Kitchen Larder and Pantry Planning Checklist

Empty the cupboards you currently use for food onto a table and look at what is really there before deciding what a larder must hold.

The gap between what people think they store and what they actually store is usually large and always instructive.

Note how much of what you found is out of date or never used, and decide plainly what would not be moving into the new kitchen.

Designing a larder around contents you intend to discard produces a larder that is too big and still untidy.

Record the tallest and the heaviest items that would live in the larder, since those two set most of the internal arrangement.

Shelf spacing and shelf strength follow directly from these two items rather than from any general rule.

Note whether the larder is expected to take small appliances as well as food, since that changes both depth and shelving.

Appliances need depth, power and often a working surface, which is a different brief from storing packets.

Consider whether cleaning products, recycling or anything non food would end up in there, and decide whether that is acceptable.

Larders accumulate whatever has no other home, so it is better to plan for that than to pretend otherwise.

Storing cleaning or hazardous products alongside food is worth discussing with a suitably qualified professional.

Note what you buy in quantity, since bulk packs and multipacks defeat shelving designed around ordinary packets.

Bulk buying is the single most common reason a well designed larder turns out to be too small.

Decide whether you want a tall larder cupboard, a walk-in space or a run of deep drawers, and record why that suits this household.

Each format uses the room differently, and the reason for choosing one is what keeps the decision stable later.

Note that a walk-in space uses floor area that is then unavailable for anything else, and check the layout can genuinely spare it.

A walk-in larder is the most space hungry option and is often drawn into rooms that cannot really afford it.

Consider whether deep drawers would suit your household better than shelves, since drawers show their contents from above.

Drawers solve the problem of things disappearing at the back, which is what most larder complaints are really about.

Note whether a larder with doors that fold or open out needs more clear space in front than a plain cupboard would.

The clear space required in front is what usually decides whether a particular larder suits a particular wall.

Consider whether two narrower larders in different places would work better than one large one in a single position.

Splitting food storage by type or by where it is used can suit a kitchen better than concentrating it in one place.

Note whether the larder is meant to close away completely or to be part of how the room looks when it is open.

This decides whether the interior needs to be presentable, which affects the arrangement and the material inside.

Note which way each larder door would swing and exactly what it hits or blocks when it is fully open.

Larder doors are wide and they open into the busiest part of the room, which makes their swing unusually important.

Consider whether a folding or sliding arrangement would suit the space, and ask what each of those involves in use.

Alternatives to a plain swing reduce the space needed and add mechanisms that behave differently over time.

How a door mechanism performs and what it needs to operate should be demonstrated by the supplier.

Note whether the doors have to stay open while the larder is in use, and what that does to the walkway beside it.

A larder used with the doors open occupies far more of the room than its footprint suggests.

Consider whether shelves on the back of the door are wanted, and ask what weight they would be intended to carry.

Door storage is useful and adds weight to the hinges, which is a question for the supplier rather than an assumption.

What a door mounted shelf can carry is for the supplier and manufacturer to confirm.

Note whether a larder positioned near a corner has enough clear space for its doors to open properly.

Corners are where wide doors stop working, and it is easily missed on a plan drawn with doors closed.

Consider what happens when two people are in the kitchen and one of them is standing at the open larder.

This is the ordinary situation the larder position has to survive, rather than the empty room on the drawing.

Note how deep the shelves are and consider honestly whether anything placed at the back would be found again.

Deep shelves store more and hide more, and the balance between the two is the central larder decision.

Consider whether pull-out shelves or trays would suit better than fixed shelves at the depth being proposed.

Anything that brings the back of a shelf out into the room solves the visibility problem directly.

Note how the inside of the larder would be lit, since a deep cupboard is dark even in a bright room.

A larder you cannot see into is used badly regardless of how well the shelves are arranged.

How a larder interior could be lit is for a qualified electrician to advise on, working with whoever makes the cabinetry.

Consider whether items would be moved into containers, and whether those containers would be see through or labelled.

Decanting changes what the shelves need to hold, so it is worth deciding before the arrangement is drawn.

Note whether shelf spacing can be changed later, and whether the proposed arrangement assumes a tidiness this household does not have.

A larder designed for an ideal household is quickly defeated by a real one.

Consider what you would want to see the moment the door opens, and arrange the plan around that rather than around symmetry.

The most used items at eye level is a simple rule that survives contact with a busy household.

Note where the larder would sit in relation to the oven, the hob and any appliance that gives off heat.

Position relative to heat affects both the contents and the cabinetry, and it is easiest to change on a drawing.

Clearances between cabinetry and any heat producing appliance must be confirmed with the appliance manufacturer and installer.

Consider whether the larder position receives direct sun for part of the day, and what that would mean for what is stored there.

Sun on a larder door is easy to observe now and impossible to change once the layout is built.

Note whether the larder backs onto an external wall or an internal one, and mention that when the position is discussed.

Which wall it sits against affects several later conversations, including any about ventilation.

Ask whether any ventilation is wanted or possible in the larder, and what providing it would involve.

Ventilation is often assumed to be part of a traditional larder and is rarely straightforward in a modern room.

Whether ventilation can be provided, and how, is a question for the installer and a qualified professional.

Note whether the larder sits on a route people take through the room, since it is opened frequently and stands open while used.

A frequently opened door in a thoroughfare causes more disruption than its size would suggest.

Consider how far the larder is from where shopping is unpacked and from where food is actually prepared.

Both journeys happen constantly, and a larder placed for appearance can add a great deal of walking.

Decide whether the larder is meant to have a working surface inside it, and write down what would actually be done on it.

A surface inside the larder changes its depth, its power requirement and how the doors have to open.

Note which small appliances would be used inside the larder rather than only stored there.

Used and stored are very different requirements, and the difference decides whether power and surface are needed.

Ask what power would be needed inside the larder and where it could sensibly be positioned.

Sockets inside cabinetry have to be planned before manufacture rather than added afterwards.

Any socket needed within the larder has to be planned with a qualified electrician before the cabinetry is made.

Consider whether an appliance used inside the larder produces steam or heat, and what happens if the doors are closed on it.

Enclosing a working appliance raises questions the appliance maker has usually already answered.

Using any appliance inside an enclosed cupboard must be confirmed with the appliance manufacturer and installer.

Note whether the working surface inside the larder is deep enough for what you intend to do on it once appliances are standing there.

Internal surfaces are usually shallower than a worktop, and appliances take most of that depth.

Consider whether the larder is meant to hide the daily clutter of making breakfast or coffee, and whether it is genuinely large enough.

This is the most common reason for wanting a working larder and the one most often underestimated in size.

Note how often you shop and whether the larder has to absorb a large delivery at once or only a small amount at a time.

The size a larder needs is set by the peak just after shopping, not by its average state.

Consider where shopping is put down when it arrives, and how far it then travels to reach the larder.

The distance between the door and the larder is walked with heavy bags, repeatedly.

Note whether anything is bought in bulk and stored elsewhere in the property, and whether that arrangement would continue.

An overflow store outside the kitchen changes what the larder itself has to be capable of.

Consider whether the larder needs to hold anything seasonal or occasional that only appears at certain times.

Occasional items need a place that is out of the way rather than a place at eye level.

Record how the household currently knows when something has run out, and whether the proposed arrangement helps or hinders that.

Visibility is what prevents duplicate buying, which is one of the most useful things a larder can do.

Note whether the larder is expected to take drinks in quantity, since bottles are heavy, awkward and take up depth.

Bottles defeat shelf spacing designed for packets and are heavy enough to matter for shelf strength.

Ask the designer what the larder would take from the rest of the room in wall space and in floor area.

The larder always comes from somewhere, and seeing where makes the decision an informed one.

Ask what the internal arrangement is made of and whether it can be altered after the kitchen is fitted.

Interiors that can be changed absorb the way household habits shift; fixed interiors do not.

Record the contents list you have made and ask for the larder to be designed against it rather than against a general allowance.

A larder checked against real contents is the only kind that reliably turns out to be big enough.

Ask what the larder would look like with the doors open, since that is how it is seen every time it is used.

Drawings almost always show larders closed, which hides the part you will actually be looking at.

Note whether the larder could be added later or whether the decision has to be made before the rest is ordered.

Knowing which decisions are reversible is useful when several things are being settled at once.

Record what you would give up elsewhere in the room in order to have the larder you want.

Naming the trade in advance keeps the decision yours rather than the drawing's.