picture of current pantry

Here is a link that might be useful:

There was a thread not too long ago about desks in the kitchen. I think most people thought they just collected clutter and weren't a very good use of kitchen space. I also don't think they are as common as they used to be.

Can you improve the functionality of your pantry? I'm sure others will chime in with some great suggestions!

You can't go wrong with more storage as long as you can figure out how to work the odd shape of the walls so I would go for the upper cabinets.

We decided to add a hutch above our kitchen desk as part of our remodel:

For us, it will provide a place to mount the LCD for the TV/Laptop, the intercom/music system base unit, some additional shelves, and a small cabinet at the top. The cabinet will house the whole-house amplifier for the music system.

I have no experience with a kitchen desk but have included one in the remodel with the fond hope of keeping mail and business material and etc. out of the kitchen work areas. We ran about measuring items and found that a standard telephone book or a large 3-ring notebook of our financial statements would not fit in 12-inch uppers, so we've made 16-inch deep ones with the hope that some of the clutter will remain inside the doors.

We're going to mount some cork between the upper and the desktop in hopes that this will eliminate some of the refrigerator magnets that now hold notices, etc.

We have also put outlets in the cupboard with the hope of using it for charging telephones, etc. Don't forget to including wiring for a light under the cabinet.

DH believes he really will sit there--even with a peninsula and stools right beside it--so I gave up the fight to make it simply a bank of drawers below the desk surface.

Desk that will be built

Picture of front view of desk area

Shape of upper walls where we are looking at installing the cabinets

We are putting one in. We have never had one and I am looking forward to a place to put the laptop and calendar and mail. The clutter is in my kitchen workspace/counters now, so I'd rather it be in it's own contained desk area.

Are you going to close up and lose that compartment under the stairs?

What are you going to put in the uppers? Do you need them for kitchen storage? Or are you thinking about looks? Books?

I have an armoire desk (not in the kitchen), which I love. The pin board in the back is nigh on useless because it can't be reached sitting so one has to stand and bend under the upper shelves. It would be fine for something semi-permanent like photos and a calendar, but not for flyers and notices. The very front of the lowest shelf can be reached sitting, but not enough to really use from the chair.

Will there be doors on the desk so you can shut the whole thing away?

My suggestion is to have high shelves or cabinets that you can reach standing, and have the space in front of your face open. You could mount a monitor/tv or whatever, or something nice to look at, and put pinboard and magnet board on the sides where they're easiest to reach. If you don't have anything cluttery you must store in there, you could put open shelves with cookbooks, and maybe a decorative item or two.

Yes I'm closing in that area under the stairs. However, I have already gained access to it from a hall closet on the right side of the stairs. So I will still have the area for storage. We just need more counter space, hence the desk

Maybe build a hutch for the desk that covers up that area.
Maybe some wine storage slots up on the right side if it is safe and adequate to do so.

I can't say for sure a desk will be great because I don't know how close this is to your kitchen or what your storage needs are, i wouldn't mind seeing a sliding glass door and using it to storing all kinds of food/kitchen stuff... when I open the door I see some nicer built in shelves. If I was someone shopping for a house that seems like a nicer thing to see than a desk. Just my opinion.

I don't have any opinions on whether or not to have a desk. But I do have Three suggestions.

Use only a single 18-24" drawer cabinet and place it to one side or the other to allow someone to actually sit there! You can't sit and actually work at a place with only a 21" knee space.

Make it counter height. Really double the usage when you want to use it as kitchen counter. For something like a laptop station, you could make a place that was meant to be used only while standing, running a full bank of cabinets underneath. I'd be tempted to raise one section even higher. That way it'd be easier to use a laptop and/or writing surface while standing.

Don't forget a charging station for the ever present gear.

I double and triple echo bmorepanic's suggestions. As drawn, it's an unusable space. It won't even be comfortable for a child with only a 21" opening. And, the only way I'd make it "desk height" is if it could double as a bakng area, because it will get far more use as a prep spot than a desk. 85% of my customers who have kitchen desks want to rip them out when it comes time to redo the kitchen. Most want to add pantry space. ;) You know your family's needs better than anyone, but I'd have to say that I'd really really reexamine losing pantry space, period. A well functioning pantry space is probably the most valuable real estate a kitchen can have. The rest of the cabinet storage doesn't have to work as hard when you have a good pantry.

When we remodeled we took out the built in desk. It was a clutter corner, we never sat at it, and all we did was load stuff ...briefcases, shoes, etc., where the chair was supposed to go. But then again, we already have another designated room in the house to be used as a home office. We took it out and replaced it with a a bank of cabinets, both upper and lower, and trememdously increased our kitchen storage. I would opt for more kitchen storage anyday over a desk. To me, a desk in a kitchen is a dated concept.

I don't know if this is an option for you, but this is what we are doing...We have a couple of spaces in our new house that we intentionally did not finish because we wanted to see how we would live in the home and what our actual vs perceived needs would be.
We have a space in our kitchen for a built-in desk, it is not in the main work area it is on a side wall of the 'nook' which we will be using as a sitting area. We are going to place our computer armoire there for now and see if we like that, if so we will build in a desk. If it is just a clutter station and we don't use the computer there we will go with plan 'B' which is more as bmorepanic suggests. It will also allow us to see if there is a 'lack' in our kitchen that can be addressed there. We need a space within our 'keeping room' for the kids to use the computer, store their papers, and for me to have a calendar, phone, some files etc. So our plan for now is to live in the space a while and figure out exactly what our needs are and then build to that.
If you could do something temporary or in stages that might get you a better end result tailored to your actual needs and lifestyle. You mentioned needing more counter space, so I would add my vote for kitchen height counters vs. desk height. This would also allow you to build a cabinet in the knee space at a later date if you find you don't use it as a sit down desk area. You could leave the upper wall open and build that in later based on what you decide. Good luck!

Well, I'm building a desk, and can't wait. Dated or not, we need a central area to put the mail, charge phones, calendar, and quite frankly I want ONE spot to gather clutter rather than four, including the kitchen table,which is what happens now. Clutter happens. In our house, anyway. And I love the idea of only one spot to gather it!

Now I do really like the counter height idea...

If you build it counter height 36", you will need a higher chair to sit in it.

Most desks are 29-31"

I built mine at 33" and still "usable" with a laptop. We put a stone countertop on it we can also roll dough on it, it's a bit of compromise but since it is a kitchen it is cooking first, computer second.

Of course everyone's kitchen/needs/family is different, but I'm in the camp of "have a desk and am ripping it out". I do not have a pantry in my kitchen and would dearly love to have one. However, where the desk sits is not a good place for one. I do have cabinetry above the desk and that will be staying. When the desk comes out, I'm going back with storage, storage, storage. I'm having to have a piece custom built and stained, but am having great fun envisioning all the great storage I'm going to get when the desk comes out. Pot drawers, a spice drawer, etc. Right now our desk is the clutter catcher like (it seems) everyone else's, but I do agree that "clutter happens" and you have to give it a place. What I am really gaining by getting rid of the desk and going back with drawers, etc. is a huge amount of storage space that is simply wasted on little tiny desk drawers than can't hold anything substantial. We have never ever sat at the desk in the 15 years we've lived in the house. The space where the chair is supposed to go is another clutter catcher for extra 2-liters, etc. and as such is completely unsightly! We do have a computer desk area in another part of the house. The desk in our kitchen is very central. It was not thought out well at all in terms of kitchen design, so if it were off in its own nook or something I might feel differently. However, one of the big things I'm looking forward to is having one continuous run of countertop, where we currently step down for the desk. Just my two cents, to each his/her own, and good luck with your decision!

I would always chose a pantry over a desk space. I agree completely with the clutter collector comments.

I would reconfigure your pantry.