Designing a Kitchen Pantry

<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt"><font size="3" color="#990000">Designing a Kitchen Pantry</font></h2><p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">Adding a pantry to the kitchen can provide a lot more storage space while making it easier to stay organized. Whether you only have room for a small pantry or want to create a full-size walk-in pantry, you’ll get a lot of use out of this home improvement project. Almost every kitchen has a little bit of space that can be converted into pantry storage.</span></p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt"><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>Choosing the Location</strong></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Although a pantry can be useful regardless of the location, it can be helpful to locate it in close proximity to where you plan to use the items you will be storing. If you plan on storing canned goods and other food items, keeping them within easy reach of the cooking and food preparation areas is the best idea. Most kitchen cabinet manufacturers make matching full-height pantry units, which can be added onto the end of a row of other cabinets. This can be an especially easy way of adding a pantry, while keeping it close to the countertop and other cabinets. Creating a pantry out of a kitchen closet is also a great idea. Some kitchens have a "broom closet," which is often under-utilized. These closets make great locations for a large pantry closet.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>Designing the Pantry</strong></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">If you are installing a ready-made pantry cabinet, then most of the design will have already been done for you. When looking for pantry cabinets, make sure they offer fully adjustable shelves. Nothing is more frustrating than discovering that your favorite bottled juice simply will not fit, or that you waste a lot of space storing small cans. It can also be a good idea to purchase a few extra shelves, so that you can rearrange things in the future if the need arises. Most people find that their storage needs change over time, so versatility is an important feature in any kitchen pantry. If you are building your own pantry in a closet or making your own cabinet, you’ll also want to plan for adjustable shelves. Installing vertical metal strips designed to work with shelf clips is one way to do this.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/2b.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/2b.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>Other Great Pantry Features</strong></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">If you design your pantry to include a countertop area, it can be a great place to store infrequently used small kitchen appliances such as the blender or waffle maker. Of course, you can store these kinds of items on any pantry shelf that is big enough, but if you also add an electric outlet you could even use the appliance in the pantry, eliminating the need to carry it to other places in the kitchen. Adding a countertop surface inside the pantry can make this easier and more effective. Electricity is also something to keep in mind if you are designing your own pantry. In fact, some kitchen closets even have an outlet in them already. Using this method can really save a lot of countertop space in the kitchen. You should also utilize the back side of the pantry door if at all possible. Some pre-made pantry cabinets have racks on the inside surface of the door. There are also wire racks and other kinds of small shelving units, such as those designed to hold spices containers, which you can install if you are building your own pantry.</p><p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt"><strong>About the author</strong></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">This article was written by Alyssa Davis of Metal-Wall-Art.com who specializes in creating stylish interiors with <a href="http://www.metal-wall-art.com/butterflies-dragonflies-metal-decorations.html" target="_blank">butterflies metal wall decor</a> and <a href="http://www.metal-wall-art.com/outdoor-metal-art-decor.html" target="_blank">outdoor metal wall hangings</a>.</span></p></span>