ByAlison Tyler For Daily MailPublished:12:33 GMT, 25 November 2014| Updated:12:38 GMT, 25 November 2...

1. Smarten up your kitchen storage with a fancy pantry
By
Alison Tyler For Daily Mail
Published:
12:33 GMT, 25 November 2014
|
Updated:
12:38 GMT, 25 November 2014
The more organised among us will have already made the Christmas cake and popped it somewhere
dry and cool, ready for the big day. The rest of us will be holding out for a Heston special. A lot of us
will also be wondering where on earth to keep the wheel of stilton. At this time of year - kitchen
storage is tested to the limit.
Slick kitchen: Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has a pantry stocked full of delicious ingredients
In the days before fridges, nearly all homes had a larder, but today it's something of a luxury. And
while few of us can afford the space for a walk-in pantry on the scale of Nigella Lawson's, sales of
standalone pantries are on the rise.
Whether it's down to the craze for baking - resulting in us all keeping a lot more ingredients (often in
hope, rather than expectation) - and paraphernalia like fancy coffee makers, or simply because of the
compact size of modern fitted kitchens (few seem to cover more than one wall in new open-plan
homes), the pantry is back on the agenda.
Pack it in: Larders like this one by Harvey Jones offer heaps of storage space for all your cooking
ingredients
"There's something nostalgic about a kitchen larder, stashed full of homemade jams, pickles, spices
and biscuits," says Charlie Marshall, the founder of Loaf, which has recently introduced its Rhubarb
Larder Cupboard (£695, www.loaf.com) in response to requests from customers. "They're really
handy for extra storage - especially as there's a trend for low kitchen units at the moment, which
look nice but lack space."
Loaf's larder cupboard is perfect for storing away biscuits, caster sugar, baking powder, vanilla pods
and spices... and other dry ingredients that need a cool, dry home. With a vintage feel and matt
paint, it will suit new or old homes and is pretty versatile - as well as food, you can stack crockery or
baking equipment in it.
Dry spot: This larder cupboard by Loaf is suitable for keeping dry ingredients neatly out of sight
For the storage poor, a pantry is a modern alternative to a dresser, which can look a bit too

2. "country" for urban homes. It also has the advantage that you can get a lot more inside.
"Traditionally the pantry would be on an outside wall with an open air brick supplying naturally cool
air up underneath the traditional marble cold shelf to keep everything on it below room
temperature," says Richard Davonport, Managing Director of Davonport, which specialises in
building bespoke stand-alone and walk-in pantries - the Davonport butler's pantry comes with
dovetailed walnut wood drawers and storage compartments, fruit and vegetable crates and a
Carrera marble cold shelf (from £4,000, www.davonport.com).
Bespoke builds: Companies like Davonport offer specially-designed pantries to suit your kitchen
space
"We've definitely seen a rise in sales over the past few years. In part because our clients still favour
open-plan living spaces. In a kitchen, this allows more room for a large pantry cupboard, which can
retain most of a family's food storage. But I think it is also because people are cooking more and
living more healthily, so they need more space to store dry foods as well as fresh fruit and
vegetables."
Those lucky enough to have a pantry in their homes are complete converts. "It's essential," says
David Foubister, from Huntly in Aberdeenshire, who grows his own fruit and vegetables. "I need my
pantry to store the vast amount of homemade pickles, chutneys and jams that I make from home-
grown food. Often, normal kitchen cupboards are too warm."
They're also increasingly a great selling point for properties, as more of us want room to store food
and kitchen gadgets.
"I grew up with a pantry but have lived without one for years until we moved into our new house. As
soon as I saw the pantry in the kitchen, my mind was made up to buy," says Hazel Newhouse, from
Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. "I cook and bake every day and I wanted the space to store my
collection of baking materials. It's ideal for us as a growing family and I love that it makes the
kitchen feel retro."
Cupboard love: There are all sorts of designs on the market, including the traditional walk-in variety
A walk-in pantry does mean sacrificing floor space in your kitchen or home, but it can also be used
as a prep area for measuring out ingredients, and also as a store for the plethora of kitchen gadgetry
that now clutters most kitchen worktops.
For a customised solution, Birmingham's Kitchen Restoration Company
(www.kitchenrestoration.co.uk) can design a larder to fit your space, whether it's adding doors to an
alcove with shelving or creating a unit with glass shelving for storage jars and pull-out wire baskets
for fresh veg.
The high street has picked up on the trend, too. Marks and Spencer has stocked its chunky Padstow
larder unit (£1599, www.marksandspencer.com) for three years. "We know that people want more
kitchen storage space," says furniture buyer Paul Tanner, "but a country dresser doesn't suit every
home."
In fact, demand for the contemporary New England-style pantry, with its built-in wine and spice
racks, large vegetable drawers and shelving, has been so strong that this season the brand has
introduced a new putty-hued version. John Lewis has also begun stocking its Lomond larder unit

3. (£2250, www.johnlewis.com) for the first time this autumn.
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As Pip Prinsloo, John Lewis's homeware design manager notes, "people are looking for new kitchen
storage options. Larders were once commonplace and we think that they will become an important
feature in homes again."
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