The Case for a Good Pantry

We all want a great pantry. It's one of the most requested features in custom homes right now, and for good reason. A well designed pantry becomes the hub of your kitchen, the place where the real work happens so your main kitchen can stay beautiful and uncluttered.

The question isn't whether to include a pantry. The question is what kind of pantry fits your lifestyle, your cooking habits, and your home.

The Walk In Pantry

This is what most people picture when they dream about their future kitchen. A dedicated room with shelving, counter space, and room to spread out. For clients who love to cook, entertain, or simply keep a well stocked home, a generous walk in pantry is a game changer.

I often design walk in pantries as large as six by eighteen feet, and when you have that kind of space, you can really make it work hard for you. Think open shelving at twelve inches deep so you can see everything at a glance. Counter space for your stand mixer, coffee station, and small appliances. A window to bring in natural light and fresh air. Maybe a dedicated spot for a full size freezer so your main kitchen can have a sleek 36 inch French door refrigerator without sacrificing frozen storage.

One thing I always recommend in a larger pantry is planning your electrical carefully. You want dedicated circuits so you can run the coffee maker, blender, and microwave without flipping a breaker and accidentally shutting off your freezer. It's a small detail that makes a big difference in how the space actually functions day to day.

As for location, I personally love placing the pantry right next to the refrigerator. It creates a natural flow for unloading groceries and prepping meals. That said, plenty of clients prefer their pantry tucked around the corner, and that works beautifully too. It really comes down to how you move through your kitchen and what feels right for your routine.

The Scullery Kitchen

When a walk in pantry grows up, it becomes a scullery. Add a sink, a dishwasher, and perhaps an extra refrigerator, and suddenly you have a full working kitchen behind the scenes. This is ideal for serious entertainers or families who do a lot of cooking and want to keep the mess completely out of sight.

A scullery lets you prep, cook, and clean up without ever cluttering your main kitchen. Guests see a pristine space while all the action happens just steps away. If you have the square footage and the budget, it's one of the most luxurious features you can include in a custom home.

The Butler's Pantry

A butler's pantry serves a different purpose than a walk in pantry, and many homes include both. Traditionally located between the kitchen and dining room, a butler's pantry is about presentation and serving rather than storage and prep.

This is where you store your good dishes, serving pieces, and cutlery. It's a landing zone for setting out food before a dinner party. Many clients include an undercounter beverage refrigerator for drinks, and depending on the layout, the butler's pantry can double as a wet bar. It's a gracious, Old South touch that makes entertaining feel effortless.

The Wall Pantry

Not every home needs a room dedicated to pantry storage, and that's perfectly fine. A wall pantry offers a more restrained approach that works beautifully in smaller footprints or for clients who simply don't need the extra square footage.

This could be a bank of tall cabinets with pull out drawers and adjustable shelving, or a clever setup with sliding barn doors that conceal a full wall of storage. The key is smart organization. When every shelf is visible and accessible, you'd be surprised how much a wall pantry can hold.  An appliance garage can also be revealed inside a wall pantry for easy access and to avoid lifting and setting up stand mixers or such.  

This option is especially appealing if you prefer a streamlined kitchen without a separate room to maintain, or if your floor plan doesn't naturally accommodate a walk in space.

Making It Your Own

The best pantry is the one that fits your life. Maybe that's a spacious scullery where you can cook for a crowd. Maybe it's a cheerful walk in with open shelves, a big window, and your favorite coffee setup. Maybe it's a beautifully organized wall of cabinets that keeps everything within arm's reach.

When we sit down to plan your home, I'll ask a lot of questions about how you cook, how you shop, and how you entertain. From there, we'll figure out exactly what your pantry needs to do and design a space that does it beautifully.

If you're dreaming about your future kitchen and wondering what kind of pantry might be right for you, I'd love to help you think it through.

A well designed one story home creates a sense of comfort and ease from the moment someone walks inside. When the layout is done well, rooms connect naturally, daily routines flow without disruption, and the home feels balanced and intentional. In the Southern climate, where cooling performance matters just as much as aesthetics, a single level floor plan often provides a real functional advantage. Without the challenge of conditioning a second floor, one story homes tend to stay cooler, and more consistent, during the hottest months.

The placement of bedrooms sets the tone for the entire design. Strong one story floor plans use zoning to create privacy, typically locating the primary suite on one end of the home and grouping the remaining bedrooms on the other. This keeps quiet areas separate from high activity spaces and gives the home a more organized feel. 

Circulation is another key component of an effective one story design. Good circulation allows residents to move through the home without bottlenecks or wasted space. Poor circulation often reveals itself in long hallways, abrupt turns, or awkwardly placed doors that make everyday movement feel inefficient. When the circulation is well planned, it fades into the background and supports the overall comfort of the home.

Natural light is central to creating a warm and livable atmosphere. In single story homes, the shape and proportion of the footprint are more important than the simple number of exterior walls. A thoughtful layout arranges rooms so that windows can be placed strategically, avoiding dark interior corners and giving living spaces and bedrooms a pleasant amount of daylight throughout the day. Balancing privacy at the same time is also important.  

The kitchen plays an outsized role in the success of the overall floor plan. For a one story layout to function at its best, the kitchen should be located where it supports several major traffic routes. The most functional designs place the kitchen near the garage entrance for quick access with groceries, connect it naturally to the dining area, and ensure that it relates to the living room without letting noise dominate the space. When the kitchen occupies a central and well considered location, the entire home feels more cohesive.

Storage is especially important in Southern homes, where basements are uncommon. A good one story floor plan has storage built directly into the design through practical mudrooms, functional laundry rooms, well sized pantries, and a few well placed closets for linens and household items. These features may seem secondary, but they are essential for keeping a ranch style home organized and comfortable for daily living.

Future expansion is also worth considering. Many homeowners eventually choose to add a bonus room above the garage or another section of the home. The strongest one story floor plans make this easy by aligning structural elements and rooflines in a way that allows stairs and framing to be added cleanly. This kind of long range planning prevents costly remodeling work later and gives the home flexibility as needs change.

Outdoor living is another signature feature of Southern home design. A great one story layout connects porches and patios directly to the main living areas so these spaces feel like a natural extension of the home. When outdoor areas are tied into the flow of the kitchen, dining room, or living room, they become more convenient, more usable, and more enjoyable for everyday living or hosting.

Ultimately, the best one story floor plans take all these factors into consideration but are also in conversation with the new home owner and the lot the house is being built on. When the fundamentals are strong, the home supports its owners quietly and efficiently for years to come.