Pantries are a kitchen necessity. Sure, renters have adapted to keeping food in random kitchen cabinets and standalone storage shelves, but if you’re building your dream kitchen, you bet there’s going to be a pantry situation happening—no matter how big or small. Which is why we chatted with a trusted source, our very own Sophia Gomez, a Customer Consultant on Team Semihandmade, to get down to the details.

The basics

The tallest cabinet front we offer is 60” high (available in various widths). Yes, we have previously sold larger fronts, but now that is the tallest we go! Don’t fret—there are many ways to get that floor-to-ceiling built-in look you’re going for. 

“Some of my favorite kitchens feature sweeping 24”x60” door fronts on IKEA’s Sektion cabinets on top of 24”x30” fronts down below. If customers want more pull out storage, I would say that the 24”x24”x80” high cabinet box is also popular! To make this happen, you’d purchase two 24”x15” drawer fronts and one 24”x50” door front.”

One of our all-time favorite kitchens designed by Chris Loves Julia (with their Semihandmade collaboration fronts in Cove!) perfectly illustrates two ways you could go about getting the pantry look and feel. 

To the left of the fridge, they stacked three drawers below a 60” front to maximize accessible storage. This space features shelves and is used as a traditional pantry. On the right, a 30” tall front is stacked on top of a 60”. In the interior of the cabinets, the left side has drawers for pullout storage, and a utility closet for brooms and mops is located on the opposite side. 

Talk to your Ikea consultant about finding the cabinets that work best for you—the interiors will most likely be a mix of shelves and drawers for maximum utility. 

Getting creative

“Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box!” says Gomez. “Semihandmade was born out of a desire to get a more custom looking kitchen, that’s also budget-friendly.”

Popular configurations are popular for a reason, but that doesn’t mean you can’t—or shouldn’t—get creative, stacking and designing the cabinet sizes that are right for you and your family. 

“One of my favorite past projects we’ve worked on features a pantry cabinet that has recessed doors which can be pushed back into an interior pocket space that opens up to a cozy, coffee station,” says Gomez. “It’s not about getting fancy, it’s about tailoring your plans until they truly feel like yours.The most memorable kitchens are full of seemingly small, but intentional design choices that made a big impact in the long run.”

When you have the space

Obviously, if you have a separate room designated as your pantry, you have more storage space to play with and can design the area with Semihandmade and Ikea Sektion cabinets as you would a regular kitchen. Of course, the above cabinet configurations can also work in a space like this. We also recommend looking to our floating shelves for open storage and consider creating multi-use areas like a baking station (seen here in Jessica Jones’s pantry!), and even our glass-ready fronts.