Walk-in Pantry Design Ideas for Your Bespoke Kitchen
A walk-in pantry can be such a practical addition to your bespoke kitchen, a game-changer for organisation, storage, and everyday convenience. We are often tasked with ‘finding’ space for a pantry when we’re working with clients renovating their kitchen/living/downstairs spaces. A brilliant example of this is found in our Dene Kitchen, where we ‘pinched’ a bit of space from their garage to make a walk-in pantry, large enough to be used as a prep kitchen when entertaining, as well as supplying oodles of storage.
As with kitchen design, there are so many elements and features to think about when planning a walk-in pantry. These are some key design features we consider when we’re creating functional and beautiful pantries:
Lots of different types of storage
Our number one 'walk-in pantry design ideas blog' top tip ... every pantry needs a clever combination of storage options to keep things tidy and accessible, and it depends mainly on what you like to eat and drink, as well as how you cook and entertain. Consider:
- Shallow shelves (either open shelves or inside cupboards) for smaller items like tins and ingredients you use all the time like rice, pasta, and pulses, to avoid things getting lost at the back. Our cupboards are made to order so we can make our cupboards shallower which can be much more practical.
- Utensil drawers and knife blocks for specialist kitchen equipment, baking sieves, cookie cutters, baking beans.
- Deep drawers for storing larger items like snacks, crisps, and pet food.
- Some countertop space with plug sockets for your small appliances like a blender, juicer, mixer
- Bespoke wine rack to keep your wine organised, easy to see and access.
- Dividers for baking trays / chopping boards / trays to keep those neatly organised.
- Hanging rails under shelves to store mugs or utensils, freeing up shelf space.
- Spice racks and oil racks. These racks should be slim so only 1 spice jar or 1 oil / vinegar bottle fits, as it makes it much easier to see what you’ve got and potentially even keep them in alphabetical order so they’re easy to find.
- Bespoke cabinetry with adjustable shelving so you can make it just right for your space and for what you want to store e.g. cans, bottles, jars. We've even made cupboards for walk-in pantries, especially for a Thermomix (which is an incredible blender that also cooks and stirs ... often used in restaurants and MasterChef [side note, if you'd like a Thermomix demo let us know, we run them from time to time at the showroom]).
- Floor-to-ceiling cupboards along one wall. As bespoke cupboard makers, this is one of our favourite things to do. This is one of our top walk-in pantry design ideas ... it looks luxurious, minimises dust traps and maximises space, providing places for seasonal crockery in the top cupboards
With bespoke design, you can make every inch of your pantry work for you.
Thoughtful Layout and Positioning
The configurations of your walk-in pantry can be a straight line of cupboards, an L-shape, or U-shape, depending on your space. For smaller kitchens, sliding or pocket doors can be great space-saving options to help you connect as well as separate your kitchen and pantry.
Where to position your walk-in pantry? It obviously needs to fit seamlessly into your kitchen workflow, close by to where you'll prep food and cook, and easy for everyday cooking and entertaining. The idea is to store as much of your dry foods in here as possible so you'll want it to be close to where you're going to prep and cook food.
Hidden Appliance Storage
Modern pantries often double as appliance garages, keeping the main kitchen counters clutter-free. You could make a specific cupboard for your microwave, coffee machine, blender, juicer or mixer, with enough power points to keep everything ready to use. It’s all about convenience and functionality. Creating zones that'll work for you're household for breakfast, lunch, dinner and parties.
It's always an option to add in bigger appliances including fridge, freezer. Adding in a dishwasher, sink and bins makes your walk-in pantry into a mini kitchen / a butler's pantry / a prep kitchen which can be hugely useful if you're having an open-plan kitchen and like to entertain as it'll provide somewhere to hide all the dirty dishes.
Walk-in Pantry Design Ideas: design with personality
With a bespoke approach, you can create a pantry that’s both functional and fabulous. Your pantry can be full of personality and should be beautifully considered, especially if you're planning on a glazed divider or glazed door between your kitchen and pantry. Inject your personal style into the design to make it a statement feature of your kitchen. Some ideas include:
- Paint your pantry cabinetry in a bolder colour. It's easier to be ‘braver’ with colour in rooms that are more private
- Decorative handles or knobs
- Oak or walnut accents. For example, it can work beautifully to use oak or walnut for a bespoke wine rack.
- Glazed doors with sidelights. Architectural joinery is beautiful in its own right. We have some stunning joinery around our walk-in pantry at our showroom – custom-made glazed doors and sidelights; and you can see an example of our joinery craftmanship in our Vineyards kitchen.
- Marble worktops and shelving. You can see how stunning this looks in our kitchen showroom.
Smart Organisation
A well-organised pantry is a joy to use. We always think it’s worth it to decant dry goods into glass or ceramic containers to keep everything tidy, easy to see and easy to find. It makes it so much easier to do the shopping list when you can see what’s running low. Label containers clearly for quick identification, and group similar items together. For example, create zones for baking supplies, snacks, breakfast cereal & porridge essentials, nuts, seeds, and pastas. This way, everything has a home, and your pantry is more likely to stay clutter-free.
Lighting Matters
Good lighting can make all the difference in your pantry. In quite a few pantries we've designed and made, they've been purposely placed where we could incorporate a small window (complete with traditional separate fly screen) or a Velux window. But it is possible to work with a space that has no natural light.
- LED strips can be recessed in under shelves & inside cupboards to brighten up the corners and backs of cupboards/shelves.
- Motion-sensor lighting is an energy-efficient option, ensuring the space is only lit when in use.
- Wall lights can also add light, character, and charm. We have some from Corston in our showroom walk-in pantry.
Walk-in Pantry Design Ideas: Bring It All Together
At our bespoke kitchen company, we’ve designed and built stunning walk-in pantries that combine practicality with style. From sleek modern designs to warm and timeless shaker style, we can help you create a pantry that suits your home and lifestyle perfectly. Whether you’re dreaming of an organised haven or a hidden workspace for appliances and food prep, a bespoke pantry is an incredible addition to your kitchen.
Are you considering a kitchen renovation or kitchen extension? Meet our specialist kitchen designers at our Showroom
All of our kitchens are individually designed and made to order, so you can have exactly what you want. If you’d like to discuss your kitchen extension, kitchen renovation plans or walk-in pantry design ideas with our experienced designers, you’re welcome to arrange to meet with us at our kitchen showroom in Shere near Guildford, Surrey.
At our showroom we have some different styles of beautiful bespoke cabinetry, a kitchen Island, a walk-in pantry, architectural joinery, and lots of samples of worktop options, handles, knobs, and hinges; and you can peak into our workshop too. We offer an initial one-hour appointment to meet with our designers and explore your plans at our showroom, this first appointment is complimentary and enables us to provide you with a ballpark cost estimate and concept plan for your space. As we are a small team and often on-site with clients, design meetings and showroom visits are by appointment only. For our contact details, please click HERE
Walk-in pantry design ideas, images featured:
Secret pantry / walk-in pantry, custom kitchen more images coming soon
Walk-in pantry / butlers pantry / prep kitchen / second kitchen, our Dene Kitchen, CLICK HERE
Walk-in pantry, Shake Kitchen our Vineyards Kitchen, CLICK HERE