A butler’s pantry is the small service room that sits between the kitchen and the dining area — a run of counter, some cabinetry, often a sink and a second fridge, and a door at each end. In a barndominium it earns its keep twice over, because the open-concept great room that makes these houses feel enormous also means there is nowhere to hide a mess. The butler’s pantry is where the mess goes.
Below are seven barndominium and modern farmhouse plans with a butler’s pantry drawn into the floor plan, ranging from 2,073 to 4,836 heated square feet and from $849.99 to $1,645.00 for the single-build PDF. Three of them — Megan, Sullivan and Maya — have a butler’s pantry and a separate walk-in pantry, which is the clearest way to see the difference between the two rooms.
Every plan below ships as a complete construction set. Each is available as a single-build PDF or as five printed sets shipped to you, and every one can be modified before you build.
Butler’s Pantry vs. Walk-In Pantry: What’s the Difference?
They get used interchangeably and they are not the same room. The short version: a walk-in pantry stores food, a butler’s pantry prepares and serves it.
A walk-in pantry is a closet you can stand inside. Shelving on two or three walls, floor to ceiling, no counter run and usually no plumbing. Its job is volume — bulk goods, small appliances, the things that would otherwise eat your kitchen cabinets.
A butler’s pantry is a working room. It has a counter, which is the defining feature, and it almost always has a door at each end so it functions as a passage between the kitchen and the dining room. Many have a bar sink, a dishwasher drawer, a beverage fridge, or glass-front upper cabinets for glassware and serving pieces. The original purpose was staging — the butler plated and poured here so the dining room never saw the work — and that is still exactly what it does at a modern dinner party.
| :: | Walk-in pantry | Butler’s pantry |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Storage | Prep and service |
| Counter | Rarely | Yes — the feature that defines the room |
| Plumbing | Almost never | Often a bar sink |
| Doors | One, off the kitchen | Usually two — a pass-through |
| Where it sits | Off the kitchen | Between kitchen and dining |
| Typical size | 5×5 to 8×10 ft | 4 to 8 ft wide, 6 to 12 ft long |
| What goes in it | Food, bulk goods, small appliances | Glassware, serving ware, bar, coffee station |
You do not have to pick one. Three of the plans below have both, and looking at those floor plans is the fastest way to understand why the two rooms do different jobs:
- HPZ-26015 Megan — the partner’s own spec sheet lists a “generous kitchen with butler’s and walk-in pantry.”
- HPZ-26016 Sullivan — butler’s and walk-in pantry, in 2,073 square feet.
- SV-5511 Maya — “a deep walk-in pantry right off the main floor alongside a secondary butler’s pantry tucked toward the rear entry.”
The HPZ-26015 Megan floor plan. Both rooms are drawn on it — the butler’s pantry with its counter run, and the walk-in pantry as a separate shelved space.
What is a butler’s pantry called now?
Depending on who is drawing the plan you will see the same room labelled a prep kitchen, a scullery, a back kitchen, or a butler’s kitchen. The names are not perfectly interchangeable — a scullery or prep kitchen is usually larger and more fully equipped, sometimes with a full range, and it is designed to take the whole cooking mess rather than just the serving. But they solve the same problem, and if you are searching plans it is worth searching all of those words.
How Big Is a Butler’s Pantry? Sizes and Dimensions
Most butler’s pantries land somewhere between 4 and 8 feet wide and 6 to 12 feet long — roughly 30 to 80 square feet. That is small on purpose. It is a room you work in standing up, and everything should be within a step.
Which end of that range you land on is decided by the walkway, and that is the number to design around. With counter on one side only, 36 inches of clear floor is workable and 42 is comfortable — so a single-wall butler’s pantry fits in about 5 to 5½ feet of width once you add a 24-inch counter. With counter on both sides, you want 42 to 48 inches between the counter faces, and two 24-inch counters put the room at 7½ to 8 feet wide. That gap is the single biggest driver of how much space the room costs you.
Three layouts you will see on floor plans
- Galley pass-through. Counter on both sides, a door at each end, kitchen to dining. The most storage and the most counter, and the most square footage. Plan for 7½ to 8 feet wide.
- Single-wall or L-shaped. One counter run, one entrance off the kitchen. Fits in about 5 feet of width and is the practical choice when the plan is tight.
- Butler’s pantry plus a separate walk-in. Two rooms doing two jobs — the butler’s pantry for counter and service, the walk-in for bulk storage. Megan, Sullivan and Maya are all drawn with both.
How to get the exact dimensions
The ranges above are what you will typically see drawn. They are not measurements of the plans on this page — you cannot scale a room reliably off a floor plan image, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Every plan sold here includes a dimensioned floor plan sheet in the construction set, with the pantry walls, door openings and counter runs called out to the inch. If the butler’s pantry is the reason you are buying the plan, that sheet is where you check it.
If a plan is close but the pantry is not quite right, all of these plans can be modified. A wall moved two feet is a routine modification request, and you get a price quote back within 72 hours.
Featured Barndo With Butler’s Pantry Floor Plans
HPZ-26015 Megan
3,215 heated sq ft · 5 bedrooms · 4.5 bathrooms · Single story
The butler’s pantry: Generous kitchen with butler’s and walk-in pantry.
Five bedrooms, two of them guest suites, all with walk-in closets. A separate office, a gameroom, a 894 sq ft garage and workshop, and an oversized rear porch built for entertaining — which is the whole reason the butler’s pantry is there.
$1,645.00 for the single-build PDF, or $1,895.00 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the HPZ-26015 Megan floor plan →
HPZ-26016 Sullivan
2,073 heated sq ft · 4 bedrooms · 3 bathrooms · 1.5 stories
The butler’s pantry: Butler’s and walk-in pantry, off a gourmet kitchen.
The smallest plan on this page, and it still fits both pantries. Contemporary craftsman detailing, exposed trusses and beams, a breakfast nook, and an optional patio with an outdoor kitchen. A 633 sq ft garage with an arbor.
$1,445.00 for the single-build PDF, or $1,695.00 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the HPZ-26016 Sullivan floor plan →
PL-71101-A Alejandra
3,729 heated sq ft · 3 bedrooms · 4.2 bathrooms · Single story + loft
The butler’s pantry: A large butler’s pantry with dual counters and extensive shelving.
Multi-generational, with two separate bedroom wings for privacy. The primary suite has its own sitting area and fireplace; both other bedrooms have private ensuites and walk-in closets. Two garage wings totalling 1,003 sq ft, a playroom, an outdoor kitchen and an outdoor fireplace on a rear porch built as a second living room.
$1,349.99 for the single-build PDF, or $1,599.99 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the PL-71101-A Alejandra floor plan →
BG-20112 Owen
4,836 Heated Sq Ft – 3 Bedrooms – 3.5 Bathrooms – 2 Stories – 7,523 SF Garage + Shop
The butler’s pantry: An expansive kitchen with large island and butler’s pantry.
The biggest plan here by a wide margin, and the only genuine two-story. Main-floor primary suite with a safe room; two bedrooms, a second laundry and a loft upstairs, plus an 818 sq ft unheated bonus room. The garage line is the headline: a 1,500 sq ft two-car garage plus a 6,000 sq ft attached shop.
$1,450.00 for the single-build PDF, or $1,800.00 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the BG-20112 Owen floor plan →
SV-5506 Aspen
3,680 Heated Sq Ft – 3 Bedrooms – 3 Bathrooms – 1 Story
The butler’s pantry: Functional prep room and butler’s pantry that keep the main kitchen organized and hosting effortless.
The only plan on this page whose spec sheet names both a prep room and a butler’s pantry. A breezeway, a rear porch with an outdoor kitchen, a flex room, and a game and recreation area. The bathrooms are thought through: a Jack & Jill layout plus a fully ADA-accessible bath.
$1,349.99 for the single-build PDF, or $1,599.99 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the SV-5506 Aspen floor plan →
BP-2001-R Robert
3,194 Heated Sq Ft – 4 Bedrooms – 3 Full + Powder – 1 Story – 1,852 SF Detached
The butler’s pantry: Discreet and functional, the butler’s pantry enhances culinary flow with additional prep space, storage, and service access.
Four bedrooms on a single floor, including a private guest suite with its own bath. A combined mudroom and laundry, a 1,852 sq ft detached garage joined to the house by a covered breezeway, front and rear porches, and a patio with a built-in outdoor kitchen. Overall footprint 129′ × 85′.
$849.99 for the single-build PDF, or $1,099.99 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the BP-2001-R Robert floor plan →
SV-5511 Maya
2,132 Heated Sq Ft – 3 Bedrooms – 2.5 Bathrooms – 1Story + Loft
The butler’s pantry: Storage is premium, anchored by a deep walk-in pantry right off the main floor alongside a secondary butler’s pantry tucked toward the rear entry.
The lowest entry price on this page and it still has both pantries. The kitchen has a large prep island seating four with L-shaped counters; the living room takes a propane fireplace and opens to a loft above via a straight-run stair. Primary suite with a built-in desk and walk-in wardrobe; rear utility room with a freezer alcove and a mudroom bench.
$849.99 for the single-build PDF, or $1,099.99 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the SV-5511 Maya floor plan →
Single-Story Barndominium Plans With a Butler’s Pantry
SV-5506 Aspen — 3,680 square feet on one floor, 130′ wide by 55′ deep.
Most people looking at barndominiums want everything on one floor, and a butler’s pantry is easier to place when it is not competing with a stair. Six of the seven plans above are single-level or effectively so — only Owen is a true two-story:
- SV-5506 Aspen — 3,680 sq ft, all on one floor, with both a prep room and a butler’s pantry.
- PL-71101-A Alejandra — single story with a loft, two bedroom wings, butler’s pantry with dual counters.
- HPZ-26015 Megan — 3,215 sq ft single story, five bedrooms, butler’s and walk-in pantry.
- BP-2001-R Robert — 3,194 sq ft, four bedrooms on one floor, detached garage on a breezeway.
- HPZ-26016 Sullivan — 2,073 sq ft over one and a half stories, with the bonus space upstairs and everything you use daily below.
- SV-5511 Maya — 2,132 sq ft on one floor with an open loft above the living room.
Small Barndominium Plans With a Butler’s Pantry
A butler’s pantry is usually treated as a luxury that only turns up on plans over 3,000 square feet. It does not have to be. Two plans here come in at just over 2,000:
- HPZ-26016 Sullivan — 2,073 heated sq ft. Four bedrooms, three baths, and both a butler’s pantry and a walk-in pantry. The smallest plan on this page and arguably the most efficient use of a service room anywhere in the catalog.
- SV-5511 Maya — 2,132 heated sq ft. Three bedrooms, a loft over the living room, a deep walk-in pantry and a butler’s pantry, at $849.99 for the PDF.
The trick at this size is the single-wall layout — one counter run, one entrance, roughly five feet of width. You give up the pass-through, but you keep the counter, and the counter is the part that actually does the work.
Prep Kitchens, Sculleries and Butler’s Kitchens
If a butler’s pantry is where you serve, a scullery is where you work. The term is old — it is the room where the washing-up happened — and it has come back into use on modern plans to describe a second kitchen behind the show kitchen: a full sink, often a second range or a dishwasher, counter space to leave a mess on, and a door you can close before guests arrive.
You will see it labelled several ways on floor plans:
- Scullery — the traditional term, back in fashion
- Prep kitchen — the same room, described by what it does
- Back kitchen or dirty kitchen — common in multi-generational and large-family plans
- Butler’s kitchen — usually means a butler’s pantry that has grown a range
SV-5506 Aspen is the plan on this page that names both. Its spec sheet lists a “prep room & butler’s pantry” among the features — the only plan in this group that calls out a prep space as well as a butler’s pantry. At 3,680 square feet on a single floor, with a game and recreation area and a rear porch with an outdoor kitchen, it is a plan built around having people over. Check the floor plan sheet to see exactly how the two spaces are arranged.
View the SV-5506 Aspen floor plan →
Plans With Both a Butler’s Pantry and a Walk-In Pantry
If you cook in volume, or you buy in bulk, or you simply do not want the coffee station living on your island, the pair is worth the square footage. Three plans here are drawn with both rooms:
HPZ-26015 Megan — 3,215 sq ft, 5 bed, 4.5 bath
The spec sheet reads “generous kitchen with butler’s and walk-in pantry.” Five bedrooms, two of them guest suites, all with walk-in closets, and an oversized rear porch. $1,645.00 for the single-build PDF, or $1,895.00 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the HPZ-26015 Megan floor plan →
HPZ-26016 Sullivan — 2,073 sq ft, 4 bed, 3 bath
Both pantries in the smallest footprint on this page, off a gourmet kitchen, with exposed trusses and beams through the main living areas. $1,445.00 for the single-build PDF, or $1,695.00 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the HPZ-26016 Sullivan floor plan →
SV-5511 Maya — 2,132 sq ft, 3 bed, 2.1 bath
“A deep walk-in pantry right off the main floor alongside a secondary butler’s pantry tucked toward the rear entry” — off a kitchen with a large prep island seating four. The lowest-priced plan on this page. $849.99 for the single-build PDF, or $1,099.99 for five printed sets shipped to you.
View the SV-5511 Maya floor plan →
FAQ
What is the difference between a pantry and a butler’s pantry?
A walk-in pantry stores food; a butler’s pantry prepares and serves it. The walk-in is a closet with shelving on two or three walls and no counter. A butler’s pantry has a counter run, often a bar sink and a beverage fridge, and usually a door at each end so it works as a passage between the kitchen and the dining room. Plenty of larger floor plans include both, including the Megan, Sullivan and Maya plans on this page.
What is the ideal size for a butler pantry?
Between 4 and 7 feet wide and 8 to 12 feet long covers most of them, or roughly 35 to 80 square feet. The dimension that matters most is the walkway: allow at least 36 inches of clear floor with counter on one side, and 42 to 48 inches with counter on both sides, which puts a galley-style butler’s pantry at about 7 to 8 feet wide overall.
What is a butler’s pantry called now?
The same room turns up on floor plans labelled a prep kitchen, a scullery, a back kitchen or a butler’s kitchen. They are not perfectly interchangeable – a scullery or prep kitchen is usually larger and may have its own range, designed to take the whole cooking mess rather than just the serving – but they solve the same problem, and it is worth searching all of those terms when you are looking at plans.
Are butler’s pantries outdated?
The name is old; the room is not. Demand has gone up rather than down, because open-concept floor plans created the problem a butler’s pantry solves – when the kitchen is visible from the great room, there is nowhere to put the mess. That is why the room keeps appearing on new plans under newer names like prep kitchen and scullery.
How much does it cost to build a butlers pantry?
As part of a new build the room itself is mostly cabinetry, counter and finishes over a footprint you were already framing, so the added cost is driven by what you put in it – a bar sink and its plumbing, a beverage fridge, a second dishwasher, and how far the cabinetry runs. Adding one to a finished house is a different proposition, because it usually means taking down a wall. Building it into the plan from the start is substantially cheaper than retrofitting, which is the main argument for choosing a floor plan that already has one.
Do these barndominium plans show the butler’s pantry dimensions?
Yes. Every plan on this page ships as a complete construction set that includes a dimensioned floor plan sheet, with wall lengths, door openings and counter runs called out. The images on this page are for comparison and are not to scale – if the pantry dimensions are the reason you are buying, check the floor plan sheet. All of these plans can also be modified, with a price quote returned within 72 hours.
Keep Looking
A butler’s pantry is one feature among several worth filtering for. If you are still narrowing down:
- 3-bedroom barndominium floor plans
- 4-bedroom barndominium floor plans
- 2-story barndominium house plans
- Single-story barndominium floor plans
Every plan here is available as a single-build PDF or as five printed sets, and every one can be modified before you build — move a wall, widen the pantry, add a sink. Modification quotes come back within 72 hours.