Savvy storage
A well- designed butler’s pantry serves up more than just a place to stash stuff.
Q: Our friends have a large home with a butler’s pantry. It’s wonderful for entertaining and storing extra dishes. We’re about to start our kitchen reno and would like to put a butler’s pantry into our home, which is smaller, but we have space in the closet between our dining room and kitchen. Should butler’s pantries be restricted to larger homes?
A: You don’t need a butler or an estate home like Downton Abbey to have a butler’s pantry. In fact, I don’t know anyone who has a butler. And, in my magazine styling days, I saw a BP, as I call them, in a smaller home’s walkout basement ( close to the patio doors) and another in a large condo. Traditionally, BPs were not used to store food, but as a spot to store, clean and count silverware. According to Wikipedia, the butler would sleep in the pantry to guard the family silverware from thieves. But these days, BPs include wine fridges and espresso machines. And, for those with modern, open- concept kitchens that blend with the living room furniture, a BP with an oven can function as a mini kitchen. Or, the doors can be open during parties and it can be set up as a bar where guests can serve themselves. The butler’s pantry in the photo is designed by Anne Hepfer of Anne Hepfer Designs ( annehepferdesigns.com). It doubles as a bar and “is located between the dining room and the kitchen, separated by butler’s doors ( which swing both ways) so that you can serve drinks but still keep the food prep hidden away from sight in the kitchen,” Hepfer says. When planning your BP, designing it to fit your lifestyle is key. If you like to throw cocktail parties, you’ll want to think about customizing “drawer interiors with specific spots to house wine coasters, cocktail napkins, and bottle openers,” Hepfer says. Keeping everything in its place and the essentials within arms’ reach is important for serial entertainers. Open shelving, for example, provides quick access to glasses. On the other hand, for those who need storage, glass cabinet doors will prevent your wares from getting dusty and allow you to see your dishes and serving pieces in one quick glance.