Pantry Makeover

I have been wanting to makeover our pantry for a while now, but it kept getting pushed to the bottom of our forever expanding to do list. Until now! Our pantry is small and there isn’t a lot to work with, so I had to get creative. The first thing I did was clear off the shelves.

Here is a before picture. Messy right? You can’t see it, but the bottom shelf was collapsing.

I would love to know what the person who thought wire shelves was a good idea was thinking! I mean, maybe they work for some, but for us, no!

As you can see, removing the wire shelves left a ton of holes in the walls, so after wiping the walls with soap and water I used spackling paste to patch the holes.

Once the spackling paste was dry, I used 120 grit sand paper to smooth the patches, cleaned the walls again, then painted. I used SW Snowbound. It is my go-to white. Every wall that is painted white in our house is Snowbound.

I allowed the paint to dry overnight and started on the shelves. My husband went to Lowe’s for me, and even though I told him exactly where the wood I needed was, he brought home the more expensive wood. 😂 Not even mad.

Originally we had 5 shelves in our pantry, but since I decided to get creative to maximize space, we were able to add two additional shelves. Small victories! From ceiling to floor, our pantry is 84 1/2″. Starting from the ceiling working down I provided the height for each shelf, in order, below. Note, the height is from the bottom of the wood bracket (on the side walls) to the top of the next shelf. For reference, the wood thickness is 1″ and 12″ deep.

Shelf Heights
15 1/2″
6″
10″
10 1/2″
13″
13″
12″

I made the 6″ shelf specifically for canned goods. Now I don’t have to sift through all the cans to find something.

But my favorite thing of all are the labels. For details on the spice labels CLICK HERE. For details on the pantry labels CLICK HERE. I had the pantry labels custom made and I am in love!

For details on the pantry jars CLICK HERE. They are solid, but do not come with the wooden lids. 🙁 I had to buy them separately HERE. I will say, if you plan to buy the jars, buy the lids! Otherwise, they really aren’t functional. The original lids have clamps, which is good for canning, but not for everyday use. Or atleast in my opinion they aren’t.

Now let’s talk about these spice jars. Seriously they are amazing, but I think the labels make them. I bought the jars HERE. Aren’t they the cutest! Bonus, you can get them custom made.

I especially love them propped up on this quick and easy DIY spice rack. When I say quick and easy, I mean CRAZY EASY! You only need 4 – 16″ 2×4’s and strong wood glue. See below for step-by-step in picture form.

Add glue to one of the sides of one 16″ 2×4’s. See above. Then press it up against a second 16″ 2×4. See below.

Add glue to one of the sides of the third 2×4 and align it with the edge of the other two 2×4’s that you originally glued. If that doesn’t make sense, look at the picture above.

Smear glue all over the bottom side of the last 2×4 (above photo) then press it up against the back 2×4 (below photo).

Allow the glue to dry (about an hour) then style away.

So much better right? This is definitely a weekend project that is budget friendly. The different it has made was worth every penny plus some!

And that’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed my post and find it inspiring and helpful.

Until next time friends. Xo