The Pantry: Final Thoughts & Favorite ORC Projects

Around here, we are still all smiles about the finished pantry and the wonderful positive response that we received via comments here on the blog and social media. The big pantry reveal post is officially our most popular post here on the blog. Pop open some champagne! We are nearing our two year anniversary here at BHH, and your comments and encouragement are icing on the cake. (Note to self: We should definitely have celebratory cake.)

On Facebook, a fellow old home renovator and enthusiast asked the question that we are always asking ourselves:

Is the pantry done done or just done?

We admit to glossing over some of the details in last week’s post because yeah, it is not quite done done. Here’s the scoop:

On Monday of reveal week, I cut my losses on finishing the interior door jamb. In this photo, you can see that the green Frog Tape is still in place. We use an oil-based primer on all of our window and door jambs. We believe it offers superior coverage and durability over water-based primer, but it has its challenges. Oil-based primer takes longer to dry, and the surface requires sanding between coats. Since the woodwork throughout the house is such a beautiful feature, I opted to not rush through the prep phase and risk a poor outcome.

This corner is where I removed the diagonal shelving. It is currently bare, but under the light, I would like to hang a hook for an apron. Another possibility is a pegboard on the right side wall. I am waiting to see what kind of storage we need after the kitchen remodel is complete, and everything is put away in its new place.

The final project will be to get rid of the vinyl flooring that always looks dirty. The vinyl will be removed and the floor will be refinished or replaced, depending on what we find under this mess. That will all happen during the kitchen remodel. At that time, I will also paint the toe kick, and we will get new shoe base. I cannot wait to see this vinyl flooring replaced, but it sure was nice to work on the pantry without feeling the need to protect the floor.

At this point, the pantry is absolutely done enough, and so far, it is staying neat and tidy. The kids are doing an excellent job of following the new system of organization.

I mentioned in a previous post that I planned to share my favorite One Room Challenge™ guest participant rooms. I finally took a peek at every single one. (227 rooms!) Not surprisingly, I was the most drawn to rooms from old houses. I can appreciate the challenges that old homes present. It is always a decision of what to keep, what to update and is there even a budget for any of that anyway? In no particular order, here are my favorites:

(Photos posted with permission. Please click on the links to see the full room reveals.)

1. Kid’s Bedroom – From Jen at Fresh Crush

I love her mix of prints. I am such a complete decorating scaredy-cat. Jen clearly just goes for it, and the result is amazing. I would not mind this as my grown-up room at all.

2. Sunporch – From Tiffany at Worthwhile Domicile

Tiffany and her family live in an 1893 Dutch Colonial. Just look at the details in that room. Yes, that really is a library ladder you see on the left side of the picture. I would like to sit in this room and read until my eyes cross or someone needs to be fed again (So about 20 minutes).

3. Cottage Bathroom – From Kari at Prairie Girl Home

Sometimes life deals you a pink bathroom. I get it. BHH has a pink bathroom “problem” too. Someday, I will get around to telling you all about it. Kari took that Peptol Bismol hand and played it all the way through to a straight flush. I just realized that the metaphor I was going for created an inadvertent bathroom pun. Normally, I delete all my stupid metaphors during editing. I think I will leave this one today. The point is that this bathroom is gorgeous. I love everything about it. In fact, I am so impressed that I feel certain we will keep a few pink features in our own bathroom. Previously, I was ready to demo it all.

4. Farmhouse Kitchen – From Deb at Seeking Lavender Lane

Truly, this is nearly everything that I want from our kitchen remodel. I just cannot stop looking at all of the beautiful photos from her room reveal. It looks like the perfect mix of form and function. I love the black wall with the white plates. Quite frankly, this entire room was a home run for me. If someone wanted to put that kitchen into BHH, I would be thrilled.

Thank you to Jen, Tiffany, Kari and Deb for allowing me to post these pictures.

There were plenty of rooms that caught my eye. I feel like I learned so much from looking at everyone’s projects. The next One Room Challenge™ starts in October. As long as our schedule permits, we will participate again. It was a great way to keep a project flowing and cross another room off of our to-do list.

Next week, I will start talking about the kitchen project again. Finally! I left everyone hanging with my last kitchen post. Demo starts the first week in June, so there is some catching up to do. It is our most extensive and expensive project to date. It is exciting and scary in equal parts. I hope you will come back and read all it, and watch the project unfold.