A while ago, I was asked the question "what would I do differently in my own kitchen?" This prompted the ongoing and complete re-design (and hopefully, one day, the remaking!) of my kitchen!
We installed our kitchen in December 2017. Life has changed considerably since then and, in truth, there is a lot that I would like to change. This has resulted in my ongoing blog 'Kitchen Redesign' (part 3 coming soon!), so I'm not going to dwell on our kitchen as a whole too much, but after a closer look at my pantry, it inspired a few points that I found may be interesting to you.
First or all... introducing the MTMK Pantry! :
Our food storage consists of a standard 600mm integral fridge freezer, mirrored with a 600mm shelved pantry, with a wine rack above both. Next to this, we have a basket tower for overflow items (aka my chocolate stash... shh!), cereal and veggies (potatoes, onions etc). All cabinets are painted in a 3V3 paint designed for heavy usage - more on this later.
After many different attempts, I have now settled on an organisation system for the pantry... not that you can usually tell since no-one in my house respects 'The System'!! Saying that, the Mini-apprentice knows exactly where to climb in order to partake in her daily snack-thievery! :
Starting from the bottom, we have a tall space for tall bottles.
Next we have pull out baskets for bread and pasta (not deep enough!)
3rd, we have snack baskets (both healthy and not - I think you can guess which one gets more use?!).
The 4th shelf has condiments and mason jar storage.
Above this we have general pantry items.
Lastly, on the top shelf we have baking flours and sugars.
Finally, we have a door rack for herbs, spices and foil / paper / film etc
Now for what I'd do differently: Generally speaking, this amount of food storage would be more than ample for a typical family of 4, particularly those in a town or city. It's surprising how your location can have such an impact on your kitchen design. We live in a small village in the middle of the countryside. Our nearest (expensive) supermarket is about 15mins drive away, and our regular supermarket is 25mins drive away. With the rise in the cost of petrol, we try to stick to one weekly shop per week maximum, and try (and often fail) the grow and store or own food during the growing season. We rarely go out for dinner and can't get a delivered take-away, so we have to store everything. This unfortunately makes our current storage simply not big enough. The basket tower on the side is pretty but impractical. It's awkward to vacuum around. The baskets aren't strong enough. Produce needs regular checking to evict old items before they leak everywhere, and I can't reach the top basket unless I stand on a chair. It is, however, good for hiding chocolate from sight and reach of the little people! Finally, the paint-work. This was a particularly interesting experience for me as this was the reason MTMK made the decision to exclusively use Farrow & Ball paint for our cabinetry. When John first started the company in 2011, he often used 3V3 paint amongst others including F&B with no problems. Then, the EU changed the law that restricted certain chemicals used in paint, and in doing this manufacturers were forced to drastically change their recipes. Unfortunately, we then had a number of complaints with 3V3's new paint. It wasn't nearly hardwearing enough, and required multiple coats to get the same coverage. We had to re-paint our kitchen in 2019 after only 2 years of use (twice because they didn't mix the colour correctly on the first try). Now, nearly 6 years since installation and 3 paint jobs later, you can see behind the fridge door knob where the paint has completely worn away again and its pealing on the edge of the pantry door. We decided during 2019 - 2020 that we were going to exclusively offer the superior quality paint for our cabinets to be assured that they would stand the test of time - a benefit that our earlier customers who chose Farrow & Ball have enjoyed since the beginning! So, onto our 'new' pantry: Here's sneak peak into the Elevation drawings (further tweaking is needed before publishing here, but enjoy the first-look!):
From left to right:
Triangular, dresser style corner unit for drinks storage.
Full height integral fridge and freezer.
50% bigger pantry, with strong lower pull out boxes, or maybe 2 drawers with internal partitions...
Baking ingredients extended into adjoining wall cabinets above baking appliances and cookware, creating a Baking Zone. Great for our eldest who wants to be a Baker / Pâtissière.
Change of frame style to the more slimline Hardwood Range.
Much more room for storage!
Farrow & Ball paint - colour to be determined, but we've got it down to 3 or 4!!
I can't wait, but I'm going to have to for a while... We just need John to find the time..!!
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