Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
ourlifeinthesticks

How deep should a reach-in pantry be?

Say the pantry is about 5 or 6 feet long, what is a good depth? Any ideas? :)

Comments (6)

  • funkycamper
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    If you do a search for pantry photos in the Kitchen photo section, you'll find so very many different styles of pantries with various organizational options that it will blow your mind. Also, do a search for pantry here in the Kitchen discussion forum as this has come up a lot. Awhile back someone (buehl?), had a post with links to good discussions with helpful information re shelf heights and depths for various types of items. I thought I bookmarked it but couldn't find it in my bookmarks. Sorry. Was hoping I could share it and shorten your search. Another source of good information is to go to the Story section of Houzz and do a search for Pantry. Lots of good articles.

    I think pantries are as varied as people. The types of foods you buy, the packaging, what other things you want to store in the pantry besides food, all are important for assessing what will work best for you. Although those sources listed above should give you some good tips.

    Here's a few more good ones to whet your appetite.

    Guildford Residence · More Info

    Jett Forest Estates Renovation · More Info

    Past Projects and Ranges · More Info

    ourlifeinthesticks thanked funkycamper
  • ourlifeinthesticks
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Ooohhhhh...great pictures! Thank to you both!

    I'm glad to know that there isn't a standard depth. I'd hate to be breaking all sorts of rules ;-). Storing appliances in the pantry....I hadn't considered the extra depth needed. I'm off to find my tape measure ;-)

    Thanks again!!!

  • funkycamper
    8 years ago

    I'll add that you can see that most of these shelves really aren't that deep. Unless you're going to do roll-outs, things can get lost behind other stuff, never to be found again until past expiration, if you have a lot of deep shelves. You might have deeper shelves at the bottom for bigger stuff like that 30# container of flour or that flat of water bottles and such but you will want less deep shelves (10-14" max) for things like spices, seasonings, and canned goods. Shelves sized just an inch or so taller than cans are great for canned goods so you don't have to stack them. If you eat a lot of cereal, another shelf sized for the cereal boxes would be handy. So really think about what you want to store and where in your pantry you want to store it. Also consider adjustable shelving so you can change things up if your needs change or you have estimated your needs wrong.

    Also, even if you don't anticipate actually using appliances inside your pantry, you might as well wire a plug-in inside just in case you change your mind down the road. It would be easiest to do it while down to the studs already.

    ourlifeinthesticks thanked funkycamper
  • tea4all
    8 years ago

    There were wonderful threads on pantries in the past. Here is one of my favorites.Pantries and photos

    ourlifeinthesticks thanked tea4all
  • desertsteph
    8 years ago

    Mine is about 22" inside the doorway. the shelves are about 18" deep (with 2 shelves added in that are about 7" deep). I wouldn't want them deeper than 18". I like my 7" shelves for small stuff.

    I have a nuwave oven and stand mixer on a lower shelf. the flooring is good for soda, water jugs etc.

    ourlifeinthesticks thanked desertsteph