When everything is perfect, a person has less than 24" width to walk in or out of a little bathroom that has a 24" door. It's not practical for two people when one wants to leave while the other is entering. A 24" door is 24" all by itself when uninstalled. When the door is installed and used (opened), it often leaves about 22" of width of passing space. This is because of the door's other dimensions, and the hinges, and the doorframe. A person can fit sideways into a small opening. My writing this out is not a recommendation to install a truly puny door. But it is a recommendation to line all the walls with shelves all around. A pocket door slides away and has no other elements like hinges or parts of the frame that protrude or impede. in your case you have enough wall of the right shape to let you install a pocket door, which slides inside the wall structure. A pocket door could be far far less than 24" width and still be fine for this cupboard. What could also work is a single door of the kind that they sell as sliding closet doors / bypass doors. They can be ordered to any size. Also, f.y.i. this kind of miniscule opening can be screened with hanging beads or fabric and this simplifies even more the door-open-close dilemma. The key is to have a visual screen. Conclusion: yes you can step into an opening that is astronomically less width than 24" (or 22" net effective workable space) yes you can reduce the opening of a hinged door down to 18" or 16" net. yes you have other options than a hinged door. To see how little space you need to slip through an opening, partially open any door and do a twostep through the partial opening. Measure the space you used. To see a much larger image, I clicked on your photo.

Thanks for all the input, everyone! After taking your ideas and those of our builder and friends/family into account, husband and I ultimately decided to leave the plan as is. We figured the bigger room size will make the space more functional, whether as a dining room, playroom or office. Fingers crossed for a good pantry cabinet design! bpathome, I love the idea of storage banquette in the breakfast area! Had never thought of it but it seems perfect. Not only will it give us extra storage but I think it will allow us to have the table slightly off-center (so as to allow more clearance for the door to the back deck) without looking odd. I'm thinking maybe even a large L-shaped banquette, going under both sets of windows and into corner. I've attached a pic, which is dark (waited until framers left so wouldn't be in the way) but might give a better idea of the breakfast area space. The windows to right will be same sizes as those to left--framers just hadn't trimmed all the OSB yet. ILoveRed, we started with a stock plan as inspiration but needed some changes due to our lot, local regulations, etc. So, we drew out some changes on the original stock plan and had a local draftsman draw the full plans. It is not perfect (had issues with stair placement and a measurement was off on garage) and I wish we'd gone the extra mile and had an architect modify it for us but our builder is great and so far has worked around the issues. Thanks again everyone!

If the closet stays as a pantry and the doors stay, I wouldn't put the wine cooler in it -- they give off heat and the last thing you want in a pantry is heat! Pantries should be cool and dry. It would be even worse with 6-panel doors instead of louvered doors (which provide some ventilation for your pantry.) There's a thread about pantry ventilation from a few years ago.... http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2694544/i-have-a-pantry-suggestion-ventilate . Could we see where the pantry closet is in relation to the Kitchen and the rest of the house? Is it in a layout thread somewhere? (I'll look.) I'll be honest - I kind of like the idea, but only if it's located where it would be functional. You say it's b/w the Kitchen & DR...it may actually work in that location, but I'd have to see it. ETA: I didn't see a "final" design, but I did find your first draft. I don't think that location would work for a MW. It might for a wine cooler, but not the MW.

Would not want a barn door. IF exposed to kitchen or laundry moisture, don't do pocket doors. If this door is to be from an entry far away from the moisture of a kitchen, bath or laundry , pocket doors could work. Solid narrow doors as pocket doors: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/762023199420251895/ Solid doors as french doors. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/116952921543920445/ You might consider half width French Doors that have side hinges or are pocket doors. https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/568368415449351477/ Depending upon what you're doing with the wall in which the door is to be located, you might also consider a bookcase that is really a hidden door. https://www.google.com/search?q=bookcase+as++hidden+door&client=firefox-b-1-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjJ0b73kr_pAhUyYjUKHQozCYsQ_AUoAnoECAwQBA&biw=1259&bih=648