Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Pantry make-over

If you will remember my initial post about the pantry, you will remember that I said it was one hot mess!!! Good thing it has a door on it, right?  All those cabinets to the left of the white door (the pantry), at one time held a hodge podge of dishes, coffee and tea fixings, mugs, bowls, etc.  But there were also dishes over to the other side of the kitchen as well.  It just was disorganized.  And my pantry was totally disorganized and way too full, especially since we only have three people in our household.  I've been used to cooking for five for so long, that I've got to learn to buy less, accumulate less, and also needed to get rid of excess stuff I'd held onto for far too long......um, hummm.........needed a do-over!  Please disregard the extra stuff on the countertop......I was working, not cleaning!    So I pulled everything out of my pantry, and everything out of the dish cabinets.....and began a major transformation that has turned out to be fantastic!  But it wasn't until today that I actually finished the project.....because I needed to replace the shelf covering...it was old contact paper that looked like this:

Old and dirty and out-dated, this needs a make-over , too!!!  So I picked up some more contact paper, after deciding that it would work the best.  The padded grid covering doesn't allow the dishes to slide in, which is what is helpful for me to put dishes away quickly.  Here's a picture of putting back together to put the food away.  My husband and I had taken a trip to WalMart to pick up tiered shelving for cans and white plastic baskets for holding chips, crackers and the like.
So today, I started putting the shelf paper in the pantry.......can you tell when I bought it, I was ready for spring and flowers??? No more drab skies for me!  I think it will look great in my pantry.


And now it's springy and organized and pretty!  The only dilemma is this next picture.  The picture below is the top shelf in the pantry.  It's nice because it holds all my tall things like the SLaHOME Savannah Beverage Server and my Astoria Carafe, and a few bottles of wine and liquor.  The PROBLEM with it is, that top shelf, which is not yet populated with said items, goes up about three feet!!!  Talk about wasted space!  It's difficult to even get anything up there (of course I have to use a stool anyway since I'm only 5'2".   The only solution I've been able to imagine is to get someone to frame out an open shelf above the pantry door, and use it as a display area........anyone else have any ideas???  If you go back to the top picture, you can imagine a framed- out indention where the wrought iron piece is above the door.  It might even be cool to have a fold down glass front.  What do you think could otherwise be done?  I hate to waste that space!!!
So this is the result of my pantry transformation.....maybe I'll link it up next Monday to Susan's party or Amanda's design dilemma next month.  Thanks for any ideas you have to offer.....sorry to have waited so darned long to post this!!


21 comments:

Lisa said...

Like that new paper! LOVE all your transfer ware!! What a great redo! I know you are happy with it!
Hugs, Lisa

Julie Harward said...

Wow...you have been a busy gal, I know thats a lot of work! Sometimes I just hate digging it all out..I love the new paper and all the organizers, I need that for my cups. For those tall shelves..what about some beautiful baskets..to put paper towels and such in? They'd be easy to get down and very pretty! Good luck, I want to see what you do! Come say hi :D

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Oh, wow!!! Love the pretty shelf liner you used. :) Everything looks so nice and pretty and tidy!!!

Controlling My Chaos said...

It looks great. I so want a pantry. Sniff.

Rae said...

Oh my....I need to do this too.Yours looks great! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Hey Suzanne! That is a mighty fine job you did on that pantry! And that pretty paper makes me 'green' with envy, lol! I think your idea of display with a fold down door is unique and awesome! I hope you will make it a project soon. I love to see those empty places put to good use!

Bunny Jean said...

That shelf liner is one I haven't seen before. It is very pretty.

I have that same elevator shaft of a pantry. Maybe you saw my pantry redo a few months back? It is still organized :)

I also want more shelves. So far I just keep seldom used small appliances there. I keep a small step ladder stored in there.

My dishes are organized in a similar fashion to yours. Looks so familiar. Texas houses...lol.

Talk to you soon ;)
Bunny Jean

Anonymous said...

Makes me want to spiff up my pantry, looks so pretty. Nice job.

Happy@Home said...

That's a big job, but it must feel great to have it done. I love the pretty new shelf paper.

Elle Bee said...

That's a wonderful re-do! I really like your tall white coffee mugs.

Beverly said...

I really like your transformation. Your new pantry looks so orgnized. Your dishes look great on your new shelf paper. It is very light and clean looking. I think a display area would be great above your door unless you need more behind the door storage. you would definetly need a stepstool or ladder.
Makes me want to clean my pantry which has never got the doors on it. Being married to a carpenter does not always mean everything is finished.

Paula@SweetPea said...

Doesn't it feel good to be organized? I love the contact paper that you chose and I know that every time you see it you must smile.

Darlene said...

Morning Suzanne,

You did a GREAT job on organizing that pantry. LOVE it! Your shelf paper is great too. I desperately need to get new shelf paper and re-do ALL of my cabinets!

Hope you have a great weekend.♥

Richella Parham said...

Would you please come to my house now? You would not believe how much I need SOMEONE to do this to my pantry. I keep waiting for SOMEONE, and maybe it should be you!!

Or maybe I should become my own SOMEONE and you could just come over for coffee and conversation. Your choice!

Lisa said...

What a fabulous idea, Sue! It looks amazing. I'm so impressed with your organizational skills. :)
PS I love your new shelf paper...very pretty!

luciwallis said...

I love an organized pantry. I just started on mine~ Enjoyed visitng !
Bristol

Judi said...

Heyyyy Suzannneee... you have my blue and white willow cups and saucers! I didn't even know they were missing..*s*..

You have had a big project to do and I bet it feels real good that its done. You have a lot of room and thats great!

I wonder whether someone can put a shelf or two in that cupboard with the high area. There is certainly a lot of wasted space in there right now. I'll look forward to hear how that all works out for you.

have a great Friday and weekend too
Judi

Texas Preacher Woman said...

I LOVE this green paper! (AND I'm covetous of your big ol' pantry!) It looks great! (I may have to find me some of this!)

Grins!
Pamm

Pamela said...

Love the redo Susan! Wanna come and do mine!?HA!:)

Darcy said...

Looks GREAT! Stopping by from Friday Follow!
Happy Weekend!

justanightowl.com

Acanthus and Acorn said...

I love organizing things and making them look nice...exactly what you did here!!! Great shelf paper, so pretty.