Some smart pantry design ideas to keep your kitchen stylish and clutter-free in 2026
What good storage looks like in your kitchen will vary from person to person. In 2024, the pantry design trend was to hide everything away behind uniform cabinets and label every jar that lines the pantry shelves. But hiding everything behind doors can make it easy to forget what you have. In 2025, a mix of open and closed storage was the compromise, using things like colourful wooden cupboards with glass panels in. In 2026, designers are blending the two, with visible walk-in pantries that feature tall glass doors and open shelving.
What matters is that your pantry design, which is ultimately a practical space, works hard whilst complimenting your kitchen’s overall interior scheme. These five pantry design ideas will help you bring style and extensive storage into your kitchen, no matter how much space you have.
Use glass doors to make visible walk-in pantries feel light and airy
Add interest into your pantry design with glass doors. If you have the space, try using sliding or bi-fold glass doors to add grandeur. Creating statements out of simple structural pieces, like doors, will bring life to minimalist schemes and elevate neutral colour palettes especially. In 2026, designers are bringing wine out of the cellar and into the pantry too. Because why not show off those expensive bottles of wine, colourful herb racks and carefully curated crockery collections?
Beware: glass doors may look cool, but they hold the less organised folks amongst us accountable – you can’t hide those worn Oxo cube boxes, old bottles of soy sauce or the toppled herb jars away anymore… If glass doors give you the fear, or you don’t have enough space, get creative with wallpaper and tiles instead.
Make the pantry a design feature with wallpaper or tiles
Wallpaper is one of the best ways to add colour, pattern and drama to a room. For a walk-in pantry design with shelves, try papering all four walls including the gaps between each shelf to create maximum impact. When it comes to painting the outside of a closed pantry, lighter colours help melt it into the wall; bolder palettes make the pantry a focal point of the room. Tiling is another creative way to bring interest into your pantry design. On the inside, use geometric form to influence the size perception of space.
Create a kitchen focal point by dousing your pantry in colour
Don’t reserve colour and pattern for the outside of your pantry. Splash some joyful shades on the shelves to bring a smile to your face every time you open the pantry door. This works particularly well for small walk-in pantries that are hidden behind doors, so you don’t have to live with a bold hue full time.
Install narrow pantries with pocket doors to maximise storage space in smaller kitchens
Don’t think your smaller kitchen has space for a pantry? Well, pantries aren’t just for those with Edwardian terrace kitchens or open-plan architectural marvels. Those with less floorspace can opt for a narrow pantry design built as an extension of countertops and cabinetry, or to occupy wall space previously used for a dishwasher (we know it makes life easier, but if you want a pantry, you can sacrifice the dishwasher). Pocket doors are a smart way to eliminate the need for door swing clearance too (the unobstructed space required for a door to open fully) whilst still bringing extensive storage into your kitchen.
Organise the shelves strategically
This pantry design idea dictates that you organise your pantry by frequency of use, either displaying pieces you’d like to use more often (fancy dishes, that ice-cream maker that doesn’t quite fit in the pantry) or keeping those things you’re always reaching for close at hand.
Maximise the space you have behind closed doors, too, by using internal organisers and considering every nook and cranny. Got an awkward alcove? Turn it into a coffee station or a bar to free up the work surfaces elsewhere in the kitchen.
This zesty kitchen is a lesson in effective pantry design; matching function with style.
The owners of this Victorian home went bold with a zesty kitchen
