The Pantry

When I moved into this house I took honest inventory of the space.. I looked at all the light fixtures, switches, and outlets. I checked the rooms and noted what I liked and didn’t. And from the moment I stepped foot in the house I hated the kitchen.. Its an odd size.. not small but not large.. The cabinets from the 70’s and they ‘re not really very practical. None of the countertops match and there aren’t enough of them. The space for the fridge is behind the back door which isn’t convenient when someone is in the fridge and someone else needs to come in or out. There is a long wall that is the wet wall.. It has electrical and pipes running though it and covered duct so no drilling. There is a big window with a radiator right under it. Its just such an awkward and ugly set up.

When I set about decorating the house I put very little effort into the kitchen. I painted the walls white and moved in a island cart for additional storage and countertop space. I’ve decided its finally time to tackle making the kitchen better.. Somethings I can’t change.. The layout is kind of what i’m stuck with but I can make it more functional..

To start there isn’t alot of functional storage. The corner cabinet is a horrible hole where things go to be forgotten about. The lower corner is almost completely useless. It’s too long so again things get lost and it’s so low that it’s hard to see what’s in there. I have 4 phases to complete in the kitchen- A pantry shelving system, remodeling and painting the cabinets, new countertops and replacing the fridge.

I got a new fridge a few weeks ago and now i’m working toward phase two.. The Pantry.

I’m creating a unit from smaller shelves which I bought on Amazon. 2 shorter shelves and 2 tall shelves which I will stack and connect to make a tall standing shelf with plenty of storage for everything.So far I’ve assembled the top shelf which is one of the shorter shelves.. Very straight forward. The bottom shelf is the most problematic because all the pieces had to be cut down so the overall height would fit the height of the kitchen wall. The center tall shelves just need to be assembled and connected together with a longer and wider shelf to act as a countertop..

I’m nearly finished.. I just need to transfer to holes to the new shorter boards and then assemble as normal.

I looked on Amazon already for bins and baskets and jars to organize in.. This will be something I do over time.. Getting the items just right.

I love doing these projects myself. I like the creativity, the problem-solving, and the control. I can’t wait to see how this one turns out.