11 Butler’s Pantry That Doubles As Compact Kitchens

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Even though we have a large kitchen space, our cabinets and shelves still end up getting cluttered after quite some time. Sometimes, we even have to fill our countertops with snacks and other food items because there’s no more cabinet and shelving space. One way you can solve this kitchen problem is to add a butler pantry. In this article, find out how you can benefit from having a butler’s pantry, and get to know some ideas on how to furnish this type of pantry.

What is a Butler’s Pantry?

When we hear the word “butler”, the first thing that comes into our mind is a man wearing a morning suit and holding an expensive set of silverware. Back in the day, they spent most of their time in a small room adjacent to the kitchen to store and clean precious silverware in the house. This is how the butler’s pantry originated. Today, this type of pantry has many uses. It’s like a compact kitchen that serves as an extra storage space for utensils and other tableware. Apart from this, it can also be turned into a small coffee bar or a wine cellar. 

Even though the butler’s pantry was mainly popular during the 18th century, we can still see some modern houses have this type of pantry. A modern butler’s pantry is usually found in houses with an open kitchen design to serve as a separate food preparation area. Others use it as a transitional space to separate the kitchen from the dining room. 

What’s the Difference Between a Butler’s Pantry and a Walk-in Pantry?

Most people confuse a butler’s pantry with a walk-in pantry because they both function as separate rooms to store snacks and other kitchen appliances. You can tell the difference between the two by looking at how much space they occupy. 

A butler’s pantry is typically bigger because apart from having storage cabinets and shelves, it also has built-in electrical outlets for the kitchen appliances to be readily used. Meanwhile, the walk-in pantry only has open shelves and drawers so it’s quite smaller than a butler’s pantry. Moreover, this type of pantry is usually a small room adjacent to the kitchen. It’s not a transitional space, unlike butler’s pantries. 

Pros and Cons of a Butlers Pantry

Indeed, a butler’s pantry can help you clear out the space in your kitchen, but not every home should have it. It could take up a lot of space and renovation costs are quite expensive. If you want to know whether a butler’s pantry is ideal for your home, you have to know what are the pros and cons of having one. Here are some of them:

If having a kitchen with a butler’s pantry works for you and you’ve decided to add one, then it’s now time to shop for furniture. So, what is usually in a butler’s pantry? Most often, you’ll see a butler’s pantry with a countertop sink, but you don’t necessarily have to follow this. You have the freedom to customize it according to your kitchen pantry needs. 

To give you an idea of what you should put in your butler’s pantry, here’s a list of functional shelves and cabinets that can help keep your pantry clutter-free. Most of them have a compact design so they can help save pantry space.

1. [American Furniture Classics] Buffet and Hutch

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You don’t have to renovate your butler’s pantry if you want it to look spacious. You can just decorate it with white furniture. One of the advantages of this kind of furniture is that it helps brighten up a room so it would be great to use in a kitchen with limited natural light. If you have a small and dark butler’s pantry, consider adding this Buffet and Hutch from American Furniture Classics. It has a pure white finish and the knobs and pulls have an exquisite silver polish. This furniture adds style and functionality to your butler’s pantry.

Key Features

• Classic pure white finish
• Durable tempered glass doors
• Showcase hutch

Specifications

• Made of MDF board
• Overall dimensions are 70.25 inches x 29 inches x 15.75 inches

2. [Home Styles] Buffet White Server

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You wouldn’t want your guests to see your messy kitchen every time you host a house party. If you are not confident you can keep a clean kitchen while preparing the meals, then just use the butler’s pantry. Though, it would be better if you have this Buffet White Server in your butler’s pantry because it has a wooden countertop that you can use for meal preparations. Furthermore, this butler’s pantry has a hutch with glass-paneled cabinets and open shelves. You can keep some of your food stocks here for easy access.

Read more: How Much Does A Butler’s Pantry Add Value To Your Home? Realtors Answer

3. [HOMCOM] Traditional Butler’s Pantry Cabinet

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Open shelves are great because it’s easier to grab some items as they are readily displayed. But the problem with open shelving is that it can get easily cluttered. Hide the mess in your butler’s pantry with this Traditional Freestanding Cabinet from HOMCOM.  It has cabinets and drawers that you can use to store your groceries and kitchen appliances. Aside from that, each cabinet has adjustable shelves inside. It’s now easier to organize those groceries and other kitchen knick-knacks with these adjustable shelves. 

4. [HOMCOM] Kitchen Cabinet

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If a white kitchen with a butler’s pantry is too plain and boring for you, you can spice things up by decorating it with dark cabinets. Don’t worry, your pantry will not appear small and claustrophobic as long as there are white painted walls and recessed lights. If you like this type of butler pantry design for your kitchen, consider buying this Kitchen Cabinet from HOMCOM. It has a sleek, black finish so it’s great for modern chic kitchens.

Apart from its aesthetic design, it’s also functional because of its wooden open countertop. Either use this as storage space for small kitchen appliances or a meal prep area. If it’s the latter, consider adding these cutting board holders to make meal preparations more convenient.

5. [Giantex] Buffet Storage Cabinet

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If you already have built-in shelves in your butler’s pantry, you should have this Buffet Storage Cabinet from Giantex. It provides additional storage space because it has glass-door cabinets, drawers, and a double-door cabinet. Plus, each cabinet has adjustable shelves inside! You can use this butler’s pantry furniture to keep your expensive china, silverware, and cutleries safe.

6. [SystemBuild] Utility Storage Cabinet

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You don’t have to decorate your butler’s pantry with lavish furniture to make it look stylish and functional. Sometimes, a simple storage cabinet is enough. If simplicity and functionality are your priorities, consider buying this Utility Storage Cabinet from SystemBuild. It features five levels of shelves in which three of these shelves are adjustable. You will also love how it has classic paneled cabinet doors. 

Read more: Organizing A Pantry: 25 Clever Pantry Organization Ideas

7. [Kate and Laurel] Farmhouse Shelving Cabinet

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A farmhouse pantry never goes out of style because of its warm and inviting look. To achieve such a design, you would have to furnish your butler’s pantry with natural furniture. This Shelving Cabinet from Kate and Laurel is a great choice if a farmhouse-style pantry is what you want. It’s a wooden wall storage cabinet with an exquisite rustic white-washed finish. Aesthetics aside, this product is also functional because of its sliding barn door and shelves.

8.[Mr IRONSTONE] Vintage Kitchen Rack

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You can easily achieve an uncluttered open butler’s pantry by adding shelving units. However, if you don’t like the idea of installing floating shelves because they leave unsightly holes on your wall, you can just invest in a storage shelf rack. This is a much more convenient option if you plan to rearrange your pantry sometime in the future. You can just lift and move the rack every time you want to do a pantry revamp.

9. [Bestier] Kitchen Storage Shelf

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Here’s another portable butler’s pantry furniture on our list! This Kitchen Storage Shelf from Bestier has wheels so it’s easy to move around. If you want to ensure it stays in place, you only have to activate the lock on the wheels. Another remarkable feature of this freestanding storage shelf is that it has a slider shelf in the middle. It’s now going to be a lot easier to retrieve bulky and heavy kitchen appliances with this slider shelf.

10. [GWH] Wall-Mounted Wine Rack

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One of the best things about having a butler’s pantry is that you get to have extra space for a small wine storage corner. This would come in handy if you plan to save your luxury wines for special occasions. If there isn’t much space in your pantry and you only have a small collection of wine bottles, consider using this Wall Mountable Wine Rack from GWH. It’s a three-tier shelf with stem glass holders that is ideal for storing expensive wine bottles and glasses. Proudly display your wine collection with this wine rack!

Read more: Pantry Staples: How To Stock Your Kitchen Pantry

11. [Dorel Living] Kitchen Island

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If you have a small butler’s pantry, you might find this kitchen island useful. It’s a piece of multipurpose kitchen furniture because you can either use it as a storage cabinet or a meal prep table. The advantage of using this butler’s pantry furniture is you can easily tuck it away at a corner after using it. Just like the Kitchen Storage Shelf from Bestier, this kitchen island also has movable wheels so you can easily move it around.

It’s difficult to cook and prepare meals in a cramped kitchen. We have little to no room to move around so we tend to knock things over. Free up some kitchen space by adding a butler’s pantry. Not only can you use it to store your extra food stocks, but you can also turn it into a mini food preparation area. 

However, a butler’s pantry can also get easily cluttered without the right furniture. If you want to keep an organized butler’s pantry, consider choosing one of our recommended furniture items above. Also, don’t forget to invest in these kitchen storage containers! They help keep your pantry cabinets and shelves clean and clutter-free.