How to turn your home’s kitchen into your dream kitchen

Power pantry

Photograph by Gregory Miller

Why we love the look
A pantry can be more than a place to store chips and cereal. It can serve as a caterer’s kitchen, craft room, bar area, dog room, or all of the above. It also offers an opportunity to experiment with a design that’s different from the main kitchen.

About this pantry
Buckhead homeowners Ricky and Kristen Nelson were able to commandeer an unused bedroom located beside their kitchen for a multipurpose pantry. “They can use it as a ‘dirty kitchen’ where the activity happens, so the main kitchen is pretty for staging,” says kitchen designer Mary Kathryn Timoney of Design Galleria Kitchen & Bath. “It’s also great for a caterer or as another serving area for dessert and coffee.” Kristen uses the room as a crafting space with her two small children (hence the durable engineered quartz countertop). There’s also a dog-feeding station tucked into a drawer.

Playful palette
The Nelsons’ main kitchen is primarily white with touches of gray, while the pantry flips that color scheme with gray cabinets and geometric tile. “We wanted it to be a more whimsical and fun area with a pop of color to pull you in,” says Timoney. “It’s a little jewel box, so even though it’s utilitarian, the look is precious.”

Space planning
Incorporating countertops in addition to shelves and cabinets elevates a pantry into a work or serving area. “Glass-door cabinets are expensive and have to be staged, so I advise going with closed, functional storage and saving the money for a fun backsplash to add the wow factor,” says Timoney. Natural light is nice, if possible, to make a tight space feel welcoming.

Budgeting
Timoney recently designed a pantry with pricey upgrades like antique-mirrored cabinet doors and a pizza oven. But she notes that concrete tiles are one current look that is relatively affordable.

Resources
Kitchen design: Mary Kathryn Timoney, Design Galleria Kitchen & Bath, designgalleria.net
Cabinets: Cabico, cabico.com
Tile: Renaissance Tile and Bath, renaissancetileandbath.com