German kitchen manufacturer Bulthaup, which has showrooms in Vancouver and Toronto, offers a more contemporary alternative to the traditional English silhouette.Claus Brechenmacher & Reiner Baumann/Supplied
Not so long ago, even the most design savvy among us thought of the pantry as a dysfunctional corner closet or unreachable shelf above the fridge. The semi-shameful repository was where you stashed about-to-expire canned goods and overzealous Costco purchases. Now, fuelled by more time spent cooking at home and a new fascination in North America for bespoke British cabinet companies such as Plain English and deVOL, the pantry has become the kitchen’s most fashionable space.
“All of my clients want a pantry,” says Toronto- and Chester, N.S.-based designer Philip Mitchell. “People are more focused on how their homes function these days. I can’t remember a recent project where we didn’t include one.”
The pantry renaissance can be linked to a newfound zeal for stockpiling and organizing in a chaotic and unpredictable world. “COVID changed everything,” says Imogen Pritchard, the U.S. design director for Plain English Kitchens. “We’ve gone beyond opening a cupboard and rummaging around to find you’ve already got 10 tins of the same thing. People are using their kitchens more and getting creative about customization.”
It’s not enough to put everything in its place. The latest trend for today’s pantries is to incorporate next-level details and splash out on statement colours. “The pantry gets more attention nowadays than it did even five years ago,” Jack Creasy, principal at Jack Creasy Design in Toronto, says. “It used to be just a tall cabinet with shelves or pullouts. Now, we’re using our pantries almost every day and we want them to be beautiful and unique.”
Once the sole domain of maids and butlers, pantries, larders and serveries were far from showpieces. Instead, each served a very practical and distinct role in food preparation and service. The Victorians used pantries for dry goods, while the larder was a cool area for meat or dairy. After dinner, staff whisked the dirty dishes off to the scullery or servery for washing up. By 1913, when the electric refrigerator was introduced and food preservation techniques improved, the pantry and larder – the terms are now used interchangeably – seemed unnecessary and fell out of favour in kitchen design.
A pantry room by designer Philip Mitchell, who has just released his book, Collected Interiors: Rooms That Tell a Story.ANNIE SCHLECHTER/Supplied
Funny that with all our new technology, we should long for these quaint, hardworking spaces of yesteryear. Plain English has perfected the art of modern nostalgia. The company, which turns 30 next year, is considered cutting edge in spite of taking inspiration from places such as the circa-1829 kitchen at Petworth House, a country manor that is now part of Britain’s National Trust. Eva Chen, Instagram’s head of fashion, recently made waves with the old-meets-new kitchen in her Connecticut home in Architectural Digest, which featured Plain English cabinetry.
Pantries aren’t just for sprawling English country homes or Connecticut farmhouses, of course. When square footage doesn’t allow for a walk-in pantry, a freestanding cabinet or armoire is the natural solution. “Unfitted pantry cabinets are great for when you don’t have a huge amount of space or a huge budget,” Mitchell says. “They can house everything from dog food to a microwave, but on the outside it’s an attractive focal piece that looks like furniture and doesn’t make an entire loft or apartment feel like it’s taken up by the kitchen.”
Plain English is known for its Larder Cupboard, which can be fully customized to suit a homeowner’s needs.Supplied
Plain English is known for its Larder Cupboard, which can be fully customized to suit a homeowner’s needs. Lined in mirror, the cupboard becomes a bar; wired with electrical outlets, it serves as a breakfast or coffee cupboard. “Lately, we have a lot of people calling us and saying, ‘Can I just buy a Larder Cupboard?’ And of course they can,” Pritchard says. “It’s a piece that travels with you because it’s not fixed. You’ll have it forever.”
Just because a walk-in or pantry cupboard is multipurpose and hardworking, doesn’t mean it has to be sedate in its look. “I find this is a space, much like a powder room, where clients are more open to being a little more daring with their design choices,” Creasy says. There’s a movement toward surprise and delight, including the addition of purely decorative historic elements that wink to the past. “Hit and miss” cutouts adorn the backs of some Plain English cabinets, a nod to the time when a larder would have vented to the outside.
Mitchell, who has just released his book, Collected Interiors: Rooms That Tell a Story, agrees the pantry has become a place to take design risks and move beyond the ubiquitous white kitchen. “Clients want stains or colour on their cabinetry and it’s refreshing,” he says. “It’s a desire to do something different than what everybody else has.”
Pritchard describes a New York client who chose a white larder cupboard with a bright pink interior. “It doesn’t have to be a big, daunting decision,” she says. “Imagine if you came downstairs in the morning, opened your coffee cupboard and the interior was bright yellow. It would have a great effect on your mood!” The company’s most recent collection of paint, a collaboration with the London interior designer Rita Konig, includes the colours “Burnt Toast,” “Tea Caddy,” and the surprisingly delicate “Mouldy Plum.”
Admirers of contemporary design needn’t feel left out of larder love. Creasy goes so far as to say that a pantry is a must for minimalists who wish to keep kitchen counters spotless and uncluttered. “In contemporary spaces, I love the concept of a hidden pantry that’s disguised by a pair of tall cabinet doors that open to reveal a walk-in room,” he says.
German kitchen manufacturer Bulthaup, which has showrooms in Vancouver and Toronto, offers a more contemporary alternative to the traditional English silhouette. Its streamlined b2 system, inspired by a carpenter’s workshop, features two standalone cabinets clad in oak or walnut. One houses dishes, pots and food. The other is configured to keep appliances neatly tucked away.
Other elements moving the pantry from past to present include stainless-steel drawer inserts for everything from bread to flour and sugar, dimmable LED lighting, and customized hardware that identifies what’s inside every cupboard and drawer. All the better for houseguests to help themselves as the holidays approach.
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