The butlers pantry is all the rage right now. Every modern home has one. If you’ve recently built a home or have moved into a house that a butlers pantry in it, you might be faced with the awkward conundrum of what to do with it.
Well wonder no more, Creatives, because in today’s post we not only cover off what to use it for, but how to stack and stock it, plus how to make it look good.
There’s also a video below that’ll help you too!
How to Use and Style your Butlers Pantry
Mess. What mess?
A butlers pantry is all about keeping the chaos hidden away. They’re great for people who love to entertain because you can have all of your guests sitting around your island benchtop, for example, while you duck into the pantry to prepare the food.
It’s also used to store mess as the dinner party progresses (so dishes are out sight) and a lot of pantries close right off, so if you don’t want to deal with the cleanup you can ignore it until morning.
Some butlers pantries replicate a lot of the features already included in the kitchen like a dishwasher, oven, cooktop and fridge. You’d probably only need this if you were a hardcore entertainer though.
Appliances in their place
Of course, not everyone is an entertainer with guests dropping in around the clock, but a butlers pantry can be used for so much more that post-party mess. The storing of appliances has become a major use for this zone of the home.
The day-to-day activity of preparing toast, having a cuppa, blitzing a juice or smoothy, or prepping a toasty is all being done in the butlers pantry, which leaves the kitchen more of a design feature to marvel at as opposed to where all the action happens.
A lot of people, when building their kitchen, place the more expensive finishes in the kitchen and the more affordable, durable finishes in the butlers pantry, where a lot of the wear and tear is going to take place.
Style Tips for the Butlers Pantry
Floating shelves are a great idea because they’re easily accessible and everything’s out in plain view
If you have cupboards in this zone, consider glass ones so you can see what items are inside
Ensure you have enough power points in this zone. Consider how many appliances will be used back there and accommodate accordingly
When storing food, create clusters of similar products with aisles in between each grouping, so you can reach products at the back of the shelf
Store your most-used items between eye and waist level, so they’re easily accessible every day. Heavier items, like a slow cooker, can be stored lower down
It’s not all about function; creating stylish vignettes like a tea tray with pot, cups, saucers etc, that can be brought out when friends come over
If you have a butlers pantry with no door, place the most attractive items at the opening, where they’ll be seen. Stacking gorgeous glassware is a good idea here
Don’t forget about fragrance; pop a diffuser in there so your butlers pantry always smells divine
This post includes images and/or videos of Metricon display homes and events, reproduced with permission. © Metricon Homes Pty Ltd 2016.
Just wondering what the minimum size is to allow for a butlers pantry , and should the fridge go in it or not?