Butler's pantry caters to kitchen whims, needs
While there's no moustachioed gent in white gloves polishing silver in today's butler's pantries, this small room off the kitchen is enjoying a renaissance in modern homes.
Open concept living means everything in the kitchen is at the peril of public scrutiny. Pantries have always been used for storage but in the 21st century, homeowners can hide their blenders, toasters, coffee makers and orphan paperwork.
By moving the clutter out of the kitchen and by adding cabinetry, a sink and a countertop, the simple pantry is suddenly gentrified to butler status.
Nicole Tew, creative director for Trickle Creek Custom Homes, says butler's pantries are a top request in new builds. Of the 20 homes they build annually, about 18 of them will have one, and half of those homeowners request a sink.
“Especially if they use a blender or a juicer on a daily basis. It's part of their lifestyle, they want a sink in there,” she says.
Homeowners who entertain use the butler's pantry as a staging area or to hide the aftermath of a dinner party, to make everything “go away behind closed doors,” she says.
The trappings inside a butler's pantry can match the same materials in the kitchen, but some homeowners like to dress them up with glass-front cabinets and eye-catching wallpaper. It's a great place for a wine racks and a bar fridge, too.
Tew has also designed homes where the butler's pantry is hidden behind a door that looks like part of the kitchen cabinetry or where it serves as a second kitchen with full appliances and cupboards, a similar concept to spice kitchens.
“Sometimes they're bananas, but it's fun,” she says.