Walk in Pantry

So my fiancé and I have been thinking about what to do with the kitchen to improve on the storage space available (which isn't much) for when we move back in mid next year. The 2 main ideas we've come up with are a new bench along the dining room wall with draws underneath and over head cupboards, as well as an over fridge cupboard and 2 small ones either side of the range hood (which is yet to be installed too).

The other idea is to expand the pantry from the little cupboard it is at the moment into a decent sized walk in pantry. The plan I've come up with is below, utilising the front room which is unused space to us. The smaller front room would become a small piano/reading/study area and the new pantry will be about 4 meters long! I was thinking we could just knock the shelves out of the current pantry, cut a whole through the brick wall at the back and build a new wall as shown in the plans I've attached.

I'm looking for suggestions or ideas from you folk out there about other things to consider? It'd be nice to here about any previous experience too regarding this sort of reno. I've looked at the plans and you can see where the overhead support beams of the living are and I don't think they would be impacted by doing this, but someone else may know better than me. The walls in the house are brick & rendered and the room is 31 courses high, but I would most likely only cut a door height hole in the wall at the back of the pantry making a little tunnel. And I'm thinking that a stud wall with gyprock would be the best option for the pantry extension. It'd be good if anyone could advise me as to a guesstimate on the cost of something like this as well!

Cheers!

The house as it is at present;

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa277/linds_choc26/Project%20Home%20Front/FloorPlan_zpsc62d6752.png

The new pantry plans;

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa277/linds_choc26/Project%20Home%20Front/Home%20Improvements/KitchenPantryPlan_zpsaa71f60c-1.png

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa277/linds_choc26/Project%20Home%20Front/Home%20Improvements/KitchenBenchampPantry_zps5cb1f44b-1.png

I think that would work. The idea of extending the kitchen into the dining room would work well. We have just replaced our kitchen and we have now decided to do that. It's seperated by a doorway though.
My concern would be the width of the pantry door (62mm) but if you are not large people it would be OK.
Also it leaves you without a loungeroom which would impact on your sale price if you want to sell in the future, having only the family room.

So do you mean the internal wall behind the pantry is brick? The wall would be cut from the back and as you said a gyprock wall suround for the new pantry. It's not a huge job but wouldn't know a price. Sorry.

I don't have much to contribute but I think that adding the pantry will definitely be something you won't regret, we haven't moved in yet but we are so pleased that we made use of our galley kitchen for storage.

Hi travelbug. The wall that is currently there between the front "Theatre" Room and Kitchen is brick and I'd be looking at using stud and gyprock for the new wall. I can agree somewhat to the idea that the loss of half of the front room might be a downside for resale, but I think the improvement in the usable kitchen area will more than make up for it.




I couldn't agree more. Improving on the kitchen space is the one thing I would definitely change if I could do it again over everything else.

A big improvement but I agree with travelbug and their concerns about the door at 620mm. That is pretty small and if up to me I'd go up to a 720mm door.

Stewie

I agree too, that the door would be better at 720 wide, but it might not be feasible for us to do if the 620mm door works fine. We aren't big people (a bit clumsy though sometimes ) so I'm sure it'll be fine for us, but if it's something that we can look at doing easy enough while were at it, then I may get that done too.

you could put a slider instead of hinged door,could slide behind cooktop

Good suggestion, but we're just thinking of utilising the hinged door that is already there. I was at a mates place yesterday and their toilet door was only 620mm wide (same as out pantry) and whilst it does seem a bit narrow compared to what we're used to, it works. And on top of that our pantry door opens outwards giving more walking space inside the pantry as opposed to their toilet door which opened inwards and did make it feel more squeezy

I hear what you say about the door, but I would change it so it opens inwards. Just personal preference as the door on ours is mostly left open, easier when you are cooking and in and out after stuff.

May I suggest when you do your shelving you have a couple of the bottom shelves at 450 deep - great for appliances and larger items, and have the rest at 300 deep - makes it easier to find things but still holds heaps.

Good idea with the shelving there. One of the reasons we're looking at extra storage is because of appliances which do take up a lot of space. It'd even be nice to have some setup for use in the pantry that don't need to be in the main kitchen area.

So we're getting closer to being back in our place and we've done some more thinking about the pantry idea's. What do you folk reckon of the following ideas?

We came up with the idea that if we had the wider shelf (or small bench top) in front of you as you walk in (as in the 2nd and 4th pics) we could put a couple of power points there for appliances such as the slow cooker and potential future bread maker so that they can cook out of the way of the main work area yet still have plenty of shelf space for pots, pans, stuff, food, stuff and more stuff.

haha, you seem to have a lot of "stuff" Sir Snagger ! ( don't we all )

I'd change the door to your pantry to an inward opening rather than out into the kitchen too as GB says.
The only other thing I'd consider is maybe an extraction fan in there if you are going to do much cooking in the pantry. Steam and stored food don't mix well. Canned goods OK but things like potatoes, onions etc...

Stewie

My pantry is pretty much the same but I have the door opening into the pantry - looks neater IMO.

I still think the 620 door is too narrow. Would this work - Move the door from the entry area back towards the entry and put a sliding entry door into the pantry along the right side of the pantry. Which means where the pantry door is now could turn into more cupboard/bench space in the kitchen.

Just another suggestion!

Hi everyone. Thanks for your responses! I do have some stuff but it's more planning for the future if my parents pantry is anything to go by! More stuff than you can poke a broom at!

My other half mentioned about ventilation as well so that has been raised and duly noted. I don't imagine it will be hard to install a fan or vents in the ceiling above where we would put said appliances. I doubt it would be a regular thing though so hopefully not too much of a problem.



Hi kyton. I would consider moving the door to open into instead of out of the pantry, but I feel that it might make the walking space too narrow if I do that and it's also something else that would then need to be removed and reinstalled and painted etc. With the present plan, all the work being done is "hidden" from view by said pantry door.



I have gone over idea's like this myself but being a brick wall, I don't think I could make that work without major changes (instead of just the opening being cut through). I wouldn't want the door any further away than that either though as it would start to be a bit of a hike every time you needed to get the salt and pepper! Just one of the issues with reno'ing instead of starting fresh!

What are peoples opinions on method of construction? Timber Stud frame of brick to match the rest of the house? I was originally just planning on timber stud walls with gyproc, but now I'm leaning towards the brick with gyproc/plaster instead to keep things consistent and solid.

Is it a concrete slab ?

Stewie

Yep. House is concrete with double brick and 31 course ceilings in the kitchen & living area's.

Then I'd be tempted to keep it all the same ( brick ) even though timber stud/plasterboard would probably be cheaper and easier. The slab should be able to take any additional weight of the brickwork.

Stewie