Pantry and storage solutions planned around how you actually cook

Storage is the part of a kitchen you use a hundred times a day and only notice when it is wrong. We plan it from the inventory up: what the household keeps, where each thing is used, and which module width holds it without a shuffle.

Read the pantry and storage planning guide

REFERENCE A shelf loaded to its true depth — nothing stored behind anything else.

SCOPE · 08 ITEMS

What a storage scope covers

Pantry work rarely stands alone. It is specified on the same drawing as the custom cabinetry, so internal fittings, runner lengths and door swings are allowed for before a single carcass is cut.

Walk-in and butler’s pantriesTall pull-out larder unitsCorner solutions and blind returnsDeep drawer banks with pegged dividersCutlery, knife and spice insertsAppliance garages and roller shuttersBin sets and recycling separationOverhead, bulkhead and full-height runs

INVENTORY · LINEAR METRES

Storage is counted, not guessed

Before a layout is drawn we go through what is genuinely stored: the weekly shop, the appliances that live on the bench, baking gear, platters used twice a year, the bin and recycling split. That list converts into linear metres of drawer and shelf — a measurable figure, rather than a vague wish for more cupboards.

Then it is placed. Everyday plates and cutlery within a step of the dishwasher; oils, boards and utensils beside the cooktop; bulk dry goods and rare equipment further out. Map the inventory to zones first and the joinery drawing becomes a matter of choosing widths — which is also why storage and layout are decided in the same conversation.

150

Filler pull-out

Oils, bottles and trays in a gap that would otherwise be a blank panel.

300

Slim larder

A two-sided pull-out for spices, packets and sauces, read from both faces so nothing expires at the back.

450

Bin and drawer bank

A concealed bin set with recycling separation, or three drawers carrying cutlery inserts, wraps and utensils.

600 · 900

Deep drawers, corners and tall units

Pot drawers with pegged dividers, a corner mechanism that brings the blind return out to you, or a full-height pantry stack running to the ceiling line.

ARRANGEMENTS · 03

Each arrangement is checked against its door swing and the walkway in front of it. A pantry that cannot open fully with the dishwasher down is a drawing error, not a site problem — which is why it is resolved at the design stage.

Three ways a pantry is arranged

Walk-in pantry

A small room behind a door, shelved on two or three walls. Shelves are kept shallow on purpose — deep ones simply hide a second row. It suits households that buy in bulk and have floor area to give away.

Butler's pantry

A second working bench out of sight, usually with a sink, power for the appliances that clutter a main run, and room to leave a mess behind a door. Because it carries services, it is coordinated with the plumbing and electrical stage of the thirteen-stage process.

Tall in-line pantry bank

Where there is no floor area to surrender, the pantry becomes part of the main run: full-height units with internal drawers behind tall doors, or pull-outs that present their whole contents in one movement. This is the usual answer in unit and apartment kitchens.

QUESTIONS · 04

Questions asked at the storage stage

Walk-in pantry or a bank of pull-outs?

It depends on which you can spare: floor area or wall length. A walk-in consumes a corner of the room; a pull-out bank consumes cabinetry run. We test both on the plan and compare the shelf metres each one returns.

Are drawers really better than cupboards?

Below the bench, usually yes — a drawer brings its contents to you instead of asking you to kneel. Above the bench, doors still win. The trade-off is hardware: loaded drawers need runners rated for the weight they will carry.

When do internal fittings have to be decided?

Early. Inserts, dividers, bin frames and corner mechanisms all dictate internal clearances, so they are chosen with the cabinetry drawing rather than added once the carcasses are built.

Can storage improve without a full rebuild?

Often. If the carcasses are sound and the layout works, new internals, pull-outs and drawer conversions can be retrofitted as part of a kitchen makeover rather than a full renovation.

NEXT · 01 OF 01

Bring the list of what you store — we will draw the storage around it

Pantry and storage planning sits alongside custom cabinetry, island design and complete kitchen renovations across Oakleigh, Hughesdale, Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Chadstone and Clayton.

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