Bec,

We are doing the same thing -- ours will be 36 on either side and we are doing double doors.

I think with 24" one door makes perfect sense!

Also, I agree not to overdoor the pullout, not need when it's only 24" deep and they are pretty high...

It will look beautiful! I love the integrated, clean look it gives you!

Plus you have a good and easy way to separate things logically. For instance, for us, one will be primarily drinks and glasses (we like the idea and used it before -- if you have water there, you need to have glasses there as well...), while the other one will be primarily for different types of food...

All the best!
Tanya

I did a pantry with double doors next to fridge with pullouts and I love the look (24"), on the other side I did an 18" 4 drawer and above that is an 18" deep upper cab for my cookbooks. Across a doorway from that I have double ovens and beside those I have an 18" pantry with single doors.

Both have pullouts (lived without them for years,there was stuff on the backs of those old shelves that had expired that could feed a third world country for a week :-)) One of my primary reasons for a kitchen redo, along with my four blind cabs and the need for oven space...

I really like the look of the double doors, but it is an extra motion to open (two hands)and pull the drawer, plus extra doors to hardware, it's all about what you like...I would definately use double doors again.

Hope this helps

We have a pantry with drawers up to counter height and shelves above. The lowest 3 shelves are pull outs and the top 2 are fixed. I wish they were all pull outs. It's difficult to access stuff in the back and it's easy for the back 12" to be wasted. I put bulky items on these top shelves so that it's easier to move a few items to get to the back. The pull outs for the first 3 shelves are incredibly useful (waist high to eyelevel) I'm able to stack cans the full height of the distance between shelves. Otherwise I would have to leave plenty of vertical space for reaching behind the forward items. With a space as narrow as 24", you're not going to have a lot of room for shuffling items around to get to the back.

As long as you have a landing pad near the fridge, two pantries would be useful. You don't want to take things out of the fridge and then have to walk across the kitchen to put things on the counter.

Look at how you use the fridge now. Do you take things out, put them on the counter next to the fridge, and immediately put them back when you are done. I do, and would find having no counter next to the fridge to be a big problem.

Good luck and enjoy your new kitchen.

Interesting thoughts everybody - thanks!!

We have an island in front of the frig and pantries for the landing pad.

Zelmar, that's a good point about shuffling things around in a 24" space to see it all.

I am thinking one pantry will be more for quick use items: like snacks, coffee, poptarts, crackers, cereal...things we pull out quickly and use. It is toward the front of the kitchen so for kids needing to grab a snack, they won't get in the "cooking space". The other one perhaps for items that are in bulk like canned goods, oil, sauces, rice, noodles, beans. Of course, who really knows once I actually have to them to fill up!!

I think this boils down to preference of door type. I originally wanted to do the single doors because I was expecting the 24" to have a piece of wood down the center (style?) and that would really make each door be 12" but that is not the case - now I think it is just about preference. Dh wants double doors but is leaving the decision up to me.

At one point I was going to have a pantry on either side of the frig, but ultimately I moved one of them elsewhere. But I'm sure it could look nice.

I have one 24" pantry and one 21". My KD at first wanted to make the 24" be two doors, but I resisted - insisted on one door. The reason is because I thought with two doors it would be more difficult to access the pullouts. With one door the full side of the pullout is accessible. With two doors more than half of the pullout is hidden behind the door. (Unless you can get a door that opens 180 degrees, which I think is rare.) This was especially a problem for me because the pantry is up against a wall, so it can only be accessed from one side.

So, those of you with two door pantries - how do you access the back half of the pullouts?

For a 24" deep space, I'd make the entire unit a pullout, not a door with pullout shelves. I've had the door with shelves, and opening the door is an additional motion, plus it sits there in the way while you access stuff. It's really easy to bang up the door while pulling the shelf out.

If you do get the pullout style, go with narrower units (looks like double doors) so that stuff doesn't get buried in the middle.

Also, make sure you have a good landing spot handy for the R/F & pantry.

Our pantry is 36" wide. One side has a partial wall next to it, so the door only opens 90 degrees. The door on the other side can open flat (180). It's easy to see the items in our lower 2 pull outs (one at counter height the other just above) by looking down on them, like using a drawer. The upper pull out isn't quite as visible--when pulled out, I can see stuff along the front and along the side that doesn't have the wall. In order to get a good view of all the items, I need to stand on a chair.

I'll try to take and post a picture later today unless someone else gets to it first.

I really prefer the individual pull out shelves rather than pulling out the entire tall pantry to access a can of tomatoes. I also like being able to customize the height of each shelf (exactly 2 cans high.) I like being able to look down on a shelf to see the full array of items without having the other shelves blocking the overhead view. I think the entire units that pull out look cool (I love pulling out the display models at Ikea) but seem really unpractical and limiting. Plus the front panel blocks the front view so you have to stand to the side to see the items. I do bump into our doors with the pull out shelves, but after more than 2 1/2 years, they are none the worse for the wear. I also have a baking cabinet with pull out shelves that is 24" wide by 24" deep (with 2 doors) and I love it. I pull out the counter height shelf with all my canisters and leave the shelf out while mixing up the ingredients, then close up everything when done. The 2 doors are so narrow that they don't get in the way at all.

We have 2 x 24" W and 12" D pantries on one side of the fridge:

I wanted 12" deep pantries because I'd had them in our last house and loved how easy it was to put things in and see everything at a glance. I also love the way the bulk of the fridge is minimized by recessing it next to the pantries. I don't think we had the option of a single 24" door, but I'm happy enough to open 2 doors if I'm browsing for a snack (canned goods, baking stuff, snacks & cereal in the left hand pantry). I keep dishes in the right hand pantry, and it's often possible to open just one door to get a cup or bowl. Love the location near the DW!

We agonized over the layout for at least 6 months, and a last minute flip of the layout resulted in this fridge & pantry setup. So happy I had that flash of insight--and it was probably due to something I saw on GW!

Zelmar,
More interesting comments! I think you just changed my mind to go with the double doors on each pantry! However, it will make DH crazy if and when I leave the doors open while I work. On your baking cabinet is it just one pullout per shelf? Or 2...one behind each door?

I don't like the entire pull out deal for exactly the reason you mentioned above. It just doesn't seem practical. I have debated about getting the base cabinet pull out for spices or oils but I wonder if I would really use them or they would get on my nerves.

Abbycat, I like your pantries and that is neat how the frig is recessed. We won't have that option.

Thanks everybody for your replies. They always give me some other angle to look at.

Abbycat, I like your pantries and that is neat how the frig is recessed. We won't have that option.

Thanks everybody for your replies. They always give me some other angle to look at.

Had room for pantry on only one side of my fridge, but I love the setup. It's so handy for cooking to have the pantry and fridge next to one another so can pull all ingredients at once. I have pullouts on the lower section and only the bottom shelf of the middle door section. I keep my drinking glasses on the second and third (fixed) shelves of the second section.

I have 26" wide cabinets on each side of my refridgerator. I have a combination of cabinets, drawers, pullout shelf and cutout for microwave/toaster oven. The pullout shelf can be used when using the microwave/toaster ovens or when using the refridgerator.

Here is a picture:

abbycat and soonermagic, you have beautiful kitchens!

Here are the pictures of the pullouts for our 36" pantry and 24" baking cabinet.

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I'm glad you started this thread as I have to have my refrigerator flanked by 2 very thin cabinets. I was going to use one for a broom closet (just because I'm constantly reaching for the broom) and the other for a "landing" for when we are getting things out or putting things in the fridge. If some of you can please post photo's of your cabinets with the door pulled out I would really appreciate it. I'm reading descriptions, but having a difficult time picturing exactly how they look when you pull them out. Does the entire door pull out or do some of you have the door opening to one side and then pull out shelves? I'm trying to weigh my options before making my final decision. Thanks so much.

Also, the cabinet designer put a wider cabinet to one side of the fridge rather than putting a smaller cabinet on each side. I thought the fridge on one side looked lopsided just because it sits between 2 doors (walk-in pantry) and (walk-in laundry). I just pictured in my mind that it should be semetrical and framed by the cabinets. Does anyone have there's between 2 walk regular door ways?

jtsgranite4us your setup is kind of close to what Im going to be doing. 48" SZ flanked by two 24" pantries, cherry cabs. full leanth pantries though, no micro or oven. I think flanking pantries gives a great look and conveniant to! I have a small landing (24") after the pantry on th eright, as well as a massive island right behind the fridge pantries. my cabinets have arrived but i havnt unwrapped the pantries and I dont remember if I went double or single doors. I think doubles. I used pullout shelves for all draws under about 4 feet. CANT WAIT FOR IT ALL TO BE INSTALLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jtsgranite, beautiful cabinets! Your wall looks similar to mine except mine will be all doored pantries. I even put a small cabinet to the right side for for the phone, etc.

Zelmar, thanks for posting the pictures!! Visuals help so much! Your cabinets are beautiful too! I notice that you have dividers in one of your drawers. I am supposed to get those in a large pots and pans drawer. Do you think they would be helpful for that?

mygar - Thanks for the compliment. Sounds like your cabinets will be wonderful.

housecrazy1970 - We have a galley style kitchen and were somewhat limited in space on that wall. Sounds like your cabinets will be very functional. Can't wait to see some pictures when they are installed.

Hi mygar, our 36" pantry is actually in the transition area between the kitchen and eating area so I have dividers in the top drawer for silverware. Our pots and pans drawer is approx 33" wide and I don't have dividers--I need every inch of space. But the drawer is deep (high) enough so that I can store the lids on the pots---if I needed a place to store lids, a divider might be helpful. Or maybe the dividers are so you can store the shallow pots/pans on edge? I guess it depends on the shape of your pots and how efficiently the space can be used.

Good luck with your decisions!

jtsgranite, I also think your kitchen is beautiful.

zelmar - Thanks. Your panty cabinets look wonderful and functional. I wish we could have devoted some of our cabinets specifically to be used as a pantry, but due to our galley style kitchen, we had other needs for our cabinets.

Zelmar,
My original thought on the pots and pans dividers is so I could store casserole dishes on their sides so I wouldn't have to stack them and have to life out the whole stack to get to the bottom. Although, I have been wondering if the stacking would be more efficient. I think I'll take all of my pots and pans to Lowes/HD and test it! :)

So this isn't the greatest picture (and please note this is an UNFINISHED kitchen and sorry I just realized my butt is in the picture because my DH took it while I was cleaning the glass on the range...) but you might be able to make out the 18" pantries flanking the 48" SZ.
The doors open left and right 90 degrees, just like a SxS, which works perfectly as our drop zone is on the island across the aisle (galley style kitchen layout is on page 7 in the gallery kitchen forum). All are 27" pullouts (set in 30" deep cabinets) and completely adjustable to whatever heights I want.
Note: The top of the pantry is at 60" - I didn't think pullouts any higher than that would be of much use. I keep extra appliances (slow cooker, rice cooker, colandar, roasting racks, etc) in the upper cabinets above the pantry. This is not quite enough space for us so I use the cabinet under the prep sink for big stuff like gallons of vinegar and 20# sacks of basmati rice and the weird flours that we don't use much (for making tortillas). I also have a big hall closet that I use for cases of big cans (I shop primarily at Costco).
Hope this helps your thinking/planning a bit.

It would probably help if I posted the link...

Here is a link that might be useful: