Joanna Gaines Swears By This Pantry Design (And Describes It In 4 Words)

When TV style guru Joanna Gaines takes on a design project, she goes all out. From using luxe kitchen backsplash material to elevate a culinary space to sacrificing unneeded rooms when they stand in the way of grandeur, she pulls out all the stops to execute a huge, posh kitchen. For storage and functionality, there's one pantry design she swears by: a butler's pantry. Why is this feature absolutely essential for a superstar space? Gaines explains it in four words: tucked-away, inspiring, charming, and creative.

To illustrate just how much Gaines values a butler's pantry, in her own home, she turned her young son's bedroom into one when he was ready to transition to a larger room. The space could've been converted into anything — a home gym, a theater room, an office. But she wanted a butler's pantry and made it happen. Do these spaces really justify sacrificing so much valuable square footage to create one? In a word: Yes.

Butler's pantries are a retro kitchen design definitely worthy of a resurgence in modern homes. If you've never seen one, rest assured, it isn't a space where you lock up the butler until he's needed — although that's not far off from the origins of the design feature. When butler's pantries first gained popularity, during the Victorian Era, they included sleeping quarters for the household butler and served as a functional kitchen extension. Today, butler's pantries no longer include living quarters but remain flexible spaces that greatly enhance kitchen functionality.

Butler's pantries are generally located just off a home's kitchen or dining room. Designs can range from simply offering extra storage to being, essentially, almost an entire second kitchen tucked away. If you're a fan of having a clutter-free cooking space, a butler's pantry is for you. It can house electrical outlets and be plumbed to contain a sink, just like your kitchen, functioning as a secondary prep space that keeps the disorder of meal preparation concealed from guests. The space can house a chest freezer, wine cooler, or extra refrigerator, providing added food and beverage storage without the visual clutter of having these items in your primary kitchen.

If you dislike having your countertop spread with appliances, a butler's pantry solves the problem. It can be cumbersome to have devices like bread makers and stand mixers covering your counter. Storing them away, however, is also inconvenient — they take up a large portion of your cupboard space when not in use. Retrieving them and setting them up when you do want them can be equally troublesome, not to mention time-consuming — sometimes it can seem not worth having them. However, a butler's pantry can include counter space of its own where these items can remain set up and ready for use at all times. It not only boosts function by keeping your lesser-used gadgets accessible, but it also allows you to simultaneously conceal them.

The visible area of your kitchen can further stay cleaner while meals cook behind the scenes. If you're preparing something like a slow cooker chili recipe, it can simmer in your crockpot in the butler's pantry, out of sight, until you're ready to serve dinner.

A butler's pantry can be virtually anything you need it to be, and your creativity can be really unleashed when designing it. For instance, Joanna Gaines was excited to have a prep space for making sourdough when creating her butler's pantry. For your own, you can let inspiration fly free as you create the space of your dreams.

If you've ever thought, "I wish my kitchen had (fill in the blank)," a butler's pantry can help make it happen. If you're a coffee drinker, for example, a custom coffee station can be set up inside the area where all of your specialty devices, mugs, creamers, and other accoutrements stand ready and waiting. With space for a milk frother, coffee grinder, or mug warmer, you can become your own barista whenever you want.

Something like a smoothie bar can also be created, holding your blender, protein powders, fruit, etc., so you can retreat into the butler's pantry and create your favorite blended drinks whenever you like. If you want a special seating nook where you can sit and enjoy your beverages, there's nothing to stop you. The space is yours to utilize!