This Fancy Feature Is the New Dream Kitchen Showpiece, According to a Survey

There’s something so soothing about looking at a well-organized kitchen — drawers with inserts that bring order to every inch of usable space, fridges with cans of LaCroix lined up like soldiers, and color coordinated-spice racks that make easy work of seasoning.

Somewhere along the lines of The Kardashians and The Home Edit, though, uber-organization became the new gold standard for designer kitchens, with the pantry cabinet emerging as the showpiece — even over colorful ranges and dramatic marble countertops. And the next evolution of that trend? Walk-in pantries, whether they’re dedicated rooms on full display for all to see or hidden behind secret doors, as the ultimate statement of quiet luxury.

Of course, the biggest, shiniest, newest builds have maybe always had pantries with room-sized dimensions. But pantries as walk-ins are starting to go mainstream — even in older-construction homes and kitchens that aren’t so grand. Designer Jean Stoffer put a speakeasy-esque walk-in pantry into a recent lake house kitchen renovation, quite literally stealing space from a nearby walk-in closet. The McGees have done these in projects as well, and walk-in pantries are starting to pop up more and more in content creators’ and real people’s kitchens. But don’t just take my word for it; there’s data to back it up, too. 

MasterBrand Cabinets recently did a survey of over 1,200 kitchen designers, and walk-in pantries were high on the list of upgrades people are making. “According to our annual survey, walk-in pantries consistently have been one of the most desired kitchen features over the past five years,” says Stephanie Pierce, the director of design and trends at MasterBrand Cabinets. “While the pantry cabinet is still the most common type of pantry for most households, homeowners who have the space often are opting for walk-in pantries.”

This feature might seem sumptuous and over-the-top, but unlike grand closets, which can be heavy on the eye candy and potentially light on the function, Pierce says these Instagram-friendly pantries are more hardworking than you think. “Some of this is driven by the rise of aspirational pantries you see on social media, but its functionality far outweighs its aesthetics,” says Pierce. “A walk-in pantry can help free up cabinet space in the kitchen and can even help declutter by housing so many small appliances that may otherwise be stored on the countertop.”

For these reasons, if you’re renovating, walk-in pantries might be worth the space and financial investment they require. I’m already dreaming of renovating my kitchen and seeing if I can tuck one of these into the footprint.