What Are the Most Popular Pantry Door Styles?

While the pantry isn’t the focal point of the kitchen, it’s still a prominent and well-used space. As such, you want your pantry door to reflect your kitchen’s overall style while improving the overall function of the space. Here are some popular pantry door styles to consider:

Popular Pantry Door Styles

Sliding Pantry Door
Glass Pantry Door
Double Pantry Door
Hidden Pantry Door
Bifold Pantry Door
Wood Pantry Door
Metal Pantry Door
Arched Pantry Door
Narrow Pantry Door
Chalkboard Pantry Door

When designing a new pantry door for your kitchen, consider both the type and style. While these terms can overlap, the door type refers to its shape and function, and the style includes its design, color, texture, hardware, and accessories. Both factors affect your kitchen’s look and usability

In this blog post, we will explore a variety of pantry door ideas, including the different types of doors and how you can style them. That way you can start imagining what door works best for your kitchen pantry.

What is a Pantry?

Most modern kitchens have a walk-in area or large floor-to-ceiling cabinet space that is considered a pantry. Pantries are designed to store non-perishable food items, such as dried and canned goods. They can also be a place to store snacks, such as crackers and chips, as well as cooking oils, bread, and even fruit. A kitchen pantry can also be a space to store extra dishware and miscellaneous household items. They’re essentially a kitchen “closet” that provides extra storage space for food and common kitchen goods.

Pantries have been in homes for hundreds of years, and were originally used to store bread and cheese. The name pantry is derived from the French word, “pain,” which means bread. Over the centuries, both the name and the purpose have stuck, and pantries are still considered a kitchen essential.

Now that we’ve gone over what a pantry is and what it’s commonly used for, let’s dive into the most popular types of pantry doors.

1. Sliding Pantry Door

Sometimes pantries are located in high-traffic areas, such as a corner or hallway next to the kitchen. In tight spaces such as these, a sliding pantry door is beneficial because it opens the space up and doesn’t disrupt household traffic.

Another benefit of a sliding pantry door is how stylish and unique it is. For example, a sliding barn door adds rustic charm to the space. Barn doors slide along a track installed above the door opening. Due to the hardware system, you’ll need to make sure there’s enough space on the wall to accommodate both the barn door track and door when it is open.

Barn doors can vary dramatically in style. For instance, you can design a sleek and sophisticated black barn door with stainless steel hardware for your modern kitchen, or you can create a traditional craftsman-style wood barn door for your rustic farmhouse-style kitchen. No matter how modern or traditional your kitchen space is, you can custom design a barn door to match your unique aesthetic.

A sliding pantry door can also be a pocket door, which slides into the wall when open. Pocket doors are great if you want a discreet door that easily tucks away. You'll need to install a pocket door hardware system within the wall if there isn't one already.

2. Glass Pantry Door

A glass pantry door is a popular, stylish option for your pantry. The benefit of glass pantry doors is that the glass allows you to quickly see what’s inside the pantry. This is helpful when you want to do check inventory or show off your impeccable organizational skills.

Glass doors have their own unique style. They offer a classy, elegant, and sophisticated feel, yet they can also blend in well with modern farmhouse or rustic designs.

If you want a glass pantry door, but don’t want to showcase what’s inside the pantry, consider designing a custom pantry door with obscured glass. For example, a frosted glass pantry door still offers the stylish glass look, but the frosted glass provides privacy by obscuring the view inside the pantry.

If you don't want obscured glass but still want occasional privacy (we all have messy pantries sometimes), you can decorate your pantry doors with stylish curtains. For instance, white linen curtains would be perfect for a modern farmhouse or minimalist kitchen.

3. Double Pantry Door

Double doors aren’t just for grand entryways—they can be the ideal fit for a variety of spaces. For pantries with wide openings, double doors are the perfect solution. A double pantry door can be two traditional hinged doors or double barn doors.

If there’s plenty of open space around your pantry, hinged double doors may be fine. But for tight areas, you’ll probably want sliding barn doors or double bifold pantry doors.

There are several ways to style double pantry doors, but they should reflect your overall kitchen style. Double doors are a statement piece, so you can choose to blend them in by matching them to the surrounding cabinetry or make them stand out by painting them a different color or adding extravagant hardware.

Imagine elegant French doors in your French-style kitchen. While bold, they create the perfect setting that inspires the feeling of sipping wine at a beautiful vineyard.

Whether you choose sliding or swinging doors, you'll have plenty of room to design them to your liking. Even if you don’t have a wide opening, you can add double pantry doors by customizing two narrow doors.

4. Hidden Pantry Door

Some homeowners want their pantry to be discreet and blend in with its surroundings. With a custom design and the right hardware in place, you can camouflage your pantry door so that it appears like just any other cabinet.

To achieve this, you'll need a pantry door with hidden hinges and hardware. These doors are completely flush with the wall or other cabinets, with no handles or hinges sticking out. To open the hidden door, you can use a small, discreet slot just big enough for your fingers. Be sure to paint or finish the pantry door to perfectly match its surroundings.

Hidden pantry doors are perfect for minimalist or contemporary-style homes that prefer simplicity, clean lines, and sleek furnishings.

5. Bifold Pantry Door

If you’re limited on space and can’t accommodate a sliding barn door or pocket door, consider a bifold pantry door.

A bifold barn door folds in on itself when opened, and rests to the side of the door opening. It operates on a hinge in the middle that allows the door to close smoothly in on itself. The door is attached to a track for an effortless door pull.

Bifolding pantry doors are highly functional, and are available in several design styles, including wood, mirror, glass, and metal doors. No matter whether you choose a single or double bifold pantry door, you'll save space and boost your kitchen's style.

6. Wood Pantry Door

While we’ve talked about different door types for your pantry, such as barn doors or double doors, we haven’t discussed door material as much. The type of material you choose for your pantry door is important, as you want to match or complement the rest of your kitchen furnishings.

A wood pantry door is perfect for kitchens with lots of wood features like cabinets, bar stools, floors, or open wood-beam ceilings. To achieve a seamless design, match the wood finish or paint color of the door to the rest of the wooden elements.

7. Metal Pantry Door

For urban-style kitchens with a contemporary flare, consider a metal pantry door. Metal pantry doors offer a sleek and modern design that will complement the rest of the space. That said, metal is also ideal for vintage doors, making this material versatile for many home styles.

Metal pantry doors vary in style and design. Some have prominent glass features, while others all metal with a customized finish. Metal pantry doors can be sliding barn doors, bifold doors, pocket doors, or traditional swinging doors.

Metal doors are available in aluminum, steel, and stainless steel. When designing a custom metal pantry door with Rustica, you can select your preferred metal finish color so that your door fits in beautifully with the rest of your kitchen design.

8. Arched Pantry Door

If you want a kitchen pantry door reminiscent of Tuscany or old-world architecture, consider an arched pantry door. Arched doors are wonderfully unique, and add depth and character to a kitchen space. And considering the historic origins of the pantry, an arched door honors its heritage. Even in a modern home, you can custom design an arched door to perfectly match your space.

Wooden arched doors are perfect for Tuscan villa-style kitchens, while metal arched pantry doors are great for a modern farmhouse style kitchen.

9. Narrow Pantry Door

Some pantries are narrow and small. For these spaces, finding a door size that isn’t too wide for the pantry can be difficult.

If you have an unusually narrow pantry, you can custom-design a pantry door with Rustica. Our customization options let you input the exact dimensions needed for your space. And when you custom design a narrow pantry door with Rustica, you'll get a door that perfectly fits your space and style. The best part? All of our custom sized doors are handcrafted in the USA by our skilled craftsmen.

10. Chalkboard Pantry Door

If you love multi-functional furnishing, consider a chalkboard door for your k