Lighting is also a critical part of pantry design. Remodeler David Tyson sometimes opts for long, slim fluorescent lights on each side of the door on the interior of cabinet pantries. “It lights everything from top to bottom,” he says. Paul Maxim once ran rope lighting along the inside back wall of a pantry cabinet to help an 80-year-old client view the contents. However, he says, if taller items are placed in front, they tend to block the light. He prefers to line the ceiling in front of the pantry with recessed lights and to use roll-out drawers so that the homeowner can pull the contents into brighter light.
