Ranches built in 1952 don’t usually have a gigantic pantry, but my otherwise small kitchen boasts a walk in pantry. It wasn’t always this way. When we moved in it was an actual black hole and before that we have reason to believe it was used as a bedroom. Our circuit breaker for the pantry is labeled “middle bedroom”, but our neighbors have reported though that in the last 35 years they have only known it to be been used as a black hole.
Having a black hole in the middle of our house felt like a wasted opportunity so we quickly got to work by adding IKEA Billy Bookcases. They aren’t built in, and after over 2 years I am happy to report that we love them for our pantry. We had wood floors installed on top of the concrete while our kitchen was redone. Lastly, we painted it white. I don’t want to downplay the effort involved there… it was the least enjoyable painting job of all time because of the deep grooves between the crude paneling.
We had a fun opportunity to reuse 2 of our base cabinets from our kitchen before we redid the rest of it. We (our contractor) added a butcher block counter and immediately scored some major function points. We installed a shelf from IKEA and hung some wire holders for glassware as well. Function and form are happily married here. Zoom in and admire the glasses all in their places. It *sparks joy* for sure.
Now for the fun part… organizing and decorating! Who decorates a pantry? Me, I guess. Food packaging inevitably comes in reds, yellows and other bold colors so instead of fighting that, I am fully embracing it in the pantry. Pops of red are the best. Everything in here is about function except the fruity artwork made by Whitney Nettles who happens to live in the same little suburb as me. That is all about having fun. Who knew a pantry could be so fun? I’m afraid that I have experienced the luxury of a large pantry too early in my life and I am now unable to live without a pantry of this size.
As far as organization products go, I used:
a variety of sizes of bins from Target, before their Bright Room brand launched.
A variety of sizes of Oxo Pop containers. If I were to do this over again I would probably be looking for something cheaper. I need to purchase a few more and they are not my favorite item to purchase.
Woven Baskets from Target
Some Pillow Fort Bins from Target
The pantry is way easier on the eyes now, but it is also way easier in a functional sense. Not to brag, but I have a special cabinet just for entertaining where I keep all kinds of party supplies, surplus silverware and specialty serve ware. We now have a drawer just for our ziploc bags and a special drawer for spices. I even was able to carve out a generous amount of space for Zach to access all of his athletic nutrition stuff in a super fast and efficient way. I have a dedicated zone for cans, baking things, condiments, and grab and go snacks. Everything in our pantry has a spot. My new favorite chore is unloading groceries after a big shop. A beautiful and organized pantry has me a bit more excited about cooking and maybe even a little excited about eating healthier foods!
The pantry has transformed from a black hole to my favorite room in the house. I have a canister labeling project on my horizon and sometimes I just like to stand around and admire how far we have come. I’m proud of this one.
Love you,
Elaina
Your pantry is wonderful! I forgot how bad it was when you started. You've done a great job in here!