No more wire shelves!! (A pantry redo)

So here we go – my little pantry redo! It’s nothing super fantastic, but I just love how it turned out, for more reasons than one!

Let’s start with the before, and then I’ll go through my thought process and the actual process. Umkay?

Here’s the pit of despair:

(Excuse the awful cell phone pics!)

I’ve blogged about cleaning out the pantry quite a few times and it ALWAYS ends up back like this.

It was time for a change. It was getting on my nerves that I could not keep this spot organized. And over Christmas break and the weeks after I had a bit of an epiphany.

It started when I went to get a can of soup over the holidays and pulled one out, checked the date…expired. Pulled out another, checked…expired. Another. Expired.

It was RIDICULOUS.

And then, a couple weeks later I read Courtney’s post about her pantry:

And I was struck by something – I couldn’t believe how small it was and how little food was in it. I actually said out loud to myself -- “There is NO way that holds all of the food!”

I was even a little…annoyed? Goofy, I know…but I was all, how the heck is that enough?

And then I read on about how she plans her meals and only buys what they need when they need it.

And then it clicked.

I realized something about myself –- I’m a food hoarder. I don’t say that lightly – I really think I am. I’ve always had this weird thing about having tons of food in our pantry.

I really think it stems from stuff I went through growing up. It’s a long story, but there’s something about having the ability to buy enough food for my family – and yet I never felt like it was enough. I always had to have extra…just in case. Even though just in case never came.

Sorry to get all philosophical on you about a stinkin’ pantry, but there. you. go. :) It really struck me and made me realize something BIG about myself.

Not only that, but I was just disgusted that we were wasting so much food. I knew I wanted to make a change. I’ve been wanting to redo the pantry for awhile now, so this project came at the perfect time!

I started by cleaning it out again…

Ahhh…so much better already!

And then my very, very favorite part – the removal of the wire shelves!!:

I showed you a while back how I laid plywood on top of the wire shelves, and that’s served me well. But I wanted to take better advantage of the space in here, so they had to go.

So sad. ;)

I filled all the honkin’ holes using this method:

And then got to painting. I used a sample quart of a blue/grey color I’ve had forever and only painted the back and sides of the pantry. I had just enough paint!

And then, because I have no life I wanted to jump on the stencil-the-pantry bandwagon, I used another color sample (this time in a greenish blue color) to add a pretty stencil to the back wall.

I took no pictures of this process. Probably cause I was too busy cursing. ;)

No really, it wasn’t that bad. At times I had trouble lining up the stencil, but overall it really didn’t take that long. (It helps I only did the back wall!) Total time actually stenciling was about an hour, but with drying time it was a few.

That was OK though because it was a nice, mindless project to do while I caught up on episodes of The Lying Game. (Yes, I am 15 years old.)

Then it was onto the shelves! I picked up a large sheet of melamine from Lowe’s in white:

I was going to use wood, but then I thought about all the priming…and painting. And painting. And drying time. And then a light shined down on this stuff, so this stuff it was.

So I paid a little more and got the sheet of melamine (in bright shiny white!) for $32 and had them cut it down into five pieces. I LOVE it!

Next, I installed supports by drilling wood into the studs in the closet:

The container of goldfish crackers was sustenance.

Nah…it was just to see how tall I wanted that first shelf to be. ;)

Then for added support, I used Liquid Nails along the top, then nailed the shelves down into the supports as well:

     

The side of the melamine were rough along the front, so I covered them with strips of lattice wood and then painted them white:

I used this same stuff as the “board and batten” in the Bub’s room!

Our old wire shelves were about 16 inches deep, but I had these cut at 19 inches, so that adds up to a LOT more space overall.

So much space, that with my newfound plan to schedule out our meals and shop accordingly, I have a TON more room in here now!:

I had most of the organizational stuff already – the baskets are from Meijer and I bought them months ago for another spot. I like them better here. :)

That one holds dinner and lunch-type stuff – mac and cheese, etc. Another holds snacky stuff. They’re easy to just pull it in and out to get to the food, and I can still see what’s inside.

Most of the containers are from WalMart – I had most, but I got the tall ones for cereal today:

I love having dry food in containers – if I can see through them! I used to use a bunch of tall containers for snacks, but they weren’t clear, so I never remembered what the heck was in them.

Out of sight of of mind!

These though, are awesome because I can tell exactly what we need when we need it. (I use my label maker to add the expiration date to the bottom of each container.)

I had so much extra space, I had room to add a few of of the serving dishes/mixing bowls I use most often:

I LOVE having them so easily accessible! I especially love the mixing bowls in there – I can grab them while I’m pulling ingredients to make something.

The flour, powdered sugar and brown sugar are now in these $3 containers from WalMart:

I used to have them all in glass containers, but dang, they were SO heavy. And bulky – I was always afraid I was going to drop one when I got it out. It’s one of those things I learned as I used them…and I like these plastic jobbies MUCH better.

I reused the tiered shelves from Target for canned goods on the sides:

And these little shelves from the Container Store work great to go vertical with items:

I also have a few IKEA containers in there as well, and I love those as well! They have a tab at the top so you can pour out of them if needed.

You’ll notice the pantry glows – last year my Dad and I hooked up the rope lighting to a switch:

And it’s the perfect light in here – it illuminates the whole pantry instead of just at the top. :)

I could not be more thrilled with how it all came together!!:

I keep the door open all the time. I’m not kidding! I just love looking at it.

You observant folks will notice I didn’t paint all of the supports on the lower shelves – I thought no one would ever see them. Other than a few thousand of you. Oops!

Sure, the paint and stencil took some extra time, but goodness, if there’s a space we look at numerous times a day…this is IT. Pantries deserve to be pretty too. ;)

I ended up staggering the shelves a bit – a couple are about 13 inches tall, the rest are 14 inches tall. Not sure why…it just sounded like a good idea. :)

You can see in the after that the shelves go up higher in the pantry, using up more of the vertical space inside – here’s the before:

 

And now:

Have you ever looked up inside your closets? SO much wasted space!

Getting rid of those wire shelves made all the difference in the world – the white melamine is so much simpler. And prettier!:

It even looks better with the door shut! I couldn’t believe the difference:

Now you notice the white shelves through the glass, not the food crammed inside. :)

Overall the whole project was less than $100 – for the shelves, supports, trim and a few more containers.

This wasn’t a quick project – it took over a week total. Partly because I came down with a nasty cold half way through, partly because it just involved quite a few steps. The food was piled all over the kitchen that whole time and we ate at the family room coffee table for our meals. When we ate at home that is…we may have used it as an excuse to go out a few times. ;)

I hope I covered everything! Let me know if I didn’t in the comments! Here’s a few more details: 

Blue/grey color: True Value paint, Overcast Sky
Green/blue stencil color: True Value paint, Ticker Tape
Containers: WalMart and IKEA
Stencil: Hobby Lobby (couple years ago)
Big honkin’ silverware above door
Black pantry door: Go here for the installation and here for more on the privacy film.

I plan to do another post soon about the meal planning and how it’s working for us. Maybe in a couple weeks?

I hope you are inspired by this little redo! You too can say see ya, wouldn't want to be ya to the wire shelves in your pantry! Do you hate them as much as I do? I’m down to two more closets…

One, two, three art caddy

Well HELLO! Hope you had a fantastic weekend! We finished up marching band season (for the most part – more on that soon!) and I am SO PROUD of my hubby, the staff and those kids. They are so crazy talented and they work their tails off all summer and fall.

But I am glad to have my hubby back – for a few weeks anyway. ;)

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working like a mad woman trying to get the office redo completed.

YEAH. That one. The one I started (early) last year. I’m so incredibly efficient, it’s just shocking. :)

My to-do list is dwindling though, and this project was so easy and fast! I just love how it turned out – couldn’t wait to show you!

It all started with my sister, and the Pottery Barn gift card she gave me for my birthday. She knows just what I love! (OK, she asked where I wanted a gift card and I told her Pottery Barn, but still. She’s awesome.)

I went to spend my free moolah (the best kind!) and of course…couldn’t find a THING. Gah – that is so frustrating! You walk in with a gift card and find nothing, and the next time you have two cents to your name and find EVERYTHING.

Can I get an AMEN?

:)

I went to another store at the fancy mall, then went back to PB – I was determined. I walked around so long the staff was giving me the stink eye.

Finally I found something I thought I could use:

It was filled with towels and I loved that, but we don’t have a great spot for it in our bathroom and besides that, I wanted to have it out where it would be seen.

The nice little surprise was that it ran up on major sale – I think I paid $30-something for it? Rock. on.

Anyhoo, I came up with a great use for it in the office! But the wood tone, although lovely, wasn’t doing much for it.

So I painted it. :) Oh yes. I did.

I started by spray priming it in my workshop spray paint station on a sheet on the floor in the garage:

At least I covered the snow blower. ;)

Then I finished it up with a coat of Rustoleum flat white:

 

Remember when spray painting:  shake the can really well before and during, use a mask or spray outside (or both!), and use small, short bursts – not big long ones. (DRIPS!) Oh, and numerous light coats are better than fewer thick coats!

I didn’t even sand it down, because the outside of it really won’t get much wear and tear. I did, however, use my sanding block to distress the edges up a bit:

I just sanded down parts that would show wear…if there was going to be wear. Which there won’t. But whatever:

I planned to use the caddy for the Bub’s markers and crayons and stuff, so I wanted to dress up the front with something kinda cute and fun.

I got the Silhouette machine out and cut number stencils out of vinyl and put them on the front of each shelf:

If you’re real good you’ll measure them out and place them just right. I just eyeballed it and was real lucky they weren’t wonky. :)

I used the extra blue green color I had leftover from the book nook to paint in the letters, (I believe it’s called Lake from Valspar?) then took off the vinyl.

I LOVE how it turned out!:

I loved the wood, but the white pops against the floors and the black dresser!:

    

And dang…it’s CUTE!!

The top shelf holds crayons, the middle is markers and the bottom is filled with paints:

It’s super easy for the Bub to get to everything and super easy for him to put everything away. (Ding! Ding! Ding!)

I love that blue color – it’s a perfect match to the Target lamps on the Craigslist dresser:

And the whole thing was free (for me) – I used paint and spray paint I already had. Love when that happens!

One more project down – WHOOHOO!

The next time you see this room, it will be D.O.N.E. Geez Louise, that took forever. Anyone else taken 18 months do redo a space? No? Just me? :)

Above the cabinets

Hello all! How was your Easter weekend? I hope it was wonderful. :)

We had a great one – as you can tell by the tuckered out Bub and dog:

:) Adorable.

I get asked a lot how to decorate one spot in particular – and it’s a toughie. High spaces in particular (plant ledges, above armoires) are hard, in my opinion. And the kitchen cabinets are no exception.

Our cabs aren’t super tall – we went with the basic height – so we have a ton of space above them. I tried leaving them nekked, but it just looks so unfinished and bare. And I love having a little somethin’ up there to add some personality and color to the kitchen.

I know some don’t like the decorating over the cabinets idea, and that’s cool. I really don’t need to know. Really…it’s OK.  :)

Last week I finished up another item on my kitchen to-do list…and it was a LONG time coming. I started our mini kitchen redo last May, and the looming one year “anniversary” is kind of kicking my booty in gear. I’d love to have everything checked off my list by the year mark.

You can see in this old pic that I had stenciled sayings above the cabinets:

I had a Tuscan theme going in the room and I chose words like “Family and Friends” and “Wine and Food” in Italian.

But a beadboard backsplash doesn’t exactly scream Tuscan, so I’ve wanted to get rid of those words foreva now.

So I started priming:

And I figured it would be an easy project, but like pretty much ALWAYS, one thing turned into another. That is how I roll.

Two coats of primer and two coats of paint later, and you could see where I had touched up the paint:

I was hoping that wasn’t going to happen, but it did so I rolled with it. :) I repainted the area above the cabinets with a quick coat of the lovely Sisal color from Ralph Lauren (Home Depot can still mix it for you!)

LOVE this color.

And then I moved onto another project I’ve been wanting to address for some time now – updating and rearranging the accessories on top of the cabs. And I wanted to get it done without leaving the house. (Or spending any cash!)

I started with Goodwill frame I’ve had for ages:

Brand new baby!

I found a Target placemat a couple of months ago that I loved, and knew just what I was going to do with it:

It’s plastic and was only $1.99.

I cut it to fit the frame, and ended up with this:

So cute!!

You can see my little secret for propping up stuff up there:

Our little-used NYC book and my old AP Stylebook have a use again!

I only use old paperbacks, but on occasion Hubs will ask where a book is and I’ll answer, “Did you check above the cabinets honey?”

No lie. :)

That’s what it’s like living with me. He loves me so. (He must.)

:)

Anyhoo, next I focused on the blinding green tray I spray painted back here:

It. was. BRIGHT. Sheesh. Pretty much as soon as I did it, I wanted to change it.

I pulled it down and sprayed it with some yellow instead, but that pesky “S” was still showing through. So I thunk and I thunk, and came up with a (free!) fix to cover it.

I took some poster board, cut it to the size of the inside of the tray and then used a stencil to dress it up a bit:

It is SO not perfect – but remember it’s up high! And it was FREE. Me likey. 

I may get a piece of plexiglass cut to fit over it eventually, but it’s not going to be used so for now it stays as is.

I had to keep at least ONE word up there – the Italian was gone, but I had to add one more that’s near and dear to my heart:

Yes, I love to eat. I needed to proclaim my love, loud and clear.

These are cardboard letters from Joann’s and they’ve been sitting up there unfinished for months. First I tried covering them with fabric, then paper, and then realized they were way too busy.

You can’t go wrong with good old black. :)

I saw this cage at Stein Mart a few weeks ago and couldn’t resist it!:

It was $20 and they had a smaller size too. LOVE!!

I also picked up this cutie little stool a few months ago (for $12) at TJ Maxx:

UGH, I love it! It matches the blue tray I used in the living room. I love how it pulls out the blue in the little cafe curtains I made a couple of weeks ago.

Some of the pieces I’ve had for a long time – the pear art used to be a wrapped canvas:

I cut it out and framed it in an IKEA frame.

Last year I picked up the round platter from IKEA as well:

And the herb crate was a little DIY project from last summer. I adore that little crate!

I learned while working in the decorating biz that your eye should travel up and down when looking at accessories, and I try to apply that above our cabinets:

One tall thing, one shorter thing, one tall thing…you get it. ;)

Because we have so much space above our cabinets, I try to go with larger pieces to fill it:

And like any hard-to-decorate space, I always say to be PATIENT. Areas like this can’t be forced – it’s the kind of thing you fill as you go, when you find items you love, that are the right size, that apply to the space. (Trays, baskets and platters for a kitchen.)

You may notice one more little change…the ball started rolling and I couldn’t stop it.

I resisted, but it always wins out. :)

I FINALLY installed the crown molding in this space:

And I’ll tell you more about that when I finish the other half of the room (the family room).

I’m SO glad to have this done! Or at least up. “Done” is a bit of a stretch. :)

I may add a little detail to the bottom to chunk it up a bit, but for now, I’ll be happy if I don’t see our ladder again for a very, VERY long time. :)

So that, my dears, is how I decorate above our cabinets! If our cabs were taller, I’d do a lot less – probably wider, fatter items. But I love it and will probably not touch it for another year or five. And my kitchen list to-do is dwindling – WHOO!

How do you deal with up high spaces? Do tell!

 

**To see more updates to our kitchen since this post, go here.

**And check out more of our home here.