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At Your Service No butler? No problem. Enjoy the perks of a butler's pantry first-hand - add charm to your dining room and kitchen, and bring some ease to your cooking, entertaining and serving routines  Image courtesy Susan Serra Associates, Inc. Steve and Karin Steele loved the lasting exterior elements of the 1923 Craftsman bungalow that they visited five years ago while searching for a new home. But they sealed the deal as soon as they took a look at the butler's pantry, the Victorian-era reminder of more stately days that called for discretion and order. The glass-fronted white cabinetry, skirted by a wide countertop, needed some repair, but it offered great promise. "We saw it as charming and unusual in some ways," says Steve Steele, a technology consultant just outside of Atlanta. And it reminded his wife of her childhood days at her grandmothers home, where the butler's pantry displayed heirloom china. Historically located between the kitchen and the formal dining room to serve as an odor-free, mess-free buffer for final dinner preparations, butler pantries have popped up in homes everywhere, big and small. Today, their function is as varied their look. "The versatility of a butler's pantry - whether you use it for storage, to set up as a bar or to serve as a staging area for the dining room - is very useful," says Susan Serra, a certified kitchen designer in Northport, N.Y. The area also serves as a gracious transition from one room to the next, she adds, and it can extend the theme of the dining room (or the kitchen). In its heyday, a butler's pantry reflected a life of greater simplicity with homeowners using it mostly to store their dinnerware or as rest places before and after formal meals. More affluent families, of course, designated the area to their butler. Nowadays, a butler's pantry looks more like a small kitchen, complete with a sink, a microwave, a small refrigerator, warming drawers and plenty of dedicated storage for all the accoutrements. And they come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Amanda Bertele, a showroom director at Superior Woodcraft, Inc. in Doylestown, Pa., says that traditional butler's pantries are vital for families who like to entertain often, enjoy multiple-course meals or use a catering staff. "The butler's pantry comes in handy to stage, prep and serve. It opens up space for other tasks that need to be done in a high-performance kitchen," she says. Serra adds that the countertop area remains convenient to use as a landing space to stack dishes either before or after a meal, in an efficient manner. "They make everything flow more easily," she says. A more sophisticated butler's pantry features two or three walls - and many are separate rooms with two doors that allow for movement to and from the kitchen and the dining room. Even though a butler's pantry once kept visitors from seeing the inner workings of a busy kitchen, today more relaxed homeowners invite guests into this intimate space. Because it is in public view, it often includes more high-end amenities including granite or stone countertops, handcrafted wall-spanning cabinetry and lots of surprises behind the cabinet doors, such as warming drawers and ice makers. Barry Tuttle, a partner at Absolute Kitchen and Bath Marketplace, LLC in Surry, Maine, says his company works with customers who designed butler's pantries specifically for gatherings. "One customer wanted to use it as a place for the guys to talk while the women chatted in the kitchen," he says. The most common butler's pantries run around 8-by-5 feet, he adds, though he's constructed one as large as 12-by-8 feet. Bertele likens pantries with just one wall to a wet bar or dry bar because the limited space may prohibit its use for prepping or serving. Smaller ones, however, are much more affordable. Many homeowners with limited space prefer simple butler's pantries along a wall or hallway. The Steeles, outside of Atlanta, use their 8-foot long pantry located right past the kitchen to store dishes in the top glass-fronted cabinets. Inside the lower cabinets, they store items that don't seem to fit anywhere else. "We have practical items [there], like a paper shredder," says Steve Steele. Given the trend to move hutches out of dining rooms, a butler's pantry offers a space to display beautiful items that aren't used often. Serra says the butler's pantry also can be an ideal place for wine storage and other beverages. No need to wait for guests to use the space. They're useful on a daily basis for small tasks, like warming up a snack or making an espresso. Homeowners increasingly want the extra space. "A butler's pantry is always appealing. It also takes the place of a breakfront, if there is none in the dining room, freeing up the dining room for, often, much-needed space," Serra adds. When planning to add a butler pantry or incorporate one into a new home plan, it is helpful to decide if the butler's pantry will primarily serve the kitchen or the dining room. Serra suggests taking the time to think about the many uses of a butler's pantry, then plan accordingly for the cabinetry and counter space. Sometimes one side of the pantry can feature the countertop while the other side allows for tall storage. A small sink should be included in a butler's pantry for light cleaning purposes or water refills for the dining room. Other options to consider in a butler's pantry: wine and stemware racks, a wine cooler or a small refrigerator, space to store table linens, utensils and serving pieces, and a dishwasher. Remember, butler's pantries can be as versatile as your needs. And as the Steeles discovered, they give even smaller homes a certain stately charm. "It's functional," Steve Steele says, "and it's also part of the past." |
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