The Work Pantry: A Cure for Kitchen Clutter
In this age of the open plan kitchen where the kitchen is exposed to other rooms in the house like the living room, it is becoming more popular to disguise the “kitchen” aspect of the kitchen in favor of a more comforting appearance. from the next room. We’re hiding refrigerators and dishwashers behind decorative cabinet panels and using furniture-like elements in the cabinets to help eliminate the “laboratory” look of the kitchen. Some people are even mixing ‘unfitted’ furniture pieces into the mix to help ease the transition between the busiest work room in the house and its more relaxed neighbour.
But there is one threat that is always present in a busy kitchen. Disorder. The mess can be found along the back edge of most countertops, against the backsplash. Most of the time, clutter stays there, hogging counter space and leaving little work space up front for food prep. In fact, clutter is the main reason we think we need so much counter space to prepare a decent meal.
In a kitchen-only kitchen, countertop clutter may not be offensive or unsightly at all. It has a purpose and we get used to seeing it and having it in our lives. But clutter can destroy the look of a kitchen that’s trying to blend in with another room. The chaotic look of clutter is usually an unplanned attack on the eye—typically the same eye that makes cabinets, appliances, and countertops blend together so well in the first place! However, clutter should not be confused with a form of accessories, where everything on display is specifically chosen to create a desired theme. Accessories can actually enhance the room matching process, but it is difficult to maintain them over time as our daily lives change. On the other hand, the actual countertop clutter that builds up over time is so diverse that it’s obviously unplanned.
Clutter can be anything on the counter. The most common are food jars and condiment containers for salt and pepper, vinegar and oil, etc. The clutter can be a basket full of car keys and notepads, cereal boxes, an assortment of spices, crockery full of kitchen utensils, or collections of all sorts that showcase the owner’s personal conquests at the flea market. But the biggest pieces of clutter are all the small appliances that we need to use so often every day, as well as those that we only use occasionally. In vintage design, where the kitchen design theme tries to emulate a certain historical period, modern appliances can completely spoil the desired effect. The ‘appliance garage’ located between the countertop and upper cabinets has addressed this situation with some success, but in many cases it has been added as another form of clutter.
The work pantry to the rescue! A work pantry is simply a modestly sized, two-foot-deep (or more) countertop that is hidden behind bi-fold doors. Above and below the countertop area is storage in the form of shelving and/or open cabinets. When the bi-fold doors are open, the countertop can be used for clutter storage and can also be used as a dedicated work space.
Work pantries can be created in closet form or as full height and depth cabinets or even as freestanding furniture (similar to a bedroom closet with a countertop). The least expensive pantries are usually cabinets with a plastic laminate countertop and shelving hidden by full-height folding doors. A walk-in pantry can be turned into a work pantry instead of just a storage pantry simply by adding an actual countertop. Full-height cabinets, with over-the-counter folding cabinet doors, can fit most kitchens at the end of a long series of cabinets. And a freestanding piece of furniture like a work cupboard/pantry can really ease the visual transition between the world of a furnished family room and a utilitarian kitchen. Pocketed casement style doors can be substituted for bi-fold doors on cabinets or furniture when it is desirable to keep the doors out of the way when the countertop is exposed.
But in all these configurations, the main feature is that the interiors can be kept clean and tidy or completely chaotic, and with the doors closed, nobody knows the difference. Visual order is restored!
The Working Pantry does a great job of hiding clutter while providing additional work space and storage. But it can also become a dedicated workspace to handle specific tasks. For example, a bakery might have a marble top and special areas to store the mixer, chopper, baking sheets, and everything else needed for baking. It can even have built-in flour and sugar bins, just like old Hoosier cabinets. Another version can be designed as a wet or dry bar with areas for liquor bottles, stemware rack, wine rack, sink and even an under counter refrigerator. A built-in bar/work pantry can even be used as a partition between two rooms, with folding doors at the front and back so the bar can be accessed from either room, but closed when it is undesirable to be seen from either side. Or it can become a breakfast/snack bar that accommodates the coffee maker(s), toaster, and small microwave along with breakfast/snack foods and dishes. The breakfast bar/snack bar is especially nice as a piece of furniture located in the breakfast area/transition space between the kitchen and family room. It makes for a hard-working alternative to the sideboard-style decorative cabinet found in many dining rooms.
Most of the time, the simpler the idea, the more successful it can be. A working pantry is one of those simple ideas that just makes sense. Although not required in every kitchen, it can certainly simplify the look of most kitchens, especially those we call ‘The Heart of the Home’, the ones that need to be combined with an adjoining room and become more than just a kitchen. .