Most modern kitchens consist of a pantry that stores at least a week's supply of food. But is a pantry door a pre-requisite? We looked for answers to the question, and below is the account of what we found out.
Your pantry must have a door. The following are some of the benefits of installing a door:
- It provides insulation by keeping temperatures inside cooler.
- It acts as a physical barrier.
- It provides a focal point in your kitchen.
- It diminishes visual clutter.
Continue reading as we delve into the details on why a pantry should have a door. You'll also discover more about pantry doors and how you should cover a doorless pantry.
Importance Of Having A Pantry Door
Before we go further, let's expound on the merits of having a pantry door. Whatever is your pantry type, you should have a door for it for the following reasons:
1. It Provides Insulation
A door to your pantry can help to keep the temperature inside optimal and protected from humidity. Since the pantry stores food supplies, storage temperature must be kept at an optimal level. It can also help ward off bright lights that may not work well with some of the food you have stored.
Not only does it provide insulation from unwanted heat and humidity, but it can also offer you protection from dust. Much so that it allows you to be dustless.
2. It Acts as a Physical Barrier
Your pantry contains your food and many occasional-use appliances. So you probably want to keep these things out of sight. Not everyone is expected to visit your pantry frequently, so placing a door can help keep it separate from the rest of the kitchen.
And if you have little kids, a door can help ensure that they don't wander off looking for unexpected treats. Or it can prevent them from securing a hidden play area for themselves. And at best, it can protect them from breaking jars or other goodies.
3. It Serves As The Focal Point
Your pantry door can be your statement piece. It can also link your old house to your new one if you want to retain a portion of your old place.
Additionally, your pantry door can also be where you unleash your creative juices. After all, we spend a good proportion of our time in our kitchen.
4. It Diminishes Clutter
As the pantry stores your food supply, putting a door to your pantry helps ensure that your kitchen does not appear as a reincarnation of your nearby supermarket.
Should A Butler's Pantry Have A Door?
A butler's pantry should have a door installed, but it's not an absolute necessity. Originally intended as a transition place to prepare or plate meals, additional preparation happens in the butler's pantry.
Not only does it house supplies, but it also contains some kitchen equipment and other appliances, which are integral in food preparation, especially when you don't want to flood your central kitchen.
Thus, a door in between your butler's pantry and kitchen or dining area not only provides privacy but also provides demarcation to indicate common areas versus private family spaces and prevents others from seeing your private clutter.
Should A Walk-In Pantry Have A Door?
By its name, a walk-in pantry is another smaller room in the kitchen that serves as your stockroom. The average size of which is 5X5 feet in area. Therefore, placing a door to its entrance makes it look neater and cleaner (and safer from bugs and pests!).
An entry becomes an important feature, especially if open shelves have been installed. The main door to your pantry also allows better accessibility. The walk-in nature can help you go in and out and get the things you need without opening cabinet doors.
Adding a door to your pantry can also help you save costs since you won't be needing individual cabinet doors. You can also opt for a different theme inside your pantry.
Should A Pantry Door Open In Or Out?
The design of the pantry follows the direction in which the door opens. The general rule is that to preserve the space, most pantry doors open outside. This way, you can maximize the area and prevent the door from blocking kitchen appliances from being used while you work.
To learn more about the topic, check out this post: Do Pantry Doors Open In Or Out?
Alternatively, one can opt for other doors that minimize space use and provide a more visually appealing look to your kitchen. Modern kitchen designs have seen the surge of pocket doors, barn doors, French doors, and sliding doors.
How Do You Cover A Pantry Without A Door?
You can cover a pantry without a door by using any of these door substitutes:
- A curtain made of beads, bamboo mats, or decorative cloth
- Sliding panels
- Folding screens or room dividers
Click here to see this natural wood and bamboo beaded curtain on Amazon.
Click here to see this sliding panel vertical blind on Amazon.
How Can I Hide My Pantry Door?
An excellent way to hide your pantry door is to align the design with the overall look of your kitchen. By doing this, you can disguise your pantry's entryway for a visitor to think that this is just another cabinet.
Another way to hide the pantry door is by deliberately placing the entrance concealed from the usual path of kitchen traffic. In doing so, you can access your pantry without people seeing the contents as it does not fall within the typical line of sight. This would require some engineering and design skills to execute.
A subtler way may be to place a physical barrier between the pantry door and the wider kitchen area. It may not directly hide the door, but it can distract people from seeing the door first hand.
How Wide Should A Hidden Pantry Door Be?
There is no set width for a pantry door. However, you should allocate at least 44 inches of aisle width to your pantry. That being said, the width of the door will depend on the type of door that you plan to install. But given that a person would need to fit into the space, you can follow the minimum door width.
If the person using the space is physically handicapped, you should set the width to accommodate mobility enhancers such as wheelchairs.
In Closing
A door is your pantry's best friend—it does protect not only its contents but also increases the overall appeal and functionality of your pantry.
Hence, in deliberating how it will fare, do not only think of the door as a prerequisite to adding safety to your stash. Keep in mind that it can enhance the aesthetics of your kitchen. After all, the majority of our time is spent in the kitchen.
The following articles will give you more tips on how to design your pantry:
