The scullery, walk-in pantry or butler’s pantry are familiar and important features of the English country house.
In the past, these rooms were the preserve of servants, while modern day interior design deploys them as everyday spaces used by the family and its staff.
At Artichoke we know how to make these rooms an integral part of family life and how to give them a robust, functional beauty.
Demand from our clients for custom pantry design is growing. They are looking for authentic, high-end architectural joinery that makes elegant functional spaces that, as well as showing accurate period detail, meet the practical needs of the modern household.
When considering, for example, a Georgian country house, Artichoke has the knowledge and expertise to be respectful not only of the period of the house but also of the hierarchy of joinery – the design of such detail depending on the status of the room – the upstairs tending to be more elaborate than the downstairs or servant’s domain.
Pantries are a relatively new addition to English country house architecture. They began appearing in Georgian houses as separate rooms annexed off the kitchen or near the dining room. They were used for food preparation and the storage of silver, valuable dishes, table decorations and cooking equipment.
Often the cabinetry was grand in scale to store the significant amounts of crockery and cutlery needed to entertain many guests over five or more courses. Traditionally, pantries were much cooler than kitchens, often located in a north facing part of the house, making them the perfect place to store fruit and vegetables to prolong their shelf life.
Pantries can provide an invaluable second space for food storage, food preparation and a “shut-off” room to hide used crockery and dishes when entertaining at scale. They rarely need to be as big as their predecessors, chiefly because we don’t entertain at the same scale we did in the 19th Century.
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These days, when kitchens tend to be the heart of the home, even in large, period properties, it is useful to have behind the scenes spaces where the mess and practicalities around domestic chores are hidden from view. Its an ideal place for the uglier appliances (such as the freezer, food processor or microwave) to live, within easy access but discretely stashed away out of sight.
We will take the time to understand exactly how your pantry will be used.
What type of food, and how much will be stored? Will you require any additional appliances?
This meticulous attention to detail results in beautiful, functional rooms that last for generations.
Furthermore, we pay special attention to the architecture of your property so that the pantry feels like an authentic part of the house.
