4 Enticing Pantry Door Styles

These pantry spaces present a delicious design opportunity via their doors. Some of these enticing pantry door styles conceal a large walk-in pantry, while others announce the presence of a much smaller pantry cabinet. Custom cabinetry doors, sliding barn doors, pocket doors and a range of eclectic choices are good options that will add personality and a style statement to your kitchen.

1. Camouflaged pantry doors. The latest trend in pantry doors is to line them up flush within a run of matching cabinetry, making the pantries behind them a hidden bonus space. A pantry entrance fitting seamlessly into a row of tall cabinet doors. A false toe kick look on the pantry doors can help blend them in with the adjacent doors. Glass on a door, a glass transom and a window inside the pantry can keep it well-lit naturally, while ash paneling, baskets and attractive shelves provide a nice view.

2. Sliding barn pantry doors. The mega-popularity of doors hanging from a sliding barn door track shows no sign of waning. Barn doors can bring in a big dose of modern farmhouse style, and the heavy-duty barn track hardware can handle a heavier-than-standard door, making it good for showcasing a custom or unconventional door. A disadvantage to note is that the space next to the door opening must remain clear so the door can slide in front of it. This means no art there and, depending on how far out from the wall the door slides, no light switches. Another fun element of barn doors is that they can accommodate heavy-duty door pulls. Barn tracks also can accommodate double doors that slide in from either side of the door opening. Note that despite the name, doors on barn door tracks need not look like they were reclaimed from a barn. These contemporary doors bear no resemblance to anything in a place where hay is stored, and their frosted glass allows light to pass through while concealing any pantry mess.

3. Pocket doors. Pocket doors are a good option for small spaces like pantries because they don’t have a door swing that impedes on the space. The flip side is that a pocket door requires a place to pocket — so it requires an ample wall to house it, and the pocketing area must be clear of things like wires, plumbing and nails from picture hooks.

4. Eclectic doors. This category of enticing pantry door styles will be a mix of door types, with the common thread being a sense of personality and playfulness. Even if the pantry is simply a large cabinet and not a walk-in or closet style, there’s still a good design opportunity for the door. In this creative Atlanta kitchen, the large sliding cabinet door conceals an intentionally shallow pantry, designed so all items are easy to find. The door has a chalkboard surface for leaving notes or writing recipes, menus and grocery lists. The door covers only half of the pantry; a lovely peony wallpaper and shelves full of clear glass, a small TV and meaningful objects remain on display.