The Block Glasshouse: Kitchen pantries on the comeback

The pantry is apparently super-sizing. And the trend has emerged not just because there was plenty of space in The Block Glasshouse project in Prahran.

Last weekend The Wall Street Journal noted the trend noting the pantry in the US was becoming prettier part of the home. As kitchens islands have become the entertainment hub of the home, home owners are moving the clutter and clatter of kitchen activities behind the scenes where they are less visible to guests.

"No longer just for storing potato chips and soup cans, the traditional kitchen closet is becoming bigger, more luxe and more multifunctional.

"Architects, contractors and real-estate agents say upscale homeowners are asking for walk-in rooms that serve as workspaces for everything from food prep to gift wrapping to bill-paying."

A report by the National Association of Home Builders last year showed 85% of respondents put a walk-in kitchen pantry on their most wanted list.

The WSJ article said the latest iteration of the pantry was really just a riff off pantries of yore.

In the U.S., a separate room used for storing butter in the 17th and 18th centuries was called a "buttr'y," says Catherine Seiberling Pond, author of The Pantry—Its History and Modern Uses.

The mid- to late-1800s saw the arrival of the "butler's pantry"—a room off the kitchen for storing glassware, dishes and cutlery, where food was plated.

In the 1930s, breakfast nooks began to replace separate pantries, and food storage moved to cabinets.

Pantries became all but obsolete by the 1950s, says Pond. It wasn't until the 1990s, when kitchens became more open, that walk-in pantries returned.

There were two winners of kitchen week.

Michael and Carlene's kitchen was reminiscent of a high-end Manhattan brasserie. The butler’s pantry had storage and a preparation area. The judges praised the pantry (pictured above) as the “icing on the cake”.

Shannon and Simon's kitchen was described as modern, edgy with a sophisticated palette. It came with chef's kitchen. Their pantry was the perfect place for a microwave, said judge Darren.

Dee and Daz’s butler’s pretty pantry was the runner up.

There was criticism from the Block judge, Shayna of Maxine and Karstan’s butler’s pantry. 

Shayna thought there was way too much storage (below) in the contestant butler’s pantry, describing it as “like a clinical storage box”.

Maxine and Karstan’s butler’s pantry. Source: Channel 9