I need to see a bit more of the plan to understand what you are doing. It also would be great to see the whole kitchen plan . IMO a 3' deep pantry needs to have the doors on the front to open wide to display the whole space you caanot use a space that you can't walk into. So I need to see the whole plan POst it here in jpeg format in a comment DO NOT start another post.

This is a rough sketch of the floor plan. Sorry the kitchen plan with measurements needs to be updated now that demo is complete and we can see what we’re working with. We just need to make a decision on the pantry for framing.

Decide the door swing based on the easiest way to access the stuff inside. I’m assuming you plan to build shelves, so think about what will be closest to the door opening side (extra olive oil, cereal, sponges, cleaning products) and decide what goes where accordingly.

I don’t think there are any rules about accessing the space under a stairwell. I would put the handle side closest to where I’m most likely to access the items and the hinge on the opposite side.

Thank you very much for sharing your photos @lsipe . I love your pantry! That’s exactly what I would like to do.

@lsipe what a nice pantry! And I really like the door you used with the 6-panel glass. Is the door oak or cherry or something else?

It looks like the pantry is square so the storage space would be the same no matter where the door was. If the door was on the side, would you be able to access more space under the stairs? If it will mainly be used for food, I would go with at the end to be closer to the kitchen. If it will be more general storage (or you just want to maximize the space), I would go for the side and you could have the same shelves etc as you could with an end door but also tuck a vacuum, suitcases, etc under the stairs.

@k8cd sorry, I realize now that my drawing is confusing. The red box indicates the bump out that we are adding to the existing storage space under the stairs. The space will be roughly 7 feet deep and 3 feet wide. The plan is to use it for small kitchen appliances, canned goods, etc.

Thanks for clarifying that the pantry will be 7’x3’ and not 3’x3’.

As this will be a reach-in pantry, put doors along the 7’ side for best and easiest access to the stored items.

Be sure your contractor puts in proper shelf support and uses thick shelving material. 7’ shelves can hold a lot but if you load them up (especially with small appliances, etc.), the shelves may bow if not properly constructed.

In my 6’x4’ pantry closet I added electric outlets and LED lighting that automatically goes on/off with the doors being opened and closed.

You can do something fun like paint the pantry interior a color or add chalkboard paint to the interior of the pantry doors. A Container Store Elfa door storage can add additional space for smaller items.

If you went with an end door, I would probably do 2 small doors, and then you would lose less space for the door swing (no shelves until after the swing). And you would lose one 3’ wall of storage. Most storage would be 12” deep so that you could walk to the back (could have 24” deep there). The door could swing out but it would be in the walkway.

With a side door, you would have both 3’ ends, which could have deeper storage (18” or 24”) and then 12” (or less) shelves across the back wall.

I like to tape out spaces and use boxes to try to get a feel for what something will look like. The end door would be narrow with less storage but more convenient. The opposite for the side door. I would make a list of everything you might need to store in there and see if it would fit with less storage. If so, I’d personally go for the convenience of the end door.

With a 7’x3’ pantry with shelving, I don’t see a good option for putting the door on the 3’ end as you would not be able to access items beyond the first 3’ or so.

The door would need to be on the side, as mentioned above, for greatest access and best storage. Here is a picture similar to what you might do

Thats going to be a great pantry!

I have seen “custom” shaped doors that fit whatever cut out you design for the under-stairs pantry. If it doesn’t get too wide, I would opt for one door instead of two, like the example from Debbie. But walking space and hallway width are a factor.

I think the pic Debbi posted is by far the best way to access.