Pull out pantry vs shelves?

15 years ago

Cabinet guy messed up and made roll out shelves (5 of them) instead of a floor to ceiling pull out pantry. I was imagining pulling on the handle, and having the whole unit come out with it, and I would access it from both sides. Now I will be opening a cupboard door and pulling put shelves one by one. He's happy to re-do it and aknowledges his mistake. Now I'm wondering if the individual pull out shelves are better? Thoughts? Anyone have a pull out pantry and love it? Thanks as always!

Featured Answer

zelmar

15 years ago

I like individual roll out shelves--you can see items from front, both sides, and most importantly, the top. If you want to grab one can of tomatoes, you don't have to pull out the contents of your entire pantry to retrieve it. I keep our most used items at the front of our roll out shelves which means nothing weighty has to get pulled out, I just open the door and grab. The roll out feature makes the lesser used items easy to access when needed. Usually the spacing of roll out shelves are easy to adjust. I've adjusted mine so that they just clear the items beneath. No reach in clearance is required to get at items behind others. The full pull outs are similar to fixed shelves, except you have access from 2 sides instead of 1.

I had planned to get a 15" wide Ikea pull out for our laundry room. I thought they looked really intriguing when I saw them at the store. Then I realized that I didn't like the big front panel blocking my view and access. I ended up getting the individual pull outs instead since I feel this gives me the most flexibility.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

cmm6797
15 years ago
I think it's easier to see the items when you have rollout shelves rather than the entire pullout that you're describing, only because it seems like you'd have to access items from the side in the one big pullout (if I'm picturing it correctly). I don't particularly like our oil/spice pullout for this exact reason. However in our pantry we have a combination of pullout shelves and fixed shelves. The fixed shelves are good for stacking items such as canned goods. It's harder to stack things on rollout shelves because they fall over.
remodelfla
15 years ago
Have the pullout and LOVE it!
Related Professionals
Lake City Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · New Braunfels Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Sheboygan Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Rock Hill Kitchen Remodelers · Aurora Kitchen Remodelers · Plymouth Kitchen Remodelers · Hempstead Kitchen Remodelers · Rutland Kitchen Remodelers · Hopkinsville Custom Countertops · Covington Custom Countertops · Oklahoma City Custom Countertops · Florence Custom Countertops · Chattanooga Custom Countertops · Houston Custom Countertops · Chillicothe Custom Countertops
dianalo
15 years ago
Our pullout pantry is 30" wide and is awesome. It has the top and bottom pullout drawers attached to the door. The middle 3 pull out if needed.
I like not having the door hinge on the side and having to open a door all the way to then access the shelves. With this width, I'd have probably needed 2 doors to open wide before pulling out anything. No thank you. I can pull the pullout as far as needed. Sometimes, I need it out 6 inches for something at the front and it is one simple movement.

Your cab guy can fix it easily by attaching the top and bottom pullout to the door itself. Voila!
Capegirl05
15 years ago
Hooray for someone willing to own up to a mistake! Have your cab guy re-do it...he has offered.
kawh707
15 years ago
we really wanted a pull-our pantry, but could not do it because of this and that. still-- we are liking our pull-out shelves very much and i do think we are able to get more into it than we would otherwise. we had an extra shelf put in-- so i actually have canned goods on their sides and also use the fixed space under the shelves for large flat items. every centimeter is being used. if space is an issue-- i do think you can cram more (in an organized fashion) into the shelves. but the pantry is one-step which is wonderful. IF you do go with the pullout shelves-- make sure there is only ONE door to open, rather than 2. makes it a little easier.
kawh
angie_diy
15 years ago
I think it may depend on how wide the unit is. Above a certain width, I would want ROTS (or, better, dianalo's version), but for narrower, I would favor the pull-out. How wide is yours?
Love_Roma
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks all! The space is 18" wide. Still mulling it over...I am worried about limited visibility with the whole unit attached to the door.
Sharon kilber
15 years ago
My, pull out is 15 in. I, think 18 in pull out might get a little heavy. Depending what you, will put in it. I, use mine for spices, and baking thing's.
mpagmom (SW Ohio)
15 years ago
If you need to access it from both sides, I like Dianalo's solution. If not, I'd leave it. The extra step of opening the door would be offset by being able to see the front and not having to pull out a heavier unit every time. Or you could be like my kids - if you never close the door you'll never have to open it. Aren't they clever?
bmorepanic
15 years ago
Actually, I saw some one customize their door with rots unit by removing the door and using nicely finished rots. I marked that down as something to copy if I needed it. In that layout, it removed contention between the door and the ref next to the pantry cabinet. I liked it over drawers cause the items had some visibility outside of the unit.

Ok, back to topic! If either the rots or the tall pullout has adjustible shelves, I'd pick that way.
kmmh
15 years ago
My MIL has - door open and shelves pull out. It is so easy to see everything, even things in the middle of a shelf. It is what we are going to do in our space as well.
Good Luck!