The ideal measurements for pantry shelves

Designing a new pantry but unsure how to space things out? Here are the ideal measurements for pantry shelves!

Pantries are one of the most underrated spaces in your home. Seriously, adding a pantry can totally transform the functionality of your kitchen space!

Whether you have a pantry that you want to upgrade with new shelves or are building a pantry from scratch, you will need to decide on a layout for the space.

The layout will include the number and location of the shelves in the space.

Today we want to focus on a specific part of the pantry layout: the shelves. Let’s chat about the ideal measurements and spacing of shelves in a pantry!

The ideal measurements for pantry shelves

You will need to decide on the length, depth, and height of the shelves that you add to your pantry.

Pantry shelf length

The length of the shelves in your pantry is the easiest decision to make. Generally, shelves will go wall-to-wall horizontally in the space.

So, measure the length of the room, and that is the length of board you will want to cut.

The exception to this will be if you want to add an L-shaped shelf, like we did in our current home. In that case, one of the lengths will need to be decreased by the width of the perpendicular board that it will meet up to.

You can see in the below image that we let the short side of the pantry’s shelves go wall-to-wall, and the long side butted up to that.

Pantry shelf depth

The next decision to make about your pantry will be the depth of your shelves. In general, you want pantry shelves to be between 16 and 20 inches deep.

If you have a single, reach in pantry, I suggest making the shelves slightly less deep than the pantry itself.

Additionally, we typically add a super high shelf above the door frame that is half-depth. This is just a little bit of extra storage for very infrequently used items.

For an L-shaped walk in pantry shelving system, you have more wiggle room in the shelving. Measure the space and think about how much room you want to personally have to walk around, and be sure to allot for that.

In general, you want shelves to be no less than 12″ in depth and no more than 20″ in depth. Anything deeper and things will be hard to reach back there!

If your space does accomodate extra deep shelves, you might want to consider installing a pull out shelf for your convenience.

Pantry shelf height

The final decision to make is around the height or spacing of your pantry shelves. This once again depends on the items that you plan to put on them.

I generally like to have shelves closer together in the middle of the shelves (from eye-height down to knee height) so you can maximize the number of items within an easy reach.

If you have a countertop in your pantry (we installed butcher block), allow for 18″ above the counter to the next shelf. This gives space for small appliances like a coffee maker and makes it feel more like a counter and less like an extra thick shelf.

Then, I like to have the bottom shelf raised about 18″ up from the floor so you have space for storage underneath (and no one wants to bend down there often, anyways).

Finally, consider another tall 18″ shelf up towards the top for bulk storage of things like paper towels and big costco boxes.

Here are some common pantry items and the general heigh clearance that they need.

Pantry Item	Shelf Spacing Height (inches)
Cans	7″
Cereal Boxes	15″
Bulk Storage	18″
Baskets	8″
Jars	10″
Spices	6″
Oils and Vinegars	9″
Pasta	12″
Rice	12″
Flour and Sugar	14″
Snack Bags	8″
Cleaning Supplies	12″
Small Appliances	18″

Investing time in designing your pantry shelves isn’t just about creating storage; it’s about crafting a space that streamlines your kitchen routine and enhances your daily life.

The ideal measurements for pantry shelves discussed here serve as a blueprint, but remember, your pantry is a canvas for personalization.