Chairma Design Group created this super pantry with extra appliances, plenty of shelving and work space, too.
Chairma Design Group created this super pantry with extra appliances, plenty of shelving and work space, too.
Photo: Courtesy Of Chairma Design GroupShelves for dishes and food, a counter with a sink, a refrigerator and a double oven are tucked away from the main kitchen in this pantry.
Shelves for dishes and food, a counter with a sink, a refrigerator and a double oven are tucked away from the main kitchen in this pantry.
Photo: Courtesy Of Chairma Design GroupA remodeling project turned a dining room into a large pantry, then turned the formal living room into a new dining room in this Champions Forest home.
A remodeling project turned a dining room into a large pantry, then turned the formal living room into a new dining room in this Champions Forest home.
Photo: Courtesy Of Chairma Design GroupCindy Aplanalp-Yates designs large pantries that also serve as butler's pantry, linen closet and caterer's kitchen.
Cindy Aplanalp-Yates designs large pantries that also serve as butler's pantry, linen closet and caterer's kitchen.
Photo: Courtesy Of Chairma Design GroupMoving shelves and drawers are key features in any pantry, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Moving shelves and drawers are key features in any pantry, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Photo: Courtesy Of Chairma Design GroupDividers add functionality to this utensil drawer.
Dividers add functionality to this utensil drawer.
Photo: Courtesy Of Chairma Design GroupChairma Design Group created this super pantry with extra appliances, plenty of shelving and work space, too.
Chairma Design Group created this super pantry with extra appliances, plenty of shelving and work space, too.
Photo: Courtesy Of Chairma Design GroupCandie and Steven Tramonte have a 12-foot-by-13-foot pantry in their Cinco Ranch home. It features appliances, shelving and a desk area.
Candie and Steven Tramonte have a 12-foot-by-13-foot pantry in their Cinco Ranch home. It features appliances, shelving and a desk area.
Photo: Steven TramonteCandie and Steven Tramonte have a 12-foot-by-13-foot pantry in their Cinco Ranch home. It features appliances, shelving and a desk area.
Candie and Steven Tramonte have a 12-foot-by-13-foot pantry in their Cinco Ranch home. It features appliances, shelving and a desk area.
Photo: Steven TramonteDrawers with spacers or dividers help organize essentials in kitchens and pantries, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Drawers with spacers or dividers help organize essentials in kitchens and pantries, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Photo: MadevalMoving shelves and drawers are key features in any pantry, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Moving shelves and drawers are key features in any pantry, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Photo: MadevalMoving shelves and drawers are key features in any kitchen or pantry, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Moving shelves and drawers are key features in any kitchen or pantry, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Photo: MadevalPlacing a Lazy Susan in a cabinet makes it easier to access hard-to-reach items.
Placing a Lazy Susan in a cabinet makes it easier to access hard-to-reach items.
Photo: Container StoreContainers that allow you to store things efficiently in a kitchen or pantry are hot items now, says Kim Kimbriel, kitchen buyer at the Container Store.
Containers that allow you to store things efficiently in a kitchen or pantry are hot items now, says Kim Kimbriel, kitchen buyer at the Container Store.
Photo: Container StoreThis lazy susan turntable allows you to pick up several items at once from a cabinet or pantry. It's a popular item at the Container Store, says kitchen buyer Kim Kimbriel.
This lazy susan turntable allows you to pick up several items at once from a cabinet or pantry. It's a popular item at the Container Store, says kitchen buyer Kim Kimbriel.
Photo: Container StoreMoving shelves and drawers are key features in any kitchen or pantry, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Moving shelves and drawers are key features in any kitchen or pantry, says Tita Donoso, general manager of Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston.
Photo: MadevalThis lazy susan turntable allows you to pick up several items at once from a cabinet or pantry. It's a popular item at the Container Store, says kitchen buyer Kim Kimbriel.
This lazy susan turntable allows you to pick up several items at once from a cabinet or pantry. It's a popular item at the Container Store, says kitchen buyer Kim Kimbriel.
Photo: Container StorePlacing a Lazy Susan in a cabinet makes it easier to access hard-to-reach items.
Placing a Lazy Susan in a cabinet makes it easier to access hard-to-reach items.
Photo: Container StoreCandie and Steven Tramonte had one of those little L-shaped, reach-in pantries - nothing to brag about, but it served a purpose. Boxed and canned goods and everyday kitchen staples lined its shelves.
Still, they knew they wanted more. More shelves, more drawers. More matching containers and baskets.
So when their interior designer, Cindy Aplanalp-Yates of the Chairma Design Group, suggested a super pantry as part of a kitchen remodeling project, they were all in.
Architects, builders and designers are all paying more attention to storage spaces: We want our kitchen pantries to be larger, more functional and more attractive.
The super pantry, as Aplanalp-Yates describes it, is so much more than a place to store food. It's a pantry, butler's pantry, catering kitchen and linen closet all in one.
Not only do their shelves sport rows of matching baskets and air-tight containers, but they also have drawers and cabinets to store dishes, extra silverware or pans and baking items.
All of those small appliances we use only once in a while? Put them in the super pantry.
A second set of appliances - an extra oven, refrigerator, dishwasher and sink if you can - make the space practical if you entertain a lot. You - or your caterers - can prep, cook and bake, and then leave the mess behind closed doors.
If you're a neatnik who wants your kitchen clutter-free, you can keep your juicer, toaster or coffee maker all on a counter in your super pantry for easy access.
Aplanalp-Yates said some clients are skeptical about creating such a large pantry - the Tramontes' is 12 feet by 13 feet and took 9 feet from their oversize garage - but when it's done, they never regret it.
"They had no idea how useful it would be or how easy it is to keep their kitchen tidy," Aplanalp-Yates said of the reaction of clients who often resist the idea as more than they need. "Often, we'll do a small desk, like a mom's office, with a computer or iPad and a printer. It becomes your little office. It becomes something people enjoy."
At Madeval at the Decorative Center of Houston, Tita Donoso helps clients custom design contemporary and modern kitchens, baths and closets, and her clients are interested in special features to make their space as functional as possible.
Many clients are empty-nesters who are downsizing and want good design to help their smaller kitchens and pantries function as if they're much bigger, she said.
In her showroom, Donoso shows off drawers built to hold knives in neat rows, utensil trays that can be arranged and rearranged and spice holders that lift out so you can take whole groups to your kitchen or outdoors to your barbecue. The best part? They all clean up in the dishwasher.
"If you don't have everything organized, you're never going to see it and you're never going to use it," she said.
Donoso's eyes light up when she talks about recovering lost space: those corners where you have to get on your hands and knees and dig in deep, dark spaces.
General manager of the Houston outpost of her parent's Ecuadorean company, Donoso steps back to show off the unit that does what few others likely can. She opens a cabinet door, automatically pulling a two-tier wire rack from the cabinet into the kitchen. Simultaneously, another two-tier rack tucked into the corner slides over for easy access.
"Another big option is to have lights in the cabinet," Donoso said. Madeval cabinets are custom-made modular units manufactured in Ecuador.
Aplanalp-Yates urges people to make their pantries - no matter how large or small - beautiful, too. A cute light fixture, bright wallpaper or even a piece of art can make the space special.
Tramonte said her remodeling project tripled her storage space; in fact, some of it is still empty.
"We put a lot of thought into every drawer and cabinet," she said. "We took an inventory of what we owned and what we needed. There's a utility drawer for all of the baking tools and graters and all of that. One drawer has an insert for all of my knives. On each side of the stove are drawers that have everything you'd use at the stove - tongs, spatulas, whisks."
"I wouldn't change a thing. It was pricey but it was definitely worth it," Tramonte said. "Our clothes closet is next on our list. ... Cindy knows it's coming."
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