Picking Your Perfect Pantry! – A Complete Guide

Updated November 2026

A pantry cupboard is a tall or mid-height cupboard, usually with bifold doors, that opens up to reveal a whole working area: shelves, drawers and a worktop for a coffee station, baking area or drinks bar. When you’re done, the doors fold shut and hide it all away. Choose by width, door style and what you want to keep inside.

The pantry is now one of the most popular features in a new kitchen. Both beautiful and practical, it has many uses. If you mainly want tall food storage with shelves and racks on the doors, see our guide to larder cupboards; this guide is about pantries you can work in.

The White Kitchen Company makes single, double and housekeeper’s pantry cupboards in solid wood with no MDF, sold as single units online or as part of a complete kitchen. Each one is hand-painted in any Farrow & Ball or Little Greene colour, made in 10–12 weeks and delivered fully assembled; see the pantry and larder range.

A short history of the pantry

The humble pantry has been around for centuries. The word is thought to come from the French pain, meaning bread. The pantry was a cool, dark place to store perishable food so it lasted longer, and wooden doors often had decorative air holes or metal mesh panels to let air circulate and keep out animals. We no longer need those features, but keeping your food and kit easy to reach is still a great idea.

Pantry cupboard or larder: what’s the difference?

The words are often used for the same thing. In our range, a pantry usually has bifold doors that fold right back to open up a working area, often with a worktop inside. A larder is tall storage for food, with shelves, spice racks on the doors and drawers below. Many kitchens have both.

Our pantry and larder cupboards

Single pantry cupboard

The single pantry cupboard is great for an enclosed baking area, even in a smaller kitchen. The bifold doors fold back when it’s in use, then close to shut the area away. Standard widths from 600mm to 900mm.

Double pantry cupboard

The double pantry cupboard is like the single but with more space, so it works well as a hidden bar for cocktail making and for showing off your best glassware. Standard widths from 950mm to 1600mm.

Housekeeper’s cupboard

The housekeeper’s cupboard is the largest of our bifold designs, with bifold doors and a fixed panel on either side. It is mid-height and sits on a worktop, so it works best above a drawer unit of matching width. Widths from 1400mm to 2000mm.

Pull-out larder

A slim, secret storage space that can sit alongside any of our units. It has six shelves, with the option of baskets with oak, glass or walnut inserts. Widths from 170mm to 620mm.

Fitted larder cupboard

The fitted larder comes with single or double doors and is designed as part of your fitted kitchen rather than freestanding. It can include integrated shelving and pull-out drawers. Available from 900mm to 1000mm.

Walk-in corner larder

The walk-in corner larder turns an awkward corner into a dedicated store for dry food and kitchen essentials. One size: 1100 x 1100 x 620mm.

Larder room

A room given over entirely to a pantry, usually designed with a combination of units. The worktop-height units are made without doors.

See all our pantry and larder cupboards

Kitchen pantry ideas: how our customers use them

All our cabinetry comes in standard sizes but can be made to measure in solid wood to fit any space in your home. Here’s how our customers have used their pantry and larder cupboards.

Tea and coffee station

Keep the coffee machine, kettle, mugs and tins in one place, with sockets inside so everything stays plugged in.

Baking station

Store the mixer, scales and ingredients on a worktop inside the pantry, with shallow racks on the doors for spices and flavourings.

Kitchen bar

Glass shelves and lighting turn a double pantry into a drinks bar that shuts away when guests have gone.

A place to hide appliances

A housekeeper’s cupboard on the worktop keeps the toaster, bread bin and everyday jars out of sight, so the worktops stay clear.

A dedicated pantry room

If you have a spare room or space off the kitchen, open shelving and deep drawers make a walk-in pantry for bulk food and kit.

How to choose a pantry cupboard

Decide what it’s for

Make a list of what you’ll keep inside: appliances, food, drinks, glassware. Appliances need a worktop and sockets; food storage needs shelves and drawers.

Measure for the doors

Bifold doors need less space in front than standard doors, which helps in narrower kitchens and near islands. Check what’s opposite the pantry before deciding.

Choose tall or mid-height

A tall pantry gives the most storage. A mid-height housekeeper’s cupboard on a worktop keeps sight lines open and adds drawers below.

Pick a colour

A pantry can match the kitchen or stand out as a feature in a contrasting colour. Our painted kitchens are hand-painted in any Farrow & Ball or Little Greene colour.

Every cupboard is solid wood, with no MDF, MFC or chipboard, made in 10–12 weeks and delivered fully assembled. Cabinetry starts from £1,180 per metre for our Cottage range, £1,818 for Town House and £2,372 for Manor House, including painting and VAT. See our kitchen prices.

Pantry cupboard questions

What is a bifold pantry?

A bifold pantry is a pantry cupboard with doors that fold in half and back against the sides, so the whole inside is open while you use it. The White Kitchen Company’s single, double and housekeeper’s pantries all have bifold doors.

What is the difference between a pantry and a larder?

The names pantry and larder overlap. In The White Kitchen Company’s range, a pantry opens up to a working area, often with a worktop, while a larder is tall food storage with shelves, door racks and drawers.

Can I have a pantry in a small kitchen?

Yes, a pantry can work in a small kitchen. The White Kitchen Company’s single pantry starts at 600mm wide, and a pull-out larder can be as narrow as 170mm.

Can a pantry cupboard be made to measure?

Yes. The White Kitchen Company’s pantry cupboards come in standard sizes but can be made bespoke to fit your space.