A day pantry keeps all the ingredients you cook with every day in one place, organised so the whole family can find what they need. It is one of the features our clients ask for most, and it changes how a busy kitchen works.
Day Pantries at a Glance
A day pantry is a tall larder cupboard built into the kitchen run, holding the dry goods, tins, jars and spices used every day. A typical one combines shelves at different heights, internal drawers, spice racks on the backs of the doors and often a stone cold shelf, with doors that close to hide it all away. Unlike a walk-in pantry, it needs no separate room, so it suits most kitchens. It works best close to the fridge and the main preparation area. Variations include a pull-out larder, where the whole interior slides out, and a combined unit with a breakfast cupboard alongside. Handmade Kitchen Company design and hand-build day pantries at our workshop in Essex and hand-paint them on site.
Where the pantry comes from
The word pantry comes, via Old French, from the Latin panis, meaning bread. In the medieval household the pantry was where bread was kept, while the larder held meat and the buttery held drink. Larger houses kept separate rooms for storing and preparing food right up to the Victorian era. Today’s day pantry brings that idea into the kitchen itself, as a cupboard designed around the ingredients you use.
Six day pantries from our projects
Beneath a triangular window, Hatfield Broad Oak
In our Hatfield Broad Oak kitchen, furnished with separate pieces of furniture, a freestanding-style day pantry sits beneath a triangular window. It has shelves, drawers and spice racks, a quartz cold shelf, and Armac Martin handles on the solid timber drawers, with groceries lined up so everything is easy to see and reach.
Baskets, drawers and spice racks, Clayhall
In our Clayhall kitchen, the day pantry is built into the run of classic shaker cabinets and hand-painted in Royal Navy by Little Greene. Storage baskets hold dry goods and baking, three internal pull-out drawers hold other essentials, and spice racks line the insides of the doors.
Bi-fold doors around the fridge, Golders Green
In Golders Green, a unit with bi-fold doors surrounds a large American-style fridge freezer and holds two pantries: a day pantry on the left and a breakfast pantry on the right. Shelves and spice racks give everything a place, and small appliances our client did not want on show live here too.
A separate pantry under low ceilings, Ongar
In this historic house near Ongar, a separate day pantry is made to fit the room and its low ceilings. It is our traditional shaker, filled with storage jars and containers organised just as our client likes.
A pull-out larder, Henham
In this new-build house in Henham, Essex, a full-height pull-out larder stands beside the Sub-Zero refrigeration, so every ingredient is visible at once.
Next to the fridge freezer, Upminster
Our Scandinavian-feel kitchen in Upminster, Essex has a day pantry of shelves, compact drawers and spice racks right next to the fridge freezer, easy to reach from the kitchen or the dining area. It is our classic shaker, hand-painted in Elephant’s Breath by Farrow & Ball.
For other pantry types, see our guides to pantry cupboards, walk-in pantries and pocket door larders. To light the inside, see kitchen cabinet lighting.
Day Pantry FAQs
What is a day pantry?
A tall larder cupboard built into the kitchen that holds the ingredients you use every day, with shelves, drawers and spice racks behind closing doors.
What is the difference between a pantry and a larder?
Historically, the pantry held bread and the larder held meat. Today the words are used almost interchangeably for a cupboard or room for food storage.
Where should a day pantry go?
Close to the fridge and the main preparation area, so ingredients can be gathered with the fewest steps.
What is a cold shelf?
A stone shelf, often quartz or marble, inside the pantry. Stone stays cool, which helps keep items such as butter, cheese and baking at a steady temperature.
Where does Handmade Kitchen Company make day pantries?
We design and hand-build bespoke kitchens and pantries at our workshop in Essex and hand-paint them on site, for clients across Essex, Hertfordshire and North London.
If you would like a day pantry in your new kitchen, contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you.
