Kitchen Walk-in Pantry Design Considerations
There are many practical issues to consider for your pantry design, as well as how you will clean and maintain a healthy environment within your pantry. We will explore a few of these issues in this article.
As with many design projects, there is a process that everyone should go through to ensure that the final solution meets their needs. Pantry design is no different. Since space is limited, we will focus on the basics and refer you to some of the web sites listed below for more detail.
The two basic questions everyone must address is: “What will the pantry be used for? “ and “How much space do you have to work with?” Pantries in smaller homes may be limited to wall cabinets or pull out drawers, while in larger homes they will be large enough to walk into and may be also multi purpose. Kitchen pantries storing items traditionally used in the kitchen will be designed differently than a closet pantry located in the basement or perhaps closer to the laundry facilities. Once you have decided how much space you have to work with, you must also decide what it will be used for. This is important for a number of reasons.
Pantries used to store food goods should never have household items such as cleansers and soap stored in them as well. Although everything is sealed, there still can be a transfer of smells to your food goods. It is always a good idea to separate food storage from cleaning supplies. If you have a large pantry, wall closet or walk in, consider either shallow shelves or roll out shelves so that all items are accessible and easily found.
Health issues are also a consideration. If your pantry is not easy to clean, then it probably will not be and you will find that over time you will have a build up of dust and small particles of food. These food particles are attractive to ants and other insects that may enter your home. One suggestion is to leave room under the bottom shelf so it is easy to clean and vacuum. In addition, as we mentioned previously, do not store dry food goods with cleansers and soaps.
While recycling and pantries do not always go hand in hand, you might consider a bottom drawer combination for a recycling unit. If it is convenient to the kitchen and easily accessed you will be more likely to make use of it.
Design questions you should consider are as follows:
What space do you have available?
Do you want a wall pantry or walk in pantry?
What will you put in the pantry?
Will it be a special purpose pantry?
How will the pantry blend in with the kitchen?
Will you have shallow shelves or deep shelves?
Will the shelves rollout for access?
Is the pantry convenient to use?
Can you clean the pantry easily?
Do you want to incorporate re-cycling?
Do you need more lighting, outlets, counter space?
Finally, your pantry should be a source of convenience and not an irritation. A well designed pantry that meets the needs of the family, easily accessible, can be cleaned easily, and well organized so that you can find what you are looking for will provide you with a source of satisfaction and comfort.
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