There are two very important options that need to be considered in every large kitchen pantry cabinet design. Although these options may initially cost a little more, they will be worth having and will add a particular amount of resale value to your home. I have been making custom cabinets for many years. Without a doubt, these two designs have been the most popular choices of our customers.
Pull Out Shelves Only
Without all the tall, fiddly opening-out tiers, just adding pull-out shelves to your pantry design is an inexpensive way to enhance the functionality of this cabinet design. Units are generally installed from the ground up to about sixty inches in height. The number of pull-out drawers will depend on your particular needs and budget.
Ideally, it is good to mix the heights of where the sliders are placed. This allows grocery items of various sizes, such as small cans, tall cans, chip bags, cooking oils, and sugar, to be stored in the pantry drawer that best fits the size of the item.
One of the most important questions to ask your cabinet maker is; “Will the doors open FULLY so the drawers don’t get close to them?” Sometimes manufacturers do not allow enough clearance for the drawers to bypass the doors. What happens is that people rush and don’t realize the door isn’t open wide enough when they’re pulling out the drawer. Over time, small indentations form on pantry cabinet doors where the drawers hit them. It is best to request that one hundred and twenty degree hinges be installed on the doors. This will ensure that they are completely out of the way when the drawers are pulled out.
Slider High Top Units
These types of accessories usually come with adjustable slippers. There are several different basket heights to choose from. You want to get a full height slider unit. The main component extends from forty-eight inches (48″) to about sixty inches (60″) in height. Upgrades are typically available in a number of different finishes, including chrome and white. Hafele cabinet hardware company is one of the leading suppliers of these pull-out pantry units.
You can also order tall pull-out units pre-made or have them custom built out of wood. These designs will not have fancy baskets, but instead will be designed with fixed or adjustable shelves.
What really makes a kitchen pantry design standout is when pull-out drawers are paired with a tall slide-out basket or shelf. Slide-out baskets go to the left or right of the cabinet, and slide-out drawers to the other side. This is ideal for a pantry area over thirty-eight inches wide.
- Bonus tip: Two tall pantry doors that are designed one above the other can be tied together at the back of the doors. This makes the operation of opening the doors much more pleasant since both will open at the same time. The only drawback here is that there needs to be enough space for the brackets to overlook any fixed shelves that may be located in the same area.
The remaining height of the pantry design, above the sixty-inch mark, usually has a fixed shelf. Most standard tall cabinets are only seventy-eight inches high. This makes a nice storage area for tall vases or drinking pitchers.
If you’re in the process of designing a new kitchen, consider including as many drawers and pantries as possible. One of the best cabinet designs I’ve ever done was an entire wall of pantry cabinets that stretched about ten feet long. That was years ago and the client, who is a friend of mine, is still raving to this day about how much he loves having all that storage space in the kitchen.