Functional with frills - Pantry, panic room & office nook combo

Panic room may not be exactly the right definition of what I mean. Unless it means somewhere to hide from your children with access to a computer and unlimited Tim Tams. In that case, it's spot on. I know the current trend is to have a butlers pantry, which I think is a miniature kitchen inside the pantry to conceal all the mess, but really, what fun is all that? Far better to have a small  room to blog uninterrupted than a closet to dump all the dirty dishes in I think.

So, given that it's come time to finalise our kitchen design and that includes our walk in pantry, I thought I would share what we are planning and get any tips from anyone who has an actual functional pantry. I personally have come from a tiny cupboard  so stuffed full of food that the garlic salt can never, ever be found when you need it, so I cannot imagine what it will be like to actually be able to put everything away, let alone be able to find it again.

Of course in my fantasies it will look exactly like this,

with all the milk glass lovingly displayed in neat rows with a gorgeous grey backdrop. Unfortunately, in the real world of Betsy, the pantry will actually be for..........gasp........... FOOD! I know, a complete styling nightmare but what can a girl do? After roaming around on pinterest ogling pantries, I have decided that what is really needed is a series of interconnected smaller and smaller pantries, kind of like in the 'Cat in the hat comes back' when he has a hat full of tinier and tinier cats named from A- Z.

Imagine, a pantry just to look gorgeous, then one to dump all the mess in, then another for the  milk glass, another for the pyrex, another one for an office, one for all the bulk goods and so on and so on. Don't giggle, someone is probably doing it now, for next months Belle magazine.

Anyway, back to the reality of only one pantry. This is the before shot. This small space is tucked between our bedroom and the existing kitchen. The previous owners were planning to turn it into an ensuite but instead became overwhelmed with the concept of a renovation and decided to ditch Betsy for a house that required no work. Luckily for us that meant no dodgy ensuite to rip out, just the bare bones of a very small room that we thought was in the perfect position for a pantry.

The doorway on the right ( which leads into our bedroom) will be closed over. A new doorway will be made on the left with a sliding door. The window will be replaced with a full width glass panel with a view out onto the side fence, with just a glimpse of the neighbouring house and lots of trees.

Below the window will be a bench with a stool and a filing cabinet to store all our paperwork. Above the window will be some shelves to store folders. Below the bench will be a filing cabinet and there will be a stool to perch on. Probably a  similar size to this, just add a window above the desk.

 When you enter the pantry you will be facing the left hand picture and the wall in front will have my teapot hooks and probably aprons and bags. To the right will be floor to ceiling shelves.

The opposite end to the window will have 500 mm deep pantry shelving almost to the ceiling to store large items and appliances. The shelves along left left hand wall in the photo below with have 300 mm deep shelving for all the pantry goods. The wall on the right will have no shelving but high up will be a large open space (which is above the fridge and microwave) to store eskies and probably the Christmas tree.

Given that the entire space is 1.2 m x 2.7m we hope that this is a functional use of quite a long narrow little room. I anticipate it being the place were bills are paid, food is stored, school paperwork is organised while still having enough frills that it will be a nice little nook to sit in and enjoy the view. Perhaps even nice enough to shut the door and hide in with a cuppa, and the floor to ceiling Tim Tams.

And speaking of doors, I'm quite liking that yellow one in the first pic. I had planned to get frosted glass doors to let in more light, but a solid colour painted door is also appealing. So given that my previous pantry space was about the size of a mini-bar, any tips or thoughts on general pantry design and function would be greatly appreciated. And answers to those pressing questions of course.

Would you paint your pantry door yellow?
Would you put an office nook in a pantry?
Would you like to able to lock yourself in your pantry too? (with internet access and chocolate).

Images that are not mine via 1.Remodelaholic  2. Thistlewood Farm 3. Apartment Therapy 4. Decor Pad