My KD suggested instead of going with a tall pullout pantry, go with a pantry that has pullout shelves. He said that over time, the sliders on the tall pullouts fail due to being over loaded.

I would think under counter pullout shelves would be easier to see the contants since the sides are open than drawer would.

Bill

My pullout is only 12 inches. I put it on the wall with my fridge, a narrow broom closet (also 12") and another tall cabinet, so there is no counter space there anyway. My bottles, jars and cans go in there and the boxes and bags are in another cabinet. I probably wouldn't do shorter pullouts. If I felt I couldn't give up any counter space, I'd look to drawers for boxes, bags and cans (I've seen great drawers with cans on their side for easy viewing) and put bottles and jars in an upper cabinet.

My tall pantry is only 18" wide and has a huge amount of storage space so the trade-off for losing 18" of counter space was worth it to me. Instead of the whole pantry pulling out, I have 4 pull out drawers on the bottom section and the top is two shelves. I like the idea of individual pull out drawers better.I'm only pulling out the one I need instead of pulling out the whole pantry.

I have a 10 inch pantry next to the fridge. We included it so the CD fridge would have a built-in look, but what I really love about it is the 30 inch cabinet over it. It has a shelf, and I have cutting boards on the bottom within easy reach and less-often used cookie sheets, muffin tins, and platters on the top shelf. I was going to put those items above the fridge, but with the pantry cabinet, I don't have to lean against the fridge and reach as deep to access them. And I didn't want the cutting board storage in a bottom cabinet because I had that before and I needed more base cab storage (for a spice drawer and bread and snack drawer). I used the above the fridge cab for larger light-weight items like Bundt pans and angel food cake pans.

So there are added benefits to a pull-out pantry besides the pantry itself. The person who had the amazingly organized tiny Brooklyn galley kitchen has the same set-up. I can't remember her name to find a photo for you, but brooklyn was part of it.

My kitchen is a 10 X 8 galley, rougly. So pretty small.

I will have a counter-height 15"wide pull-out 'pantry' next to the fridge because I didn't want to sacrifice my golden countertop zone between sink and fridge, which also happens to be the drop-zone for grocery bags. I also have a bank of drawers and two wall cabs also dedicated to food, and also close to the fridge.

rocketmomkd and pawa , I'm having trouble picturing your set-ups. Can you post a picture?

Yes, I remember the Brooklyn Galley kitchen
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0516324013092.html
Mine's also a Galley, though not nearly as small. She had a short pull out pantry, but still taller than counter height, so she still lost counter.

It's funny, I really like the TWO things I need most in my kitchen are cabinet space and counterspace, and sometimes the two conflict with each other!

That's one of the best kitchens I've seen on GW. She has one huge counter, which is all she really needs. I think her pull-out is only 5 inches though. If you look at Rev-a-shelf, you'll see the increments they come in. I think mine is actually 8 inches but the cabinet is 10 inches.

Mine is ~13 inches wide and to the left of the fridge - so doesn't interfere with counter space and I love it!
I posted pictures a couple weeks ago showing the pantry. Here is a link to some pictures
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0516485325916.html