If you’re passionate about cooking and baking or buy in bulk and even decant dry food items, a corner walk-in pantry is what you need. If you’re starting from scratch rather than remodeling a kitchen, it’s easier. You’d have to plot the kitchen floor space in an existing kitchen to see how big you can build a corner walk-in pantry.
The inside of a standard corner walk-in pantry at an acute angle in a kitchen ranges from 36 inches to 48 inches between the shelves and the wall or doorway. A wheelchair user needs 48 inches in width, 36 inches is adequate for a single user, and between 42 and 48 inches allows for walk-pass space.
There are U-shaped and rectangular walk-in pantries in kitchens and ones in adjacent rooms. The focus here is on the size of a corner walk-in pantry in the kitchen. If it’s an existing kitchen, you’ll have to consider the kitchen’s size and the existing countertops and other shelving there. Here are ideas of how to go about this.
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How Much Space Is Needed For A Walk-In Pantry?
Deciding to have a panty in your kitchen will dramatically change your life as you no longer would have to spend your time decluttering kitchen tops every time you want to make a meal or bake, nor would you fear knocking down spices and dried herbs on over-packed kitchen counters.
If you’re an avid baker or keen chef, items stored in a corner walk-in pantry will reduce your preparation times and enhance the enjoyment of cooking or baking in the kitchen. You can store appliances and gadgets not regularly used n a corner walk-in pantry.
A corner walk-in pantry does take up space in a kitchen, and in an existing kitchen, the amount of space you’d be able to give to a conversion, like making a corner walk-in pantry, will be determined by what’s in the kitchen. You’ll have to decide which corner works best. Mostly it’s the corner closest to the stove and preparation areas.
Besides the size of the kitchen, the corner chosen for the angled walk-in pantry has to relate to existing or adjacent countertops. These sizes will indicate how big you can make this walk-in pantry. Also to consider is the angle at which the corner walk-in pantry sits in the kitchen, that of 45 degrees, an acute angle.
What Size Should A Walk-In Pantry Be?
Though one wants to think that a corner walk-in pantry could be the size you wish, a limitation is that this pantry type is firstly fitted in a corner and, secondly, the size is determined by what’s in the kitchen, the kitchen ledges, and tops.
The inside measurement or width of a standard corner walk-in pantry taken as the space between the shelves and the opposite wall or doorway is the following:
- For a wheelchair user, 48 inches width
- For non-disabled people, between 42 inches and 48 inches in width
- For walk-past clearances, 48 inches width
- A single person, 36 inches in width
These measurements are for the space between the shelves and the door or wall and don’t include the size or width of the shelves. The minimum shelf width is 16 inches, which must be calculated when designing a corner walk-in pantry. The above clearances can also be used as a guide for designing your walk-in corner pantry.
These clearances are the minimum aisle width needed and are determined by how many people will be working in the kitchen and need access to the pantry. Also, is it easy for someone in a wheelchair to move into this pantry? Generally, corner walk-in pantries are roughly 48 x48 inches (four feet by four feet), with the door at a 45-degree angle.
How Best To Design A Corner Walk-In Pantry
A corner walk-in pantry is designed at a 45-degree angle. The pantry door (which opens into the kitchen) is put at an acute angle to maximize access into the pantry. The width of the door is a standard one, but no less than 36 inches wide though. This measurement allows for a single user to have space to maneuver.
Building a corner walk-in pantry should be designed to facilitate movement and usage of the kitchen space and not be a hindrance. The door width can also be wider, and you can even have a double door. The kitchen’s floor space (or size) will determine what you do.
The size of inside of a walk-in pantry needs to be wide enough to allow for unrestricted or adequate movement in there (see above). This space must also be designed so the shelving can be big enough and leave adequate space for movement in the walk-in pantry.
Here are standard measurements for shelving widths or depths:
- Average shelves are between 14 and 16 inches
- Shelves at eye level, no deeper than 14 inches
- Shelves higher up, between 10 and 12 inches
- Spice shelves and canned food, 6 inches
- Optional 18 to 24-inch single shelving for storing appliances or gadgets not often used and stored
The shelving measurements are important to determine the least size or measurement for a corner walk pantry. These are added to the other measurements (see above) that refer to the space needed inside a walk-in pantry to easily access items and goods like dry goods, canned food, and grains.
You can add a countertop work area in the walk-in pantry to sort groceries if you have the space. The minimum depth of the shelves plus the aisle width will indicate how big you can design a corner walk-in pantry.
Deciding On A Corner Walk-In Pantry’s Design
There are custom-made sizes for corner walk-in pantries. There’s a range of sizes, not just a single size, so you can find what best works for you. Finding the right standard fit in an available space can save money and time in the kitchen (as seen above). But designing your corner walk-in pantry is often the most practical, even rewarding.
Corner walk-in pantries are designed from the floor to the ceiling with the standard depth dependent on the use, who, and for what. As countertops in kitchens’ width determine how big a corner walk-in pantry is, and these aren’t always standard, you need to sketch with actual layouts to know what can be done and how big.
The width of the kitchen tops influences the sides of the corner walk-in pantry. You must visualize the corner walk-in pantry with a door facing the kitchen at 45 degrees. The sides or frames into which the door fits extend from floor to ceiling to the outer measurements of the countertop.
The standard measurements for a kitchen top are 24 inches deep or wide; often, there’s a counter overhang between 1 and 1.5 inches too, making this width 25.5 inches deep. But as this is not fixed, countertops can even be as wide as 30 inches.
With this in mind, you need to calculate what you’d need as the aisle width inside the walk-in pantry plus the shelf depth or width and also the width of the worktop or kitchen counter if there is one.
How Big You Design A Corner Walk-In Pantry Has A Downside
The size of a corner walk-in pantry gives more storage, and the angling of the door at 45 degrees makes sense in terms of adjacent kitchen tops or ledges. But a downside is often that these corner walk-in pantries take up space in what might already be a tight kitchen design.
A corner walk-in pantry requires functional space and improves the kitchen’s efficiency. So whether it’s a new kitchen, you’re designing, or you’re remodeling your existing one, putting a corner walk-in pantry in your kitchen will reduce the kitchen’s footprint. For some, a corner walk-in pantry (which has dead space inside) makes the kitchen too small.
Related: Does A Walk-In Pantry Add Value To A Home?
Conclusion
Kitchens are personal spaces, and as many different designs as for kitchens, there are for corner walk-in pantries. How big you can build a corner walk-in pantry is more than just the size you need to meet your cooking and storage styles.
As much as a corner walk-in pantry is a functional asset, the kitchen’s design and size must be prioritized. A corner walk-in pantry must not impede the functions and needs of what happens in the kitchen in the first place.