The Desperate Diva: Where's the Butler

Spring is a time for PLANNING and ADDING....NEW....Rooms and Spaces to our homes. Since we spend lots of time and money creating these spaces, we want to be sure they are exactly the way we vision them to be. I want to share a few Design Ideas with you in one of My Favorite Rooms that I planned and created for my home. Maybe you will find a few of these to use for yourself.

Even the Best of Plans can sometimes end up with very important features or elements overlooked. When we bulilt our home, I erased one entire end of the original floor plan to create space for my DREAM ROOM....:) A room size Butler's Pantry....It seems, however, that I overlooked a very important feature..... The only thing missing from my butler's pantry....is the butler...:)..!!!
That's OK...because I LOVE working in this room and most of all, having the SPACE to organize everthing. It keeps SO much clutter away from my kitchen and gives us room to EXPAND when family or extra kitchen help comes along...:) I call this counter my BAKING CENTER...it's the perfect spot to keep my mixer and all my baking supplies and mixing bowls.

If you don't have "Pull-Outs" in your cabinets, then I would strongly suggest you GET SOME....:) This ONE FEATURE is worth every penny spent....they keep you from standing on your head and breaking your back to FIND and REACH heavy bowls and dishes...

I have these in all of my cabinets and it is by far the BEST feature in terms of organizing and working with ease...!!!! The one below holds my baking pans. You know...those odd shaped and hard to keep stacked muffin pans, cookie sheets, etc. The pull out holds more mixing bowls and baking supplies, keeping them handy and easy to find.
As you come in from the garage, you walk into the pantry as shown above. This is a great place to drop groceries and shopping bags until you are ready to get it all put away. Below shows you how this room leads you into the hallway that is close to our kitchen.
There on the left is a Beverage Center. Complete with built in ice maker...coffee maker...and cabinets full of glasses and cups. Drawers below hold extra serving dishes and the doors on the right is our food pantry. Notice my COOK BOOK collection there at the bottom. OK...let's go around to the other side...:)
NOW...this side of the room will take you into our Breakfast Room....or into the Laundry Room...door on the right...OR...take a left through the door to step out onto our side porch... This area is a great place for enjoying snacks...
Above is our Snack and Sandwich making area. I love the two drawer refrigerator. We use it to keep cold cuts, beverages, etc. as a quick and easy prep area. And there is a microwave there in the cabinet above the Snack area. Across the room from this is where I keep my CARRY OUT and paper containers for easy reach....:)
Now....You don't have to have a whole room to create YOUR PANTRY...just a space large enough to hold the most important appliances...work tools...and maybe a snack area. Something that is quick to reach and easy to hide when needed. I'll be back later to show you what my daughter did to create a "Closet Size" pantry. It's a great smaller set up and adds so much to her kitchen area.

I'd LOVE to hear some of YOUR New Plans...:) Wanna Share....!!!!
OH...By the way....Have you Seen the Butler....:)
See you soon,
Dianne