Is it time to trade in the table for one with self-storing leaves? It would get them out of the way and you wouldn't have to drag them out from someplace when you want to use them.

They make felt like storage bags for table leaves. I bought mine at Bed bath and Beyond. I think I would forgo lining the wall itself as that might be difficult to clean and to remove in the future. I think for as frequently as you use the leaves, they should be stored close to the table.

"Is it time to trade in the table for one with self-storing leaves?"

Wish I could. The table was purchased from a Danish design place in 1970s and it is a butcherblock teak oval very dear to DH. We waited for months for it to be shipped from Denmark as young marrieds, back when the dollar did very well against all other world currencies. It seats 12-14 if some are children on piano benches, etc. Not sure I could replace it without breaking the bank. But yes, self-storing tables are a wonderful thing.

warmfridge, you DO have me thinking...hmmmm

Do you have an island? Mine are stored in a long cabinet that takes up the back "dead" space along the back side of my island.... accessed by a narrow door on the side.
I'll be posting pictures of my refresh tomorrow or tonight, but this is something that I designed into our island 25 years ago.

I store mine in the coat closet in my entry foyer. I have 2 leaves. They are in the felt bags that Skyedog mentioned. While not super close to the dining table, they are convenient enough, yet out of the way. I do have to move aside the winter boots and pull aside some of the coats in the coat closet to get at them but it's not that big of a deal. I find it a better choice than my pantry, because I didn't want to use up pantry space for the table leaves.

"I store mine in the coat closet in my entry foyer."

Thanks, akchicago!
This is an idea we tried and abandoned in the earlier planning stages. Maybe we should rethink our decision, given what else has changed since last September in the plans for this addition. Problem is that by making a better basement stairway (it's a loooong story) we have now entirely appropriated the former 4-foot square front entry coat closet (which was the upper section of the basement stairway, complete with slanted floor, a deep, awful space suitable for a Harry Potter novel) which is now shortened to waist height and is going to become off-season storage that will require a stool to access. The NEW coat closet in the NEW lobby area is 8 feet wide and a coathanger's depth deep, a space I sorely hope not to shorten, but perhaps 6-8 inches isn't too much to spare, now that the kitchen closet has shrunk so severely. I had hoped to put a lot of the outerware that is stored throughout the house and garage into this new closet so we could just slide open the doors, choose a coat at a glance, and take off--something we can't possibly do right now. I am married to Mr. Hunting and Fishing and we are both historical re-enactors. This adds up to a lot more jackets, raincoats, wool coats, boots, outfitter outerware, and hats than the normal empty nester couple has. Even a tophat alongside all the camouflage prints. Also, we have never had a place for guest coats.

Hmmm. Another choice to make. Another trade-off. Hmmm.

Real estate should be allocated according to the amount it gets accessed. So prime real estate in your pantry should not be allocated to something that gets accessed what might be an average of 12 times a year. The less often something gets used, the less conveniently it should be stored, according to the space you have.

So, I would NOT store something like that in my pantry if it meant sacrificing space that I could use for stuff I access daily or even weekly. If you had all the space you needed for the daily stuff and still had space left over, then yes. But it sounds like that's no longer the case.

I, too, have a table with self storage so it's not an issue for me. But if it were, they'd be in my coat closet which is just on the other side of the formal living room from the dining room.

The goal is to have it as close as possible to the table, without sacrificing space that could be better used.

I have to confess...for years I stored the heavy, heavy leaves for my oak table under the bed in the guest room upstairs...the furthest possible point from my dining room table. After a recent dinner party, one of my friends was helping me take the leaves out of the table, and I stood there thunderstruck while she flipped them around and stored them in the table. Self-storing leaves, who knew???

I wouldn't give up much needed pantry space for leaves--but how deep is your pantry? Is there any way to put them flat on the back wall, instead, behind the dehydrator and whatnot? With a hinged piece of plywood skin to protect each one? Maybe not as accessible as in your configuration, but a lot better than with a staircase and underbed involved.

Do you perchance have a need for a buffet in the dining room? You could fit one out with shelves for the leaves, and maybe some for serving pieces and trays, and use the top for candles, serving and/or decor.

plllog,
The closet is 4 x 4 with a 2 foot door. I should not have used the word "pantry" because it's more of a utility closet, although I foresee perhaps putting spuds and onions into it. Mostly it will contain things like batteries, lightbulbs, paperbags, and dogfood. And table leaves (?) and a broom and my apron and the dehydrator and the upright vacuum and brewery growlers and the Rhoomba and the blancher and the food sealer and a portable oven and the turkey roaster and... is there any space left? Not sure if the household cleaning products will be under the sinks or in the closet--furniture polish, ammonia, etc. I hope that the bug spray and sun block will fit into the lobby closet and get dissociated from the kitchen.

This isn't a food pantry. There are two good-sized upper cupboards to hold the major part of my food ingredients (by the stove) and another cupboard with a lazy susan to hold some more. I do not as a rule buy food in bulk so there is no need to plan a food pantry for overflow food ingredients. In fact, that is one temptation that I am trying to avoid. The only things I overbuy in bulk are wine and cheese.
___
plllog:
Our old teak mega-china cabinet is for sale--as in the Hitchhiker's Guide, it has to be cleared out in order to make way for an intergalactic highway so to speak, the new doorway to the dining room. Sigh. I will sorely miss it. There is nothing on the market that can hold that much china, Old Sheffield Plate, glassware, and candlesticks. Stay tuned to learn whate I will use as an alternative unit to hold some of that as well as my cookbooks. Yes, in time, I will be able to post some photos. Given the difficulty I've had in finding a suitable antique "killer piece" to replace it, we might commission a custom bookshelf-cupboard for the kitchen in the future. All it takes is money.