Here's Why A Partition Wall Could Solve Your Cramped Kitchen Pantry Problems

Finding enough space for storage in a kitchen always seems to be a problem, no matter how big your home is. One way to increase your available space is to use a pantry for extra kitchen storage. To maximize what's available for your pantry, consider adding a partition wall, which can open previously inaccessible kitchen areas and increase the size of the space. Additionally, because you can add shelves to the inside of the partition wall, you'll have a well-organized area, making the pantry appear bigger. 

When you create a partition wall, you receive a few different benefits. It sets the space off from the rest of the kitchen. If desired, this allows you to hide the pantry and its items by placing them behind a door. You can hang a door frame, too, giving you a finished area. Some people increase the available storage by adding shelves to the back of the solid door. However, if your pantry is highly organized and looks great, you may want to use glass doors, making everything visible. You also can have an open concept with no doors.

If you have an alcove in your kitchen, consider adding a partition wall to create your desired pantry. Without a natural alcove, you can still use partition walls to set off a pantry corner, which takes expensive kitchen remodeling out of the equation. It's an even better deal if your selected corner has deep, awkward cabinets that you can't use effectively. You'll be able to redesign the space to make it more efficient.

Building partition walls in an existing kitchen is a tricky process. You need the right tools and know-how for framing, hanging doors, creating shelves, and finishing drywall. If you want power outlets inside or a light socket, you may also need to run electrical wiring. If you need to remove existing walls or cabinets before creating the pantry, consider hiring a designer or contractor to provide ideas or do the work. 

"An experienced kitchen designer will be able to provide useful and valuable storage in whatever space is available, from combining several small rooms such as a coal store, hallway and boot room to create one large space or to putting up a partition wall to or sectioning off a corner of a room for a walk-in pantry," says Richard Moore, Design Director at Martin Moore, in an interview with Homes & Gardens.

The best time to build a partition wall and create a well-organized pantry is when constructing a kitchen from scratch. This process also works well when fully remodeling your existing space, tearing everything down and starting over. Maybe you have room you can borrow from a coat closet behind the wall during the remodeling process. Perhaps you have free space behind the oven or refrigerator that you can unlock for your pantry by adding a partition wall as you remodel.

By including partition walls in the remodeling design or the new kitchen layout, you can be certain it is a perfect size and has the best shelving for your needs. It's also easier to make the pantry fit as naturally as possible into the overall design when adding it in the beginning. When designing the kitchen, you can place the pantry in the most convenient location. Having your ingredients and other food prep items as close to the primary food preparation and cooking areas as possible will deliver the highest efficiency. 

Though it works out in most cases, if you add partition walls and a pantry to an existing layout, you may have limited location choices, which may be inconvenient if it's across the room from the cooking space.