Pantry Restoration & Renovation – ORC Week 6

Today is the day. The big reveal!

I feel like I have just been on a harrowing six-week journey assuming such a journey involved wielding a paintbrush for days on end, polishing a watermelon for staging purposes, (Yeah, I own that.) and labeling all.the.things. I cannot thank Linda from Calling it Home enough. She peeked at Instagram pictures, offered comments, and whether or not she read updates here on a regular basis, I felt her quiet and supportive cheerleading as I plowed through the ups and downs of this project.

Let us take a moment to remember what the pantry looked like six weeks ago:

No doubt about it, the existing pantry was already a beautiful space, but it was unkempt and completely disorganized. Are you ready?

This is what it looks like today:

I can hardly believe it. In the midst of all the work, it is difficult to really take a step back and see the progress. For weeks, everything just felt like a hot mess, but after seeing these photos, it is all sinking in. We did it. Not only is the pantry clean and painted, but it is organized for ease of use and maximum efficiency.

Project recap: First, the pantry was scrubbed from top to bottom, and I removed the diagonal shelves on the left side because they were unnecessary, and they blocked the light from reaching into the cabinets. The walls were repaired and patched as needed.

Next, I restored the vintage Eastlake Hardware.

The original project plan included salvaging the shelves. However, due to their condition, I opted to purchase new boards which I stained to match the beautiful existing cabinets. After some trial and error on scrap wood, mixing the colors Honey and Gunstock (50/50) by Minwax created almost an exact match.

After completing the demo and creating new shelving, the rest of the project was all about organization.

I lined the bottom shelves with some leftover wallpaper from our foyer. Last summer, I found a bunch of wallpaper leftovers in the attic. Score! I had planned to line all the shelves with wallpaper, but Andy was not fond of that design choice and the fact that the toile pattern laid sideways on the shelving. He thought the shelves looked better natural. I felt they should definitely be lined to keep them more sanitary and protect the wood. So, I pulled out my super cheap second choice: paper towels. Paper towels make excellent drawer liner and shelf paper. We use cloth towels for daily household clean-up so I do not mind purchasing and using paper for this purpose. If the paper towels need to be replaced, I salvage what I can to re-use for really disgusting messes (I’m looking at you, Millie.) which are rare.

The window in this room was stuck closed. One of my high priority projects was to get it working again in order to use the pass-through to the summer sun porch. It turned out to be a very straightforward project, and now I can pass snacks and drinks to my family and friends just like a paid domestic helper. Wait…paid?

Let’s take a closer look at the details:

The right side of the pantry will see most of the action. On the lower two shelves, I placed all of the foods that the kids typically reach for during the course of a day. I kept it really simple with everything easy to see. I grouped all the breakfast items together. I eat oatmeal pretty much every morning, so I put all the mix-ins in one location. In addition, we all use a variety of nut butter. Placing the jars on a lazy susan makes it easier for everyone to see which one they prefer and replace it when they are done.

On the left side, I placed mostly staples. The first shelf is all baking supplies. Underneath, we have more bread. This is either extra loaves or rolls and buns that are earmarked for a recipe or upcoming meal. Keeping the extra bread here prevents it from getting gobbled up as a snack. Cue Oprah: I love bread. Actually, we all do, and I wish you were here to hear M. recite that entire Weight Watcher’s commercial. She cracks me up every time.

The shelves get most of the ooohs and ahhhs, but the cabinets below got an organizational makeover too. I used dollar store dish tubs to corral everything. I am a huge fan of using dish tubs. My friend, Julie, who is a professional organizer and realtor in Georgia, passed this idea on several years ago. I use dish tubs all over the house thanks to her excellent suggestion.

I stored the boxed foods and odds and ends that did not fit any other category together. Apparently, I have a fear of running out of Cheerios and taco shells. If you run short at your house, feel free to knock on my door and ask for some. I will be able to help you out of that jam.

I placed Millie’s dog food and medicine in the single cabinet. I should have done this ages ago. We had it in the butler’s pantry, and it was often in the way.

In the last double cabinet, I put all of the lunchboxes, lunchbox inserts and water bottles. On the bottom shelf, I placed items that we use very infrequently, mostly for parties.


I have not put anything back in the drawers yet. I am waiting to see what should go there once the kitchen remodel is complete.

You may have noticed that e v e r y t h i n g is labled. M. found out about this organization project, and she was all over the label maker. She would have labeled individual pieces of fruit if I had agreed to that idea.

Ok, just a few more photos because I cannot help myself. At the end of this post, I also added two Pinterest images if you would like to share the pantry love. Of course, you are welcome to pin any image that you prefer. This project is a wrap, and if you need me, I will be hiding away in the pantry drinking lemonade and eating brownies. If you have comments or questions, please feel free to leave them. I love hearing from you.

Catch up on the previous weeks :: Week 1 :: Week 2 :: Week 3 :: Week 4 :: Week 5

Please be sure to visit Calling It Home to see all of the room reveals from the One Room Challenge™ Featured Designers. They were posted yesterday, and they are quite fancy and wonderful. Today, don’t miss the One Room Challenge™ Guest Participant room reveals. I am so excited to find out how everyone fared over the past six weeks. I have some favorite projects that I cannot wait to see.

As always, thank you for your readership and support.

This post is also linked at Thoughts of Home on Thursday.

Feeling Pinteresty? Here are a couple of images you might enjoy using.

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