kitchen desk --) pantry??

11 years ago

Hi, all!

We are considering purchasing a new home shortly (we're in the process of being pre-approved and will put in an offer as soon as that's complete). So these pics are taken from the home tour online.

The kitchen is completely livable - there are many, many things in the house that need updating before we touch a kitchen that works just fine and that I don't hate. ;) However, we don't want/need a kitchen desk and we DO want/need a pantry.

Has anyone removed their desk and added a pantry before? I've been Googling for similar updates and have seen a couple, but none where the desk is on a corner like this, so I'm not sure what the edge would look like.

Any thoughts/etc you have (or any $$$ estimates?!?!) would be wonderful.

Thanks!

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Comments (7)

a2gemini
11 years ago
Good luck with your new house!
No ideas on costs but I would remove the desk unit and upper and put in a pantry. I would not touch the corner cabinet.
Others will chime in on design - pull out vs drawers vs fixed shelves. Most likely fixed shelves would be hard to use based on depth but the cheapest. I would probably use roll outs in that space but I am not an expert.

If the cabinets are still available and haven't darkened too much- you can match them to your current cabinets. Also, if you can find the cabs, would exchange the above fridge and oven for full depth.

The one thing in your kitchen to be cautious about is your oven placement in the entry to your kitchen, especially if you have kids. It doesn't look like there is a door but maybe I can't see it in the picture. I have a pocket door near my oven set up but no rugrats roaming around, so seldom use the door.
largirl
Original Author
11 years ago
Oh - good point about the oven. We have two kids (1 and 3) and didn't think of that at all. You're talking about them coming in the door and running into it? I like the idea of doing deeper cabinets over the fridge and oven as well!
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User
11 years ago
I would leave the wrap-around cabinet and countertop alone, remove desk and upper cabinets, and install a pantry there.

You could match the stain, or deliberately make it look like a separate entity - as if you added a hutch later.
CEFreeman
11 years ago
I'm with lazygardens. That area is perfect for a pantry, leaving that one cabinet that kinda wraps around. Nice.

That oven thing. Not good and I don't have kids. I had an ex- who would whip around a corner and slam into it. So it's not just kids.,

I can't figure out what that space is beside the oven? Just counter space? Cause I'd move the oven closer to the fridge. At least from the pictures.

Best of luck with your approval!
szruns
11 years ago
I would also think of just removing that desk and the upper cabinets, leaving the corner alone. Depending on whether you have a competent carpenter around . . . it could be easier/cheaper to build a drywall pantry/closet, or just buy cabinetry pantries. Pantry cabinets for that space could be maybe $1000-4000 for "in stock" to "semi-custom" lines from Home Depot or Lowe's . . .. (Browse online for "pantry cabinets") or the sky is the limit with custom cabinets. I would be intimidated to try to match the wood in the rest of the kitchen, so I might see if I could find a similar door style and have them painted in a complementary color, or maybe a very dark wood stain . . .

You could build a simple closet there with nice shelving for $200 in materials, but having a competent carpenter is the trick there. Cabinets are easier that way . . . If you did a closet "reach in" pantry, I'd do double bifold doors. I had a reach in pantry that way for the last 7 years, and it was OK. 16" shelves were really too deep to be functional, so I'd probably just build it for 12-14 inch deep shelves. Or, do Roll Out Trays for all/most of it, which would make deeper shelves functional.
practigal
11 years ago
A pantry there, great...but unless it is all new cabinetry and still available, I'm a lot less clear on how it will match without paying big bucks for a custom job.

I think that I would keep the electric outlets and include a charging station for all of the electronic gizmos we are all ending up with.

I would also consider using the space like a Butler's pantry and have all of your electric appliances on it like the big KitchenAid, the vert, etc. if I did that I would probably raise the top of the desk to match the rest of the countertop. Or maybe where the current kneehole is you would have a pop up shelf for your KitchenAid (those are really lovely really heavy machines).

To me, until you move in, you won't know exactly how you want to use the space. It may be that you want to make it a breakfast area where the toaster and the coffeepot and teapot go. And the fact that it is a lower area more easily reached by children might be great for that purpose as is.
tracie.erin
11 years ago
Unless you can match the cabinets cheaply and they are pretty new (ie, they have not darkened or lightened with time - so new ones will match), I would do a contrasting finish. Distressed black, or white, or maybe even a sage green would look very nice against the stained cabinets. You could even do a different door style with the darker colors (so the details blur together and it's not so noticeable).

I love when people come in with easy fixes. :)