If you change the framing something is not going to work. Barely looks like you have room for trim as it is. I would leave it as is.

Also I would move your MW to be by the fridge. End of island maybe.

Pocket doors are best where they are most always open or closed.

I imagine the right door will remain open, and the left will be opened and closed.

This layout is a mess. Things to consider:

- You're going to walk in the mudroom, around the refrigerator, through one of these doors, then into the pantry. How many steps could be saved if you open a door between the mudroom and the pantry.

- That isn't a Butler's Pantry. A Butler's Pantry is a small space located between the kitchen and the dining room, where "the help" (probably you) can stage dinner -- can lay out salads, drinks, whatever to be delivered to the table with ease. I think what you have is a little coffee corner.

- Why a division between the pantries? One large space will be more functional.

- I'd like to see a pass-through between a single pantry and the kitchen. That would allow you to "set things through" rather than carrying them.

- So the problem is having enough space for the twin doors -- and they must be twins! If they don't match, the space will feel "off". Thing is, I don't think 30" is enough for either side -- remember you're going to walk through this door (often) with grocery bags. You need 32" minimum, preferably a little wider.

- Pocket doors would be nice here -- make the wall a little thicker to support them /have the slide behind the range. I don't see measurements, but I think you can afford to lose a little space in the aisle between the range and the island.

- No, I wouldn't go with an open casement (instead of a door) for the coffee corner /pretty pantry -- sometimes it'll be a mess, and you'll want to close it off. Even if it were an open casement, you'd still need the same amount of space.

- I would not spring for the cost of glass doors here. They'll stay open most of the time.

- Reduce the oversized range down to a 30" or 36" range, and your problem will disappear.

- While you're looking at doors, note that the freezer /fridge will protrude a bit from their alcove (otherwise you won't be able to open them), and they will cover that door a bit. You need maybe 6" of wall to the left of that pantry door.

- Is that 2'3" deep enough for the fridge /freezer? Better to have a few extra inches in that alcove -- remember that

- How often do you use your microwave? I barely use mine -- I'd consider placing it in the pantry.

- Two sinks literally in reach of one another? No. Go with a single done-well sink on the island, and you won't need the prep sink. You don't want a sink on that back wall anyway, as you'll dribble stuff on the floor as you carry it.

- You have lovely big windows at the back of the kitchen, but that light won't reach strongly /be the lovely light that you want all the way to the refrigerator end.

Okay, your original question was about the doors. What I'd actually do, if this were my space:

- I'd open a door between the mudroom and the pantry, which would give you an entrance on that end.

- I'd move the freezer to the pantry and open a door where the freezer currently is. That'd give you an "around" to the mudroom /pantry.

- I'd leave the door to the coffee corner /pretty pantry "as is" -- making sure it's 36".

- And I'd add a pass-through between the pantry and the kitchen.

Thanks for all the input. We went literally round and round (pun intended) with our architect on various designs and walking thru mudroom to bring in groceries or walking in and sorting groceries from island to fridge and pantry. I landed at wanting a bench space in mudroom so that is done.

We do have pocket doors framed in.

And yes, I do believe I’ll keep the coffee corner pocket door open nearly always and the other mostly closed.

Keep as is so you have the option to close the butler's pantry when you prefer to.

IMO a really poorly designed space and a butlers pantry is always between the kitchen and the DR any other place it is not a butlers pantry and in this case just silly . I run a catering biz and have never needed this type odf pantry storage .

Thanks! Maybe I’ve used “butler pantry” term incorrectly … I’m excited to have a nice coffee nook and place for my appliances like mixer, instant pot, etc.!

any opinions on doors?

As I said below, I wouldn't change your framing. If you really think it's a problem you need to recheck everything else (cabinets, counters, trim - and as I said below that looks tight already so you might want to check it anyway). If you are too far along on all of that stuff then leave it. No one is going to notice 2", and the door to the coffee corner will be open most of the time anyway.

I also disagree with the poster below who told you that your island sink is not placed well. I might give it a bit more room on the left side but it's placed just fine for your cook and prep zone. A separate cleanup zone is great and I wish I could have had one in my kitchen. I would just make sure you get a sink big enough for prep. 18" minimum.

Also most of my groceries come in the front door (grocery delivery = one positive thing about covid), so if you're anything like me you really don't care about pantry to garage distance and you wouldn't necessarily design your kitchen to be next to your front door.

Theresa Peterson has an alternate plan all mapped out.
It is superbly superior to the present layout.
You need an efficient work flow.
Consider how food supplies enter your house. Is there an entrance from the garage that would make unloading and stocking quick and easy?
Are you cognizant of the ice water stone fire mantra for the kitchen?
The "butlers pantry" space is very often misunderstood.
This portion of the house( standard feature in large homes employing multiple servants) was situated between the kitchen and dining room.Walls had multiple cupboards to hold silver( often kept under lock and key)serving trays,best china and glassware,linens for the table,wine inventory records,maybe a sink,and a spot with a chair or two and small table where the butler could rest between duties.
This space also had a window to the outside usually facing the porte cochere/ guest entrance so that the butler( and his attendant footmen)would be alerted and ready for arriving guests. The house would also have a separate room for the housekeeper where household records and recipes were kept,and a cosy spot ready for the housekeeper to have a break.
Modern adaptations of the butlers space usually have shelving for extra pantry items,small appliances,serving pieces,dishes and glasses.Plumbing for a sink and/ or dishwasher and electrical outlets would also be integral.

I'm not really sure why your layout is getting pushback. It satisfies ice water stone fire just fine. You have a separate clean up zone and cooking zone, and your cooking zone is not in an aisle. Personally I prefer a totally isolated kitchen (L shaped with an island) but yours is better than most.

And yes, you or your architect mislabeled the butler's pantry. Just call it a pantry and then everyone can relax about that bit.

Thanks for coming to my (architects) design defense Anj! And I do wish I had space for the detailed explanation of a true butlers pantry, workers included. Hah even if I’m the worker, that cosy space sounds lovely. Altho I definitely have more knowledge of where I’ve lacked in designing a “real” butler pantry, I’m not sure I have more clarity or input on whether I should buy one or two pocket doors. And how much that 2 inches will bother me (i.e am I over analyzing or being too critical). Now that I know about that 2 in I think I have to remedy it. Sounds like most (of the 2-3 that mentioned it), think put in both pocket doors. Thanks for the lovely fun input!

What about adding a pocket door between the mud room and pantry to drop groceries off? I agree with @3onthetree to make it one big space, unless the pantry will really be for messy storage. Will there be a refrigerator in there? What about a small sink for the coffee maker? I also have a small scullery with a sink where I have air fryer, etc.

The whole thing is too convoluted, expensive, and dysfunctional. Get rid of all the wall lines but the exterior, and start over re-designing it to work better. No one needs that much "back of house" space. Not even if you have 10 kids and cook from scratch each day. It's hugely wasteful of money and space. And the kitchen is ginormous and expensive as well. A several hundred thousand dollar project like this should be so much better designed.

Minardi - what specifically do think is so poorly designed? The “pantry” space is really not big at all, especially considering there’s not a lot of storage elsewhere in the house & I’ll be using it for major appliances - from toaster oven, instant pot, slow cookers, to paper towel storage, possibly “swifters” type mops, lunch boxes, etc. not an exclusive food pantry.

And the kitchen is definitely not ginormous. My kitchen is actually pretty standard. Had to work within existing walls of a 1970s ranch. I’ll post larger layout picture for reference

I don't see the logic of 2 sinks so close together. I'd move the island down toward the other end or center it in the island. Both doorways should be the same. If they will be tidy spaces than arch doorways with no wood casing would look great. I think both doors will be left open most of the time if you have doors there. Yes, your fridges will need more space on the hinge sides and more than the minimum suggested if you want to open the doors and not have the inner door shelving in the way of reaching what's inside. 90 degrees open is not enough unless you have no door shelves or water filter in the way. You may want to move that left doorway closer to the stove and recenter everything between the doorways, so that you can pull your fridge out from the wall as needed for back ventilation without it encroaching on your walkway. I would also move the fridge centered with the walkway in front of the stove so it isn't so tight to the corner of that counter when the door is opened.

@Nova the logic is that one of them is used for cleanup and one is used for prep. They aren't that close together as they're separated by a 4' aisle and are used for different purposes.

She should move it away from the edge so there is some clearance on the left side - at least 18". If this were my kitchen I'd have the trash at the end of the island with the sink adjacent.

Centering the sink will cut prep space in half. Moving it to the other side of the island will encroach on fridge landing space. She could move it to be 24" from the other side if she wants to pull stuff from the fridge, put it on the counter, unpack it on one side of the sink and move to the other side for actual prep. If she leaves it on the left side she can unpack and prep on the same side. Personal preference I suppose. I prefer working on one side of the sink, but others may like moving from one side of the sink to the other.

@anj_p I was thinking it would be most efficient to have access to a sink from both halves of the kitchen otherwise why not just use the one. I do at least like the idea of moving the island sink over a little for the trash cabinet. It looks odd to me so close to the side.

Thought you all might enjoy seeing the wall in question… doing what we can to visualize. Hah!

Just reporting back here on the hotly contended butler pantry / ante pantry space. Our remodel almost done. I keep both doors. And LOVE the pantry space and how it’s all set up. Will be so nice to have my clutter behind doors when wanted and storage! With help of some others on this app .. got great cabinetry ideas. They’ll be some floating shelves in pantry that shows just one upper. I love