IMO a pantry in that position is useless I hate banguette seating in a dining room it barely worksat a picnic table. IMO a narrow table with cahirs would bea better choice you could do a longer table in the space so why not think that for the max seating then pust the taable to the wall when there is just regular seating needed so you would have an 72’ long 36” wide table so 5 people everyday and 8 when you pull out the table at least then everyone has a chair they can move in and out of If you must have more storage I would suggest some the wall past the fridge counter pullouts that mimic the kitchen cabinets but along the wall past the fridge for 2 feet

I don't see how you can have seating on the other side of the table and still be able to move around... Have you considered an L-shaped banquette in the corner by the stairs, and then just put a bunch of 15"-deep pantries past the end of your current counter?

Could you please post a "clean" layout? One that just has measurements and no comments/sketches. It would be much easier to read. Are you redoing the entire Kitchen, or just the table space to the left?

What are the other rooms in the house? Could you please post a sketch of the entire floor (assuming there's more to it).

Anne Hathaway's cottage banquette in CA

Hi Denise!!! oh my goodness. thank you so so so much!!! I LOVE this!!! I love Anne Hathaways builtin bench....

You are very welcome, Mary. Anne Hathaway's cottage is darling. Here's the link: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/studio-shamshiri-gives-a-storybook-california-cottage-singular-appeal?fbclid=IwAR0tO8DuHJzvHUY0cH_iUCQrLAmTM5LkLDs--0zsonkRYo-WiBsHsaIEV_w

What I like about Anne Hathaway's cottage is that she kept it classic and not overdone. I could just hang there easily. The other pic is just an inspiration as to how a banquette can be embellished.

Lately I've been repurposing tall entertainment/tv cabinets, in kitchens as pantries. You can add shelves easily and the depth is great, as it used to hold those clunker TVs of the past. Sometimes you can get them for free on craigslist. Then you can paint them a great color with a coordinating color on the cabinet interior. I fitted one as my bar and it works brilliantly.

Again, if you want an update of the floor plan showing the position of the front door and windows in the family room, mark it up and send it over and I'll revise.

Also, if you find a cabinet to repurpose, and it has glass doors, you can frost them with a kit from Home Depot/Lowes. It takes patience, but comes out well. Having a unique cabinet as a pantry adds interest and depth to your kitchen, instead of having just a big box with doors.

If you have nut job coffee drinkers in your house, like me, you can even fit it for a coffee bar.

Here's a bunch of pantry inspiration pics:

V V V Simple cabinet to size with coffee counter

V V V Built in farm pantry cabinet to match wall color

V V V Vintage curio cabinet

V V V Unique Doors over typical closet

V V V Ikea Billy Bookcase customized

A few more inspiration pics:

V V V Retro fit a free standing cabinet and paint a unique color

V V V Retro fit a craigslist find and paint

V V V Super simple coffee bar/pantry with stone top

Hi there Mary. I might have this wrong, and houzz photos might help me explain. Can't a tall pantry [built in or bought] go near work areas? where vertical post is.

Then beyond, corner placed seating [under corner ceiling light]...

Like Denise said, a unit could be bought for chalk paint which they say isn't hard. A color that's in kitchen tile or curtains, etc....

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Vice versa is painting cabinets, and buy a stained unit.

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Renovisions says: "You don’t have to paint all the cabinets – leave some cabinets white - For a partial color makeover, I recommend that my clients paint cabinets that are already visually different from the rest, for example, a tall pantry versus standard cabinets or glass door."

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Houzz shows many ideas - by the door could be any size of storage thing. Smaller room, then probably nothing there.

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