Wickes Study Shows Renewed Interest In Pantry & Larder Cupboards

• Pantry or larder cupboard among most sought-after kitchen must-haves for 2023, according to latest Wickes sales data
• Brits have reordered kitchen priorities post-pandemic and are combining the return of the pantry with the trend for an ‘appliance garage’ to store air fryers, multicookers, milk frothers and other kitchen appliances
• Wickes says millennials are the driving force of new-look, sleek kitchen with huge demand for bold colour and pattern statements 

The humble pantry is trendy again - although now it’s being combined with an ‘appliance garage’ as Brits establish a new post-pandemic kitchen for the 21^st Century. 

That’s according to new findings from home improvement retailer Wickes, which found that the pantry or larder cupboard, including budget-friendly corner larders, is one of the most sought-after kitchen items for 2023 and over 10% of all Wickes kitchens sold now have one. 

And that’s being combined with another hot kitchen trend: ‘The appliance garage’, which provides an additional storage space for kitchen appliances such as air fryer, multicooker, milk frother, coffee machine, ice-cream maker and juicer – providing an all-new sleek, clutter-free kitchen. 

These are just some of the trends in the new Wickes Great Kitchen Report, which reveals that colourful kitchens are also increasingly in demand, with blues and forest greens among the most popular options.

The home improvement retailer reports that millennials are driving the new trends, as they seek to make bold statements within their kitchen, opting for a more maximalist look which incorporates colour and pattern.

And it adds that the way Brits use the kitchen is changing, as people now want kitchens to do more for them - it’s no longer a place to just cook, it’s a place to socialise, do homework, relax and entertain family and friends. 

The word ‘pantry’ is derived from the French word ‘pain’ for bread, after food and supplies were stored in specific rooms from medieval times - and BBC TV social history expert Deborah Sugg Ryan, Professor of Design History, University of Portsmouth, says the modern-day pantry or larder can be dated back a century.

She said: ‘The desire for a servant-less, labour-saving, efficient home 100 years ago led to new designs for furniture such as the freestanding kitchen cabinet or ‘commodious cupboard. 

‘They became popular across the social spectrum, and by the mid-1920s most British furniture retailers sold at least one style of kitchen cabinet.  Some were made of oak, others painted pine or even aluminium or steel, and they took the form of a single free-standing cupboard with multiple doors and drawers, and a pull-out work surface. 

‘And like the latest 2023 trend revealed in the Wickes sales data, these were organised into compartments to allow for the storage of both food and equipment associated with food preparation, and sometimes cleaning equipment. 

‘Pre-World War Two, these kitchen appliances would have included a flour sifter, flour bin, metal-lined bread drawer, rolling pin, a bin for sugar and storage jars - so quite a comparison to the air fryers, multicookers and coffee machines of the 2020s.’

The Wickes Great Kitchen Report delves into a deep analysis of how the nation uses its kitchens and the all-important factors affecting modern design choices. As well as gathering insight from its 700 Design Consultants, Wickes polled over 2,000 homeowners nationwide to ask what they want in a new kitchen – and the research reveals: 

• More than one in five Brits (21%) say the pantry is the ‘most desirable’ item for a kitchen
• One in 10 admit that while they care about function, how stylish their kitchen looks is more important
• When asked which buzzwords best describe their preferred kitchen style, 17% said ‘farmhouse’ followed by ‘vintage’ (14%), ‘rustic’ (13%) and ‘industrial’ (8%)

Dan Ferrari, Head of Kitchens at Wickes, added: ‘Kitchen colour trends are nothing new, and many Brits will have grown up in the classic 70s kitchen of yellows, oranges and browns. 

‘Fifty years later, millennials are pushing for striking new kitchen designs of green and blue - one in three kitchen sales are now one of these colour ways, and our new coloured ranges such as the Wickes Chester Reed Green are already flying. 

‘It shows a shift from the hues of greys that have dominated the last few years, to richer colours that reflect the changing function of the kitchen as a space for living in as well as preparing and cooking food’.

The Wickes Design Consultants can help to create a kitchen that works for all family members. Book a free appointment today.

Read the full Great Kitchen Report at https://www.wickes.co.uk/wickes_great_kitchen_report

Source : Wickes

For all the very latest news and intelligence on the UK's largest home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter.