Scott loves to tells people that my "demand" for a walk-in pantry drove the entire design of the new addition. I think this is an exaggeration but I may have insisted on "just this one thing." I really wanted a central location for baking and serving items that, at our previous home, had been inconveniently stored in the basement and attic. It didn't seem like that big of a deal to me (but I wasn't the one doing the drawing.) Lucky for me, he acquiesced, and we now have a handy pantry adjacent to the kitchen.
The pantry is actually in the 1920 portion of the house in space formerly occupied by the dinette/breakfast nook.
January 8, 2011 ~ Deconstructed Breakfast Nook
By late Fall, 2012, the breakfast nook had been bumped out a smidgen to the north where it abuts the Connector.
Since Spring, the pantry has housed a collection of clutter - not the organized paradise I envisioned!
Finally, with the big construction push over, we turned our attention to the configuration of the pantry. After a lot of deliberation, we chose free-standing shelves that we found at Lowe's.
We were able to fit three 72"-tall units in the room: one is 48 inches wide x 24 inches deep; the other two are 36 inches wide x 18 inches deep. Scott likes them because the steel construction echoes the steel he used in the stair railings.
I found it impossible to take a photo that shows all of the shelving!
The shelves are particle board with a gray spray-on laminate. Not very fun . . . so what better way to spiff them up than by covering with brightly-colored oil cloth which could handle items being shoved back-and-forth plus add vintage charm! I found a great online resource: Oil Cloth By The Yard. The worst part was choosing a favorite pattern among all of their wonderful prints! I finally settled on a pattern named, "Fruit Cart Orange." The order arrived Monday (July 15) so I spent the bulk of the evening working on my little project.
I rolled the oil cloth out on the kitchen peninsula and wrapped about an inch of cloth on each side of each shelf, securing with Scott's new staple gun. (He bought it in a fit of panic the last week before the appraisal. What on earth was he going to build with a staple gun?)
Ta Da!
Isn't it fun?
After a few hours of stapling, all but two shelves were covered. I had to order two more yards of fabric to finish the job (and probably should brush up on my math skills in the meantime.) I plan on organizing my china, crystal, and serving pieces on the north shelf. The center shelf will house baking things, and the shelf on the south wall will be for party ware and extra appliances. It's going to be great! I will take more photos as the project progresses.
The space on the south wall nearest the door was perfect for a 24"-wide bookshelf! Menard's had this one for only $27. It's now the perfect spot for my cookbook collection.
Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment