Having pantry storage in the kitchen is the dream, isn’t it? Especially a walk-in one if you’ve got the space.

I was constantly searching for small pantry ideas when we remodelled and renovated our current house as I knew we needed to make room for one. 

Having lots of kitchen storage is such an important factor when designing a kitchen.

We always have a lot more to hide away in a kitchen, from glassware to food and rice cookers, to random objects we have no idea what we need them for.

I was googling kitchen storage ideas before I was planning the design of our kitchen!

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Originally, I wanted to put in a built-in pantry from Howdens which could nestle into the corner of our kitchen and give us a small pantry to walk into.

However, when we were planning our kitchen layout, it became apparent that a corner pantry where our oven currently sits, wouldn’t work.

Our American-style Fridge Freezer would have needed to go into a little corner of our kitchen under the stairs if we had gone with our original pantry plans.

This would mean it would be away from the food preparation area where the sink, island and oven are, and it wouldn’t work.

I knew I wanted the fridge, sink and oven to be close together and within reach of the right-hand side of the island as you walked in.

We changed the layout and included 2 smaller-sized cupboards on either side of the fridge freezer and my pantry dreams died with it. Ha!

Moving the fridge meant we freed up the space under the stairs to the left of the door as you walked into the kitchen. It already had a wall here to hold up the stairs so this area was sectioned off nicely.

We were blocking off the original L-shaped lounge diner to create a separate snug, so the space was calling out for a cupboard! We put the fridge here, to begin with, but it just looked out of place. 

I realised this was the perfect space to put a small pantry cupboard so we asked our builders to build another small wall to box in this space. The small pantry was born.

Our builders needed to put in a raised platform as this corner has gas pipework running along the back. They also put a shelf above the door so we could have extra kitchen storage space above the small pantry.

We finished the space with saloon-style doors so that the doors didn’t take up too much space when they were opened. This is how our pantry storage remained for nearly a year. 

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Our House Renovation So Far… Part 1

Small Pantry Ideas

With the space sectioned off and doors added, I started planning the inside to maximise the storage space.

I wanted the pantry to be solely for food, so we needed lots of shelves to store baskets, jars, and cans on.

We had some left-over end panels from the kitchen renovation and a slab of marble worktops, so our builders cut all these to size and created the shelves out of them.

With the pantry hardware and shelving sorted, I started looking at how to incorporate it into the kitchen design.

I knew I wanted the doors to be anthracite grey to match our bi-folds and I wanted the flooring to have the same pattern as our utility.

I initially ordered doors with frosted glass for our pantry, but due to a mix-up, we ended up with clear glazing.

It wasn’t a huge problem, but when Glass Films contacted me asking if I had any projects coming up where I could use some glass film, I immediately knew where I wanted to use it.

I had used Glass Films on my Faux crittal doors for the utility room and was really pleased with the result.

I wanted my pantry doors to look like they’d always been there, so I opted for a vintage frosted pattern – Fleur de Lis.

I bought some Valspar paint colour matched to RAL no. 7016 (the code for anthracite grey) to paint the doors and the skirting boards to match.

I then added the glass film on the window panel and already the pantry was transformed!

Once the doors were complete, I started designing the inside.

Initially, I wanted to paint the back and right wall anthracite grey and then wallpaper the stud wall to the left.

However, when I started to paint the back wall I thought it would be too dark, so I used paint I already had – Lick Taupe 03 which is part of their Soho House range.

This colour is grey and brown, with a hint of red. Next to the anthracite grey, it gives off a lovely pink hue and is perfect for our small pantry. 

With the doors and pantry painted, I started on the floor.

I had some leftover Frosted Floral Tiles vinyl from the utility room which I knew would be perfect for this space.

It would help integrate the pantry into the kitchen and the vinyl goes perfectly with the doors.

Here’s how I laid the vinyl –

1. Make sure the area is completely clean and flat.
2. Fill in any holes and sand down any lumpy or uneven areas.
3. Measure the area and cut the vinyl to size. As this is such a small area, I cut it to size but if the area is bigger, it is probably best to leave a few inches around the perimeter and then cut it once it is in place.
4. Apply double-sided adhesive tape around the edges and under high-traffic areas to stop the vinyl from moving.
5. Lay the flooring. Use a heavy object, like a small piece of wood, to smooth the vinyl around the edges and ensure it is flat.
6. Use caulk around the edges to fill in any small gaps and give it a smooth finish.
7. Add the cover strip where the vinyl meets the door to stop the vinyl from lifting and tripping people up.

With the vinyl down, the last thing to do was add some lights, and hooks and put all the baskets and food back in the pantry! 

I bought these LED lights from Aldi, but they no longer sell them. You can get similar ones from Amazon. They are mains powered and stick to the underside of the shelves. 

I have always wanted a nice, organised pantry and over the years I have bought jars and baskets to put food in to help with our kitchen storage.

Finally, I can open my pantry doors and admire the view instead of looking at unorganised chaos! 

Although, my favourite thing about the whole pantry has to be the frosted windows on the doors and the lighting! 

A small pantry and kitchen storage do not have to be ugly 🙂 Designing and creating kitchen storage ideas has to be one of my favourite things when it comes to renovating our home. 

Mel x

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