Kitchen Pantries & Larder Cupboards
12 Kitchen Pantry & Larder Ideas for Your Kitchen
A kitchen pantry is a place to store food products, such as jarred and dried foods and root vegetables, and appliances, such as toasters and coffee machines. A pantry usually features a combination of storage tailored to the owner’s needs, including shelving, drawers and door racks.
Larders and pantries have increased in popularity in recent years as our kitchens become more multifunctional. Storage and prep areas need to work harder than ever before as we hide the messier elements of the kitchen out of sight from the living and dining room areas.
In this blog, we share 12 kitchen pantry and larder ideas to inspire stylish and creative kitchen storage.
A Brief Introduction
Kitchen pantries and larders have a long and rich practical history that has evolved over the years with technology, decor trends and how we live in our homes.
What is the difference between a kitchen larder and a pantry?
Today, people use ‘larder’ and ‘pantry’ interchangebly to describe an organised and easily accessible cupboard to store ingredients, utensils and appliances.
Originally, kitchen larders and pantries were separate areas of the home that served different functions. Larders were dry, cool rooms off the kitchen for storing cured meats, fish, cheese, milk and preserves. The rooms were aptly named ‘larders’ because the food was preserved with lard. In comparison, pantries were originally cupboards in the kitchen for storing bread and dried goods, named after the French word ‘paneterie’, derived from the French word for bread.
1. Traditional Kitchen Pantry
A traditional kitchen pantry is a welcome addition to any kitchen and will usually feature double doors that open to shelving in the upper section and drawers below. Your pantry doors can be standard to accommodate additional storage or bi-fold for easy access. The interior is usually finished in wood.
Shelves offer space to store dried foods, while door racks are a perfect addition for spices, jars and condiments.
Adding a granite or quartz worktop to the pantry creates an additional work surface that can be used to store large appliances such as blenders, toasters, breadmakers or coffee machines – known as an ‘appliances garage’.
2. Modern Manufactured Pantry
Pantries are often associated with traditional and shaker kitchens. However, you can have a pantry in a modern kitchen too!
A benefit of a manufactured kitchen pantry, as opposed to a handcrafted one, is that manufacturing offers a wider choice of interior finishes from various colours to wood effects.
This breakfast pantry is part of a modern, handleless German kitchen. The interior is finished in a fresh, contemporary off-grey to contrast the eucalyptus green doors. The modern stainless steel handles used in the kitchen are continued inside the breakfast cupboard, creating a cohesive modern look inside and out.
3. Bespoke Handcrafted Kitchen Pantry
A bespoke handcrafted kitchen pantry is the ultimate addition to a luxurious kitchen. This type of kitchen pantry is designed and crafted to your exact needs and preferences, giving you complete control to tailor the design to your storage needs.
Drawers are integral to any kitchen pantry, and a bespoke design offers even more opportunities for customisation including shallow top drawers perfect for smaller items such as utensils, bespoke tea trays and deeper drawers ideal for storing vegetables, bread and larger kitchen equipment.
Your kitchen designer can create a bespoke storage solution, customising the exact drawer heights and widths to your preference. For an extra personal touch, drawers can be engraved with labels of your choice.
4. Drinks Pantry as a Hide-Away Home Bar
The beauty of a pantry is in its versatility. Kitchen pantry cabinets are great for food storage, garaging worktop appliances and organising kitchenware, but they also make the perfect hideaway home bar.
In this KCA kitchen, we designed the pantry to be easily adapted for multiple uses. Functioning as a family pantry during the week and a home bar stocked with glassware when entertaining. The integrated lighting perfectly lights the glassware and drinks, with the bespoke spice racks doubling as a space for bar snacks. The beauty of this design is that it can transition from a chic home bar to a conventional family pantry. Your kitchen pantry can also incorporate a wine rack or a wine cooler to store your wine collection.
5. Pantry as Dedicated Coffee and Tea Area
For those who prefer their tea and coffee over cocktails, why not turn your pantry or larder into a dedicated tea and coffee area?
Pantries and larders make the perfect tea and coffee points as they can be equipped with an instant water hot tap, coffee machines, fridges and even an additional sink, keeping tea and coffee mess in one kitchen area.
6. Pull-Out Kitchen Pantry
This contemporary pull-out pantry cabinet was designed as a convenient storage space for frequently used cooking items. Designed close to the hob and the client’s cookbook collection for convenience.
A pull-out pantry lets you quickly see and access everyday items hidden in the back of a cupboard or at the bottom of a drawer. It’s an excellent option for kitchens with limited space, as it’s built into the cabinetry and comes in slim vertical styles.
This pull-out pantry uses a soft guiding mechanism that absorbs excessive momentum, ensuring effortless and quiet opening and closing. This mechanism, paired with durable non-slip shelving, ensures stored items remain undisturbed with every use.
7. Walk-in Pantry
A walk-in pantry is the ultimate storage solution for people who love to cook. A walk-in pantry has ample space for groceries, cooking ingredients, and small appliances, decluttering the main kitchen.
What’s more, a pantry with a controlled environment can extend the shelf life of ingredients, and it’s a discreet spot to store larger appliances, keeping countertops clean and clutter-free. A walk-pantry is great for bulk buying and stockpiling ingredients and preserves.
In this walk-in pantry design, a Crittall door separates this walk-in pantry from the main kitchen. The design chooses to celebrate the pantry rather than hide it away. Much like a range cooker, open shelving or pot racks, the design makes the statement that the client likes to cook.
8. Freestanding Pantry
A freestanding pantry is an alternative to a fitted pantry or larder. This style is perfect for traditional and classic shaker kitchen designs that want to add a statement furniture feature.
Including a freestanding pantry in your kitchen design creates a softer, more casual kitchen style. Less structured than fitted units, a freestanding pantry looks timeless and curated, great for classic kitchen designs and farmhouse looks. The freestanding design means that it can repositioned within the kitchen space and reconfigured as your storage needs change.
Much like a fitted pantry cupboard, a freestanding pantry can be designed bespoke and tailored to your kitchen design.
9. Double Pantry for Crockery and Tableware
This double built-in pantry uses bespoke handmade shaker kitchen furniture. The pantry’s main purpose is to store crockery, so we designed additional shelving for the client’s tableware, dishes, bowls, etc.
The best practice for a food pantry is to position your pantry close to the fridge so food is zoned in one area for convenience. However, as this kitchen pantry was designed for crockery and utensils, we positioned it so as not to interfere with critical cooking areas. The pantry design is full-height to ceiling to maximise usable storage space.
To future-proof the design, the shelves can be moved, and power sockets have been supplied should the clients want to turn it into a breakfast pantry or a place for additional worktop appliances.
10. Small Kitchen Pantry Cupboard
When planning your kitchen, remember those worktop appliances. A large cupboard like this one is a great place to store appliances such as mixers, coffee machines, toasters, etc. In this award-winning KCA kitchen, we designed the kitchen with plenty of storage, including a corner pantry cabinet for stores the clients mixer and baking utensils.
This small kitchen pantry cupboard was designed with integrated power so that appliances could be garaged and used in situ. This small corner pantry cabinet was designed with adjustable shelving and a bespoke spice rack on the internal doors to use every inch of space.
Kitchen pantries are a great storage solution for large worktop appliances that would otherwise clutter your kitchen design.
11. Open Kitchen Pantry
For those who want to create a statement, an open pantry reveals the craftsmanship of your cabinetry whilst creating a display for cherished items, kitchenware or your collection of drinks.
The owners in this KCA kitchen love to entertain, so we reimagined and elevated the pantry to create an inviting bar area. The mirrored back, integrated lighting and bespoke carving above the pantry create a statement home bar great for making cocktails. The open pantry was designed to step out from the run of cabinetry, with the cornice and legs designed to make the pantry look almost like a free-standing furniture piece, iconic to English heritage kitchen designs.
12. Double Pantry with ‘Secret’ Narnia Door
This KCA kitchen includes a large double pantry integrated into the tall run of units whilst concealing a hidden ‘Narnia’ door that opens onto a large utility room. For those blessed with space, utility rooms have replaced traditional larder rooms. Utility spaces liberate the kitchen from certain day-to-day practical functions and tasks; they may include an additional fridge and freezer space, a prep kitchen area or a convenient place to do the laundry.
Looking for more kitchen pantry ideas and inspiration for your new kitchen?
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