've been looking for one just exactly like that!
Charlotte
Unknown said…
I just came across your pantry on pinerest. I wanted to let you know that I really appreciated seeing a real pantry. There are so many staged one that are so impractical and you know that whoever owns them never goes in there, or cooks. I love your and it is my inspiration for my new farm house :)

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