Walk-in Pantry vs. Pull-out Pantry-- Which to do?

11 years ago

We're building new and are planning to build a pantry as a part of our mudroom off of our kitchen. A walk-in pantry is on most people's dream house list but wouldn't a large cabinet with pull-out drawers be more efficient (both in terms of space and organizition) than a walk-in pantry? Has anyone opted for a this instead?

I understand its nice to see everything at once, but is that the only advantage? What am I missing here?

BTW, we have a decent size kitchen (20' x 16') and we will have a cabinet with pullout drawers for a food in the kitchen. This mudroom pantry is for overflow (i.e. bulky Costco items and storage).

Featured Answer

desertsteph

11 years ago

I'd prefer a walk in or at least a 'step in' pantry. I wouldn't want to be pulling things open just to find it didn't hold what I was looking for.

OTOH - I have thought that a 'pantry' that is divided horizontally might be nice. Like maybe 2 doors on the top half for food products and 2 lower doors for storage of 'things' - small appl, paper towels, insulated bag, roaster etc

of course then if I'm going to the store and want to check a food supply need AND grab the insulated bag before I go - I'm opening too many doors!

Comments (7)

nini804
11 years ago
I had a walk in pantry in our previous house, a full size cabinet with pull outs in the house we rented while building, and now have a large walk in in our new build. I really, really like a walk in pantry, didn't realize how much til I had to use the cabinet one.
ellenandco
11 years ago
I grew up in a family of 7 with parents who truly cooked. You could find anything you ever needed in their pantry...which was NOT a walk. It was something like this picture but ran the full cabinet height. However, in our house I am planning a walk-in pantry. I like to be able to see everything at once, and there is room for larger bulk items in the walk in style. There were no warehouse stores where I grew up, so storing larger items wasn't an issue.
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The thing about a pullout pantry is that there's restricted access to the middle. I think 12"-15" is ideal, though 18" isn't out of the question. It might mean moving this or that to get the other thing, but can be done. That's assuming that you can access the pantry from both sides. 18" is definitely the limit if you can only get in from one side. Looked at the other way, 18" is about the narrowest cabinet that's comfortable to get into with your arm extended to the back. If you go with the pullout, it might make sense to do a full height one, or a pullout on top as well as bottom. Roll out trays are much easier to use, especially for lowers, than pullouts because you can get into them from above rather than only from the side. What they have better than drawers for a pantry is the ability to see in over short sides, and the ability to see all the trays in the cupboard at once rather than having to remember which one has what in it. If I were in your situation, I'd check to see if there were any difference in the size of the tray between the pullout and roll out. I have a feeling (which I'm assuming was created by something I learned along the way) that there might be more tray space in the pullout. If not, then it's not a matter of how much you can store but how easily you can get at it. So, if you have roll out trays, where does the door go? Do you have a 90" hinge? Most Euro style hinges are 90 degrees. Which means that the door is blocking on side of the trays. Perhaps you even have a wall there? I have 170 degree hinges, but those are big and can also can interfere with what's inside, which could be a problem in a narrow pantry. But even with a 90 degree door, you can get in from the top. Plus, it's easier to get into the pantry to retrieve something that slipped over the side. With the pullout pantry, you might want to get a trigger gripper, which can be helpful. Just remembered what might tilt it decisively to the rollouts: You can put more roll out shelves in a pantry than you can trays on a pullout. Because all the trays on a pullout come out at once, you need air space between them to get stuff in and out. With roll outs, you can have trays that are one can high, or one box of X high, and have only an inch margin to the next tray up. In that way, you can fit a lot more in the same cupboard.
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I weighed the same options over and over. I have rollout drawers like in the 3rd photo. However, I do not have a full height pantry to the floor. My freezer drawer is at the bottom and the the rollouts and shelves above. I get the issues about things getting lost in the middle of pullouts, like the 1st 2 pics. However the same thing can happen with rollout shelves, especially those that are at the higher up. A pro of the pullouts are that it is one motion like discussed. Pullout and everything comes out. If they are not that wide, I can't see most things getting lost. Biggest issue is cans and that is the same issue even with rollouts. Although I did a shallow rollout where the shelf above is a little higher then a 28oz can on its side. I have the cans on there sides so you can read the labels when you pull it out If you are the one putting groceries away, you tend to know where everything is located. That is the plus. When my wife asks where the x is located, I instinctively know and tell her exactly where it is located. Now my cabinet is 31" wide and I have double doors like the 3rd pic. In retrospect, its kind of a pain. Have to open both doors to get something out. Same issue people complain about with french door fridges. Also, the wide rollouts aren't efficient either. Maybe its more my senario since I only have 3 of them but I have a shelf where there are tall things like bags of chips and much shorter items. In retrospect, it would have been better to have a divider and narrower rollouts. This would have allowed me to use all of the space more efficiently. But then again I would loose all the space with the divider and the extra drawer/rollout material. Hmmm.
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It really depends on how you work and whether you have room in the main working part of the kitchen for some of your food items. I had a kitchen with a pantry across a wide aisle from the kitchen itself. There was little cabinetry in the kitchen itself -- more dish storage and such across from the breakfast nook so everything, including a little of this spice or that had to come from the pantry. And it was about 7 or 8 feet deep with narrow shelves on one side. I loved the kitchen when we bought the house and couldn't stand to work in it by the time we left. My corner pantry in this house was an improvement in location, but not organization. I changed it to pantry cabinets with rollouts and a pullout that are actually a bit further form my main work areas (a few steps), but I also use some of the space in my main work area for flour, sugar and other baking supplies in deep drawers, my spices in a top shallow drawer and oils, vinegars and such right at hand above. I don't have to make as many trips to the pantry as I did before and it's not as far. For me, this is working out best of all. I can see either of your design choices working out well, but you need to thing about the type of cooking you do, how you work and how you would use the space -- what you would store in each cabinet and drawer. It's a pain to break everything down that much, but it's necessary to see how it all works for you.
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a2gemini
11 years ago
I have both - the walk in - which tends to get out of control but just re-organized, so hopefully will stay neat (not a great design) and a pull out pantry for some more used items.
I would recommend well designed walk in pantry!!!

As a youngster - our "pantry" was in the basement and we referred to it as the "store". It was fun to go shop in the store and bring items to the kitchen.
hilltop_gw
11 years ago
I have a pull-out and it works great because I have a lot of other cabinetry to store items. I have labels on each pull-out (ie cereal, soups, canned veggies, crackers, etc). It helps to know when to restock. I've gotten lazier over time and use the labels more as a guideline.

I have never had a walk-in; however I really wish I had one for designated kitchen items such as bulk paper towels, larger kitchen appliances, my good silverware box, extra coolers, tupperware containers, etc. Everything would be more visible. Plus it seems kind of nostalgic like something grandma used to have.
Anne
7 years ago
I had a walk in pantry in a previous home. I had room to put in a counter with a lot of storage above and below as well as to store cleaning supplies and vacuum. All of my counter top appliance and food was in there and I LOVED it. I had literally just a bowl of fruit on my kitchen counters. I have missed it for a long, long time. I don't know the measurements but the one neighbor (builder, tract neighborhood) used it as a mini playroom/storage for the kids toys. They had a little art center and a place to store all their toys!
Stan B
7 years ago
Definitely walk in if you have the space in your floorplan (especially for new construction). With the walkin or reduced depth pantries with doors everything is visible and you can plan space for brooms, infrequently used appliances, and bulk storage. Walkin pantries have standard household doors which will last for decades. Downsides of pullouts are that they can move abruptly, which can cause items to shift or tip over. They are also are more fragile since the glides bear a lot of weight even with reinforcement. I can certainly imagine restless kids or grandkids slamming the pullout pantry closed or trying to climb up the shelves like a ladder.

Walk-in Pantry vs. Pull-out Pantry-- Which to do?

desertsteph

Comments (7)

nini804

ellenandco

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a2gemini

hilltop_gw

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