21 Kitchen Pantry Ideas For Every Type Of Kitchen

1. Butler’s Pantry

A butler’s pantry is a smaller alternative to the traditional kitchen pantry. Kathy Tracey Design LLC’s butler’s pantry in the photo is a small, reach-in closet with shelving to store essentials as well as drawers for holding potatoes, onions, and other items. It’s the perfect size for the average kitchen.

We especially love the style of the carved barn-door-style sliding doors that enclose the butler’s pantry. The unique green, slightly distressed appearance gives the kitchen character. These are perfect for covering up the pantry area so that it doesn’t make the kitchen look cluttered.

2. Pantry with a Window

There’s no better lighting than a large window that allows natural light into a room. We don’t often see a kitchen pantry with a window, but the idea is a good one!

This pantry featured by Warmington & North is light and airy, mostly white, with a large window and fresh flowers on the counter. It’s a cheerful space with enough room to do some meal prep or even convert it into a small workspace. 

This pantry uses shelving and standard cabinets to provide plenty of space for the storage of the essentials.

3. Pull-Out Pantry

No more reaching deep into the depths of your cabinets! These pull-out pantry units make your storage more accessible and easier to organize. It has an open shelf system so that you can view the contents on the shelf from both sides. You’ll no longer lose track of items that have been shoved to the back of the cabinet!

This particular pull-out pantry unit by Rev-A-Shelf is available in either gray or in a maple finish. There are four shelves on each unit and they come in five different widths and four different height ranges. You can find these units on Wayfair.

4. Built-In Wine Chiller Fridge

Wine drinkers will want to install a built-in wine chiller fridge inside of the pantry. The size of the unit that you choose can vary depending on how many bottles of wine you typically keep in the house or consume on a regular basis. 

In this pantry featured by (W)here Inc., the designer has installed a large wine chiller fridge with a glass front. There is plenty of room to store numerous wines in it. 

We are also loving the classy look of the navy blue cabinets with gold hardware. This is a beautiful pantry!

5. A Working Pantry

If you have a large pantry, you can convert it into a working pantry. This space could include a countertop area with drawers that would function as a desk like is shown in this Keystone Millworks pantry design.

You could also add a shelf to display artwork, books, or your professional awards and achievement certificates. The countertop space below the shelf will be perfect for working with a laptop or for doing paperwork. 

You may also want to install a desk lamp and stock up the area with your office essentials. Keep envelopes, stamps, pens, and a notepad in the drawers.

6. Pantry Ladder

Making the most of every inch of space in your pantry means that you may have items in hard-to-reach places like the very top shelf. This is where having a pantry ladder can come in handy!

In this Courtney Wood Designs pantry, the ladder slides across a track so that you can easily move it to better access the item that you are trying to reach. It’s always best to store items that you don’t use every day on the higher shelves and the ones that you use most frequently at eye level.

7. Brick Backsplash

Whether you have real brick walls or you use a brick wall decal, the look of a brick backsplash gives any room lots of character. We are loving how it looks in this pantry featured by Design Harmony.

The style of the brick can completely change the overall look of the space. This particular pantry has somewhat of an old-world feel to it. Brick can also be used in kitchens with an industrial, farmhouse, or even rustic design theme. The options are endless!

This is a beautiful pantry with lots of shelving and drawer space to help you keep organized. We’d love to have this in our homes!

8. Under Stairs Pantry

If you have stairs near your kitchen, the area beneath the steps can be converted into a pantry. Put that space to good use by adding shelving for storing all of your kitchen staples and essentials. 

This Old House explains that old homes are notorious for not having much closet space, but oftentimes have unused space in the nooks and crannies of the home. You can convert this unused space into a pantry for extra storage space. 

You could also make use of a rolling cart for additional storage. Simply slide the cart into the closet area and you have extra room for your things.

9. Open Wooden Wall Pantry

If you don’t mind displaying all of your pantry items, you may like the laid-back look of an open wooden wall pantry like the one featured in this photo by House Beautiful. You can either build the shelving into the wall or simply install bookshelves along the wall. 

This particular kitchen has exposed wooden beams. The open wooden wall pantry matches the beams perfectly. It’s good to coordinate the finishes and colors of the wood throughout the room for continuity. 

You could also use storage bins to hide some of the contents on the shelf so that the pantry doesn’t look cluttered.

10. Retro Look

Whether you live in an older home or not, you can create a pantry with a retro vibe, it’s just easier if your home is already old! But it’s not just the architecture that gives this style its retro appeal.

As you can see in this pantry featured by Hayburn & Co., the containers used for storage have a vintage style to them also. We are loving the lidded glass jars on the shelves. If your pantry has glass doors that you can see through, as this one does, you’ll want the pantry to look beautiful!

11. Add a Pantry Decal

Adding decals to your pantry door can spice up the look a bit. This pantry door featured by Rustic Luxe Designs LLC. has farmhouse-style decals on the frosted glass door. We especially like the curved pantry decal, but the stacked cow, pig, and chicken are a close second!

This is another example of a door being installed barn-door-style. This particular door glides on a track rather than being mounted on hinges. This way, you don’t have to worry about needing extra space for the door to open. It’s a compact door installation.

12. Recycling Center

Keep your recycling bins handy by keeping them in your pantry. Just make sure that all containers are thoroughly rinsed out before tossing them in the bins.

In this IKEA pantry idea, they use numerous recycling bins. Depending on how much space you have in your pantry, you can have a bin for each type of recyclable item. You can have a bin for bottles, aluminum cans, pop cans, newspapers, and more.

This way, you can make it easy to do your part in saving the earth! Once the bins are filled, you can take them to your local recycling center.

13. Floor-to-Ceiling Storage

Make use of every inch of space by having floor-to-ceiling storage in your pantry. This particular pantry is part of a cabinet in the kitchen. It has a mixture of drawers and shelves, which is perfect for storing a variety of items. 

If you have a pantry like the one shown, we recommend having slide-out shelving so that you can easily see what items are on each shelf.

In this kitchen photographed by Jon Granen Photography, the designer has used a mixture of both stained wooden cabinets and painted green cabinets. It’s a unique look that has a 70s vibe to it, yet has a modern touch.

14. Cubby Storage

Pantry storage can be something as simple as using a cubby storage system. You can place items directly on the shelves or place the items in bins.

This storage idea photographed by Adam Albright Photography shows a variety of storage options with the cubby storage system. There are white wooden bins holding various items, clear storage boxes, mason jars used for storage, a wire shelf providing an extra level of storage, and even items placed directly on the shelves. 

The designer also uses simple tags to label what is on each shelf or in each bin. It has a retro feel!

15. Home Command Center

The pantry is the perfect place for a home command center. If you have a large pantry, you can dedicate a section of the wall to this. If your pantry is simply a large cabinet, you can attach a corkboard to the backside of a cabinet door.

In this Kritsada Panichgul pantry, she also hangs a whiteboard to the corkboard. You can pin important fliers, your child’s artwork, and even store an extra set of keys on a hook here. It’s a great use of space that would otherwise be wasted.

16. Locker Storage

If you come across old-school lockers for sale, grab them while you can! Lockers make great storage spaces. You can add shelving to the inside for additional levels of storage. In this photo, Erik Johnson Photography shows how you can use an old locker for pantry storage.

Since most lockers are made out of metal, you can also store items on the doors by using magnets. This is a great spot to place magnetic containers for spice storage. It’s a unique idea that is effective and will add plenty of character to your home.

17. Wallpapered Walls

This pantry is simply beautiful! We love the colorful floral wallpaper that the designer has chosen to use in this pantry featured by Better Homes & Garden. The colors are bright and cheerful and take an otherwise boring space and transform it into a gorgeous space.

We also love the use of white plastic bins for storage and organization. It makes the space look bright and clean. Each bin has a decal label so you always know what is stored inside. The retro-style glass canisters are a nice touch that give this pantry a vintage feel.

18. Pantry Cabinet

For homes that don’t have much cabinet space, you may wish to add a pantry cabinet. Even more, go with a pantry cabinet in a bright color like this red one from Wayfair. It’s also available in white if that’s more your style. 

This piece of furniture has plenty of shelf space and even makes use of the inside surfaces of the cabinet doors. The shelving isn’t deep, so you don’t have to worry about trying to reach far into the back of the cabinet. It also has magnetic closures to help secure the doors.

19. Corner Pantry

We are loving the style of this corner pantry shared by Win with Orange Properties. The large glass and wooden door is gorgeous and fits nicely with the farmhouse decor in this kitchen. We especially like the “groceries” metal sign above the pantry door.

A corner pantry makes good use of the space also. You are able to have more shelving and are able to reach in to get the items that you need. 

This would also be a good spot for a coffee bar. You can have all of your supplies on the shelves. Just make sure you have an electrical outlet!

20. Add Twinkle Lights

Mo and the Jungle Shelf have added twinkle lights to this pantry and it’s a cute idea! Twinkle lights always make everything more magical, so why not add them to the pantry?

The wooden crates used give this pantry a farmhouse vibe. They make a huge difference in the overall appearance of the pantry because they help keep the various bottles and jars contained so it doesn’t look so cluttered.

You can also see that this designer uses chalkboard labels and tags to clearly mark many of the items in the pantry. Good organization is key!

21. Open Pantry

Here is another idea for an open pantry. In this idea, House of Six Interiors uses white floating shelves on a wall as a pantry. They use various containers and jars for storage, which helps make the pantry appear clean and organized.

The large woven baskets placed on the floor are a great place to store packaged snacks. They’ll be easily accessible to the kids and they’ll know where to look when they want a snack. 

We like the addition of potted plants to the shelving. It’s even more important for the pantry to look beautiful when it’s always on display!