Child's play

A butler's pantry, facilities for two cooks and a nearby play area for small children were all top design priorities of these homeowners. After removing walls separating the kitchen and breakfast room, the designer installed a new wall parallel with the dining room. She created a butlers pantry outside the dining room door and filled it with cabinetry resembling furniture and an ample display area for formal dishware.

Tall cabinets on all sides of the chimney house the refrigerator, pantry pullouts, toy storage and a blackboard. The designer divided the pantry from the main kitchen and surrounded the chimney with cabinets to break the space and create separate workstations.

Since the kitchen is open to the play area on the other side of the chimney, the homeowners can see their children at all times.

This kitchen earned a second-place award in the large kitchen category of the National Kitchen and Bath Association's 2003 Design Competition

Designer: Merrie Fredericks, Design Concepts Plus, CKD, CBD Lansdowne, PA

Photography: Philip S. Fredericks