The Best Walk-In Pantry Ideas for a Kitchen

Functional walk-in pantry ideas to help you design the kitchen of your dreams.

When designing a kitchen there are so many things to consider. Appliances, finishes, storage space, and how it will fit into the flow of your home when all is said and done. A walk-in pantry was a necessity in our kitchen design from the beginning of our home building plans.

Above all, you want a walk-in pantry that is functional for your family. There are so many beautiful walk-in pantries out there. But what good is a new pantry if it's not conducive to your lifestyle? These kitchen pantry ideas will help you develop a pantry space that you love and fits right in with your family's needs.

Find Design Help

Whether it's your interior designer or the company helping with your cabinets, finding someone to help you design your pantry space is always a good idea. Keeping a collection of pictures or ideas can help bring your ideal pantry to life.

Luckily, I shared my ideas with Troy at Foxwood who designed this space and made my dreams of a walk-in pantry a reality. One main suggestion when building or designing is to work with people who are willing and able to help your ideas come to life.

Important questions to consider when planning a pantry:

• Do you want appliances in your pantry?
• Will your pantry shelves be mainly used to store food or cookware?
• Will you store cleaning items in your pantry?
• Is counter space or work space important?
• How far away will your fridge and oven be?
• Do you want your pantry to be open shelving or cabinets, or a mix?

Walk-in Pantry Entrance

• Pick doors that depict exactly what you want for your pantry entrance
• Placement of pantry is important

Doors

Decide if you want a pantry entrance that will be hidden or more noticeable. Some kitchen pantries have a discreet sliding door that blends in with the cabinet finishes. While this works well for some kitchens, we opted for an entrance that would stand out.

The doors are made with raw white oak and a lacquer finish over the top. Glass doors are appealing but I also wanted a mixture of wood. The natural wood blends well with the other finishes. The glass design in the doors helps to let more natural light into the pantry, making the small space feel less confined.

These doors are 8 ft tall x 3 ft wide and were custom made to fit the space by Jaron at North Edge Woodshop Co. We put magnets on the top and bottom to keep the doors shut to the separate room. But I also love that they can be left open with direct access to the main kitchen.

Placement

Finding the perfect place for your pantry is important for the overall design of your kitchen. You will want to have fairly easy access to your cooking area and main appliances. It might be hard to have to walk to the opposite side of the kitchen every time you need an item from your pantry for prep.

Also keep in mind that you want a seamless look transitioning between your pantry and your kitchen, possibly even your dining room. Everything should flow and look like it belongs.

Small Appliances for the Walk-in Pantry

• Choose appliances that you don't mind having in another space

When planning out where to store appliances, it's a great idea to include your smaller items inside your walk-in pantry. Moving appliances into the pantry is a great solution to free up space in your kitchen for extra storage.

When your pantry isn't very wide, creating a list of your must-haves is a priority. We put our microwave in the pantry, as well as this Elkay Water bottle filler and a pebble ice machine, my husband's must-have. A walk-in pantry is also optimal for smaller appliances like a coffee machine, KitchenAid, wine fridge or toaster.

Our pebble ice machine and water bottle filler are easily our most used appliances. You will want to have quick access to these so right inside the pantry is perfect. If you are in Utah, I would highly recommend visiting Great Western Supply in Ogden. They will take such great care of you!

Walk-in Pantry Storage and Organization

• Pick easy organizers that help you to see what the item is
• Use a variety of storage

My goal for my house was to have a place for EVERYTHING. Even in the pantry. Having functional space as well as attractive space is always ideal. Shop all of my pantry organization here.

Jars and Containers

The gallon glass jars are great for food storage and dry goods. I opted to use these for holding sugar, flour, beans, rice and even my husband's protein powder.

The clear plastic containers are by OXO. They have the button on top that you push to seal. I have absolutely LOVED these. I use these for dry items like crackers, pretzels, noodles, hot chocolate, oatmeal, croutons and a few other baking items.

These are especially great for food items that your kids get into. No more leaving bags half open or food that goes stale. My kids will actually put the lid back on these to keep things fresh. No need for clips that break or twisty ties that get lost.

The containers with the black lids are great for my baking supplies. They have a little different lid than the OXO containers. They are still airtight and I have really liked them as well. (view here)

Baskets

I found wire baskets to store on my lower shelves for produce that doesn't need to be refrigerated.

For stuff that is not as pretty to store I bought these seagrass baskets to store on the open shelves. Wicker baskets might also work for a similar look. What a great way to create a stylish appearance. Some of the items in there include: Top Ramen, cake mixes and other baking supplies, packaged oatmeal, etc.

Shop all of my walk-in pantry picks on Amazon here

Canned Food Storage

And these awesome racks make storing and rotating my canned goods so much easier. What a lifesaver. Not only does the rack help to organize my cans with enough space, but it helps me to rotate the food as well. (view here)

Finishes

• Choose finishes that will easily transition into each space
• Pick neutral palettes for ease and longevity

Flooring

My flooring is from ADM Flooring. It is called Vintage Beige and is 7.5" wide. You can view how we installed it here.

Countertop

Having a countertop in the walk-in pantry is an ideal spot to have an area for food prep. This countertop is Liberty Bronze Quartz from Daltile.

Pantry Shelving and Cabinets

I love having a combination of open white shelves with the wood cabinets that include drawers. The color scheme and design is modern and neutral with bright white, natural wood and black accents.

Hardware

The black finishes made the hardware pop with all of the dark accents against the light wood and white coloring.

Pantry Measurements

Here are the plans for our walk-in pantry! You can see how it was drawn and how it turned out are not the same. It is the same size, but I changed things up inside as we went along. This is why it is so important to have someone willing to work with you on changing up ideas!

We actually have a spot for a fridge along that back wall so we don't have those extra shelves. I also made the doorway a little bigger so I could have double doors. When custom building, don't forget to think outside of the box!

Other Types of Pantries

Take a look at this fun selection of alternative pantries below.

• Butler's pantry - additional room in between kitchen and dining, usually used for more storage or food prep away from guests.
• Freestanding pantry - pantry that is portable and a good option if you have a small kitchen and need more storage space.
• Pull-out pantry - usually incorporated into your cabinets and cupboards. Blends well into kitchen and provides more storage.
• Built-in cabinet pantry - a pantry that is typically already built into an alcove of the home. Often seen as a row of cabinets or shelving that provides extra storage without bulk or additional uprights.

Whether you are making plans to design a small pantry or large one, take the time to do it right. Find inspiration to guide you on your journey to create the perfect walk-in pantry for all of your needs.