While a kitchen integrated right into an open-concept floor plan has upside for entertaining and communal gathering, with wide open sightlines and sensible traffic flow, it doesn’t hide the mess in an open kitchen. The reality is that the dirty work of prep and cooking is fully on display, all the time.
This is even more prominent when you have a kitchen island that serves as prep, cooking, and seating.
With this in mind, floor plans are evolving, particularly in new construction homes, to enhance functionality, making entertaining in the kitchen more pleasant and seamless for homeowners, and for their guests, too.
Auxiliary spaces, usually tucked off to the side of the kitchen, with specific design and features around storage and prep, are growing in popularity, such as sculleries (also known aptly as messy kitchens) and butler’s pantries.
What is a butler pantry? What is a scullery? What features do they offer and how do they help to hide the mess in an open kitchen?
Historic trends returning to hide the mess in an open kitchen
While sculleries and butlers’ pantries are one of the hottest interior design trends of 2024, they were actually a staple of interior design in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These rooms were located near the main living and dining areas, but were concealed from the guests and homeowners, with the aim of containing dirt, grease and odors away from the activities of the main household.
These workspaces were also configured with storage, for cooking utensils, dishes, linens and items that were used in cooking and serving food.
While they were removed from the main household with walls, or sometimes on a different level (i.e. in the basement), they were connected enough to facilitate easy access between kitchen and dining.
Today, butler pantries and sculleries serve similar functions but take advantage of tech and contemporary style to hide the mess in an open kitchen.
All about sculleries and butler pantries
Here are some of the features of sculleries and butler pantries:
What is a butler’s pantry?
Historically, the butler’s pantry was a pass-through between the kitchen and dining rooms, where serving utensils and dishes, and sometimes dry goods were stored. Staff would assemble dishes for serving, and clear empty plates after eating.
In today’s home design, the butler’s pantry is often placed between the kitchen and dining areas, perhaps around a corner, or behind the main prep space. It’s a smaller, pass-through-style area, that has lots of cabinetry and storage as well as counter space. Sometimes homeowners also incorporate a coffee or wet bar.
Some floor plans are now featuring a butler’s pantry placed between the garage and the kitchen, with additional shelving and storage, conveniently located for homeowners parking in the garage to unload their grocery haul with minimal steps.
What is a scullery?
Think of a scullery as a small kitchen. It’s a small room, tucked off to the side of the kitchen, often with an additional refrigerator and sometimes another dishwasher and oven. Counterspace is usually ample for prep space, although on a smaller scale than in the main kitchen.
There is plumbing and electrical in a scullery, to run the extra appliances and sink(s).
What’s the difference between a scullery and a butler’s pantry?
The main differences between a scullery and a butler’s pantry are size and location. A butler’s pantry is smaller and can be in a variety of areas in a floor plan. It’s more focused on storage.
Meanwhile a scullery is larger, and has extra appliances, essentially providing a workspace for cooking and cleanup. The scullery is almost always immediately accessible to the main areas within a few steps.
Style tips for sculleries and butler pantries
These kitchen-adjacent spaces not only enhance functionality, but also offer homeowners the chance to add more style to their home. When designed and decorated well, these work-friendly spaces are a value-add that appeal to future buyers, while elevating your own experience at home today.
- One tip for both a scullery and a butler pantry: electrical outlets. Make sure you have plenty, and in multiple locations. You need to be able to run small and large appliances, often at the same time.
- Undermount lighting is task-oriented and adds to ambience.
- In the butler pantry, storage is essential. For style purposes, include a combination of closed and open storage, and take advantage of vertical space. Typically, a butler pantry has a sink but adding a trendy pot filler is a decorative touch.
- In the scullery, consider tiling the walls, like how you would do a kitchen backsplash. It’s easier to clean and lends to the design continuity.
- For finishes, most commonly both butler pantries and sculleries are designed as an extension of the kitchen, so flooring, cabinet and color choices would reflect those in the kitchen, for continuity’s sake.
- However, these work-oriented spaces can serve as a contrast to the kitchen, if you desire. One key point, a butler’s pantry usually doesn’t usually feature a door (although some designs offer a pocket door), so your color and material choices may be seen from the kitchen and vice versa. A scullery, meanwhile, usually has a door, so there is a little more flexibility to be creative, out of sight.
The key is to make decor choices intentionally, whether complementary, contrasting- or a mixture of both, so that the aesthetic unfolds organically.
Other ways to hide the mess in an open kitchen
A scullery or butler’s pantry are not the only way to conceal kitchen mess and clutter. Here are some other design tips and kitchen-area spaces that will welcome guests and keep your open-concept areas clean.
A walk-in pantry
This is a favorite among homeowners with children and who like to shop in bulk. A walk-in pantry offers a lot of storage space with convenient access. Maximize the functionality with a built-in shelving system that has pull-out drawers and smart storage spaces.
The kitchen island
The kitchen island is typically thought of for style and/or for seating in an open-plan kitchen, but there is also great storage potential if the island is designed correctly. Include cabinetry with space for small appliances. This keeps them off your counters, and within easy reach to take out when needed.
A deep sink
While a deep, wide sink won’t help with your storage needs on the daily, placing dirty dishes in there during a dinner party will keep them out of sight during the event.
Elevated eating area
If your kitchen island is prep central, elevating the portion of the island where there is seating is a way of concealing the countertop and prep space from people nearby in the living or dining rooms.
A wet bar
Wet bars are growing in popularity, both in living/family rooms and in the dining room, perfect for entertaining. Typically, a wet bar has a beverage fridge, a sink, and counterspace. Make yours even more functional by including more storage with additional cabinetry and take advantage of vertical space. It’s a convenient place to store extra glasses, plates and serving dishes as well as bar-related items.
