Most of us need a flashlight, not a ladder, to find what we want in our pantries and cupboards. But one couple in Georgia built a wall full of 4-inch shelves, just wide enough for a single jar, so that everything is out in the open...
This pantry is part of a sprawling kitchen that's big and open but still feels very cozy, thanks to old pieces of furniture and warm, well-used accessories. The room looks like it was put together over time—almost as if the space weren't a kitchen at all to begin with.
A big reason it feels so eclectic is that much of the couple's belongings are hanging from the ceiling or on top of the counters. Very little is tucked into tidy, uniform cabinets. As one of the owners says, "I think the biggest mistake people make in doing a kitchen is going to someone who sells cabinets, because you wind up with every square inch covered in cabinets, and of course you fill them."
Few of us have the kind of real estate along a wall to create the kind of pantry above, but it is fun to look at. Everything out and accounted for, nothing lost in the dark shadows. And it could certainly be adapted to a smaller collection—say, spices or grains (kind of like this or this).
• See the rest of the room: A New Kitchen with Old-Fashioned Heart, from House Beautiful
Related: Ina Garten's New Kitchen and Pantry
(Images: Gridley & Graves for House Beautiful)
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I worked in a place that had a walk in pantry like this. Best pantry EVER.
oh, if I only had space for that.
My mother has something like that in her house. The stairs to the basement are in the kitchen, and along the wall of the stairs are narrow shelves where she keeps non-perishables. The draw back to her's is a certain lack of lighting in the stairway, the one above looks so airy and bright.
Wow, I can totally tell this ain't in earthquake country. I would LOVE this, but all those shelves would have some kind of stop on them in case the ground decided to shrug.
OH. MY. GOSH. I love this! I adore that old ladder, but it seems so natural to install a library ladder there instead. I'm jealous!
http://www.abreadaday.com
So pretty, but so many, many dustcatchers. When I see a place like this I assume they have someone who cleans for them -- who takes everything down once a month and washes or dusts it and puts it back. For me, covered shelves are better.
Nice ceiling but I think that open wall of shelving would drive me crazy after awhile.
I've got a smaller, not-nearly-as-nice version of this in my kitchen, and it is a nightmare to keep tidy and dust-free.
This is the kitchen I see in my dreams...someday...someday...
Looks good there, but I agree that things will get dusty quickly.
I also wonder whether the owners have pets or small children? I can totally imagine my cat attempting to climb the shelves in order to chase a fly (or just because) and then: disaster.
When my grandparents built their home in the 60's they had a temporary kitchen on the first floor. It was somewhat like a hallway and all the way down the length of it they had one of these. They finished the nice kitchen upstairs, but they only used the one downstairs. Some of my favorite memories are playing with canned goods on those shelves and watching grandma cook. It survived five grandkids, although none of us would have thought to damage any of it.
I would be worried about light affecting things like oils and vinegars on those shelves.
My first thought, and earthquake would just make a mess of that. My poor LA mind.
this is totally amazing! i need more space.
WON
http://whatsonmyplate.wordpress.com
I'm not really into it. It's tidy, but not tidy enough.
I love this idea. I already have one ceiling height shelf running the length of my tiny kitchen for spices but I may have to steal this idea to gain more storage.
I love this pantry and kitchen!
I have a huge pantry with wire shelving. It's a nightmare because I tend to store everything in there with no rhyme or reason. I can never find anything.
I'd like something like that for dry goods, but I would pour it all into matching glass containers. The boxes and cans for most of my baking basics start looking nasty after a short while as I grab them with flour or bit of cooking oil on my hands.
I don't know... I think all that stuff out in the open would bother me. I prefer cans and such to be behind closed doors. Not to mention, I don't keep nearly that much stuff on hand.
Not a kid in that home I presume.
i love that fridge. as for the plates and glasses out in the open...eehhh, not my style. i love the "feel" of the kitchen though...it's lovely!
For those of us with kids/animals/clumsy sig others/earthquake prone areas, you could do a rail across each shelf, an inch or so (or more, for the lower, taller shelves) above the shelf. That way, things wouldn't fall out, but it would still look nice and clean. only about 3/4", or an inch wide, it would do the trick. In a more modern home, one in chrome/aluminum would look great.
Does anyone know a source for that red bin in the second photo. It looks interesting
love it. but i suspect there aren't any small ones about.
I'd do this but on a much smaller scale.....not an entire wall.
When my family built our house 20 years ago, my mom designed what we all call our 'bake center' - a recessed 2.5' x 4' space with a slightly lowered counter (we're all short!) to work on baking projects.
There are two levels of shelves around the inside. Both are 2-3" to store spice jars and work wonderfully!! The stand mixer, and all the other baking gear & projects are stored in there and the whole mess can be hidden behind big folding cabinet-style doors when needs be. It's the best space ever and i would think that pantry is probably just as fantastic and user-friendly.
But, oh, the grief that builders gave us when we first built those tiny 3" shelves in the first place!!! Ha!
This is the perfect kitchen for my Hubby, and most men. Everything is in the front row. Because we all know it doesn't exist if it isn't in the front row. Hubby dreams of a fridge like that pantry wall.
Nice. I love the whole kitchen.
I love this kitchen I love when everything is out and you just get inspired to prepare a delicious feast big or small. ahhh that is my vacation!
i'm so inspired!
This kitchen is gorgeous and certainly inspirational, but all I can think about is the DUST . . .