DIY Pantry From an Entry Closet

When I think about how it will be 7 years this summer since we bought our home, it realllly freaks me out. Where does the time go you guys… Where does it go?! As I mentioned before I was 6 months pregnant when we moved in and so much life has happened since then. Brought home two babies here, wiped boogers and butts relentlessly, lost my sanity about a hundred dozen times (+ counting), and much much more.

We love our small home and when inspiration kicks we get just enough energy to do something to it that helps us function as a family of four just a little bit better. Since we have a classic “wonder years” 1950’s home it came with the kitchen of it’s day… the well-known galley kitchen. And one thing our little galley kitchen has always been lacking is pantry space. We started off storing our food in the upper cabinets but when the kids came along, we quickly outgrew that solution and just needed more space. We bought a free standing pantry from Home Depot and it’s been in our kitchen for several years now. The problem is it’s in our nook area and it just takes up so much space. I’ve been dreaming of putting my coffee bar there or a cute round table for a breakfast nook.

Also I’ve dreamed of having a beautifully organized pantry closet complete with cute organizers and all. So guess which closet is right next to our kitchen but just the perfect place for a pantry? If you’ve read the heading then you already know. Our entry closet! Funny story… Our wonderful neighbors directly in front of us have the exact same house as ours. It’s been updated here and there but has quite a bit of original work. Including a hall closet and a pantry where our entry closet is. Huh? If you’re confused don’t worry I’ll gently clarify. You see our home was a flipped home and one of the things the flippers did was add on to the small master bathroom. When they did that they took out the hall closet leaving us new buyers with a convenient entry closet but absolutely no pantry closet. Ahh don’t you love when floor plan changes actually make life harder for ya? Gahh!

It took a lot of persuasive skills to convince my husband to turn our entry closet into a pantry. There was no way I could have done this myself unless I hired someone or learned to use a table saw, both of which I’m pretty terrified of doing. In the end we had a lot of fun and I’m so proud of us! We had a lot of shimmering “Chip and Joanna” moments and also a few “I’m over this” moments. But I like to think it’s all part of the process anyway right?

This was a fairly easy diy. If you know how to take accurate measurements and use a table saw then you’ve got this in the bag. Let me show you how we did it and finish with a little tour!

Here is the before:

Next up is demo! We took out the top shelf and hanging rod. I also had to disassemble the shoe organizer to get it out. I had forgotten that’s how I got it in. Lucky for me, I was stubborn enough to do that one all on my own.

Next we cleaned up the walls and repainted trim. Then we decided on what to do to the walls… Paint? Wallpaper? Shiplap? I knew I wanted to bring white in as to make the space appear brighter and larger.

After reviewing my options, it was a no brainer to choose peel and stick wallpaper! And with all of the options Target has it was also the fun part. I chose the shiplap wallpaper for its classic lines and clean color. Application was pretty easy with a tall person aka my husband. Without him I would have had to work in smaller sections although it’s still doable.

Once we got the wallpaper squared away. We took measurements and decided how we would go about the shelves. After looking into prices for solid wood we decided to go the budget route of ply wood. And I am so glad we did! We made all four shelves for less than $50. After my husband cut them to their correct size, we sanded them and stained them using this stain.

Once the shelves were taken care of, he cut down pine (size ¾” thick x 1 ½” wide). Using a stud finder, he drilled the pine supports into the wall directly onto the studs. I painted the support beams right away and that was basically my part with the shelves… thankfully!

We had to make a couple trips to the hardware store but we didn’t mind with these two cute helpers to tag along with us!

Now we were ready for drilling the shelves to the supports. That was the easy part!

But once they were in the edges did not look pretty. We bought this amazing vaneer product that looks beautiful. *Note: add vaneer first then sand and stain. We kind of di this backwards and everything turned out just fine, but it would have been a teeny bit better to do things in this order.

Ta da! The shelves were up now it was time to fill in with organizers and one more thing… a light. But how do you add lighting when you don’t have light hardwired in? That my friends is where Brooke’s genius idea from Nesting With Grace comes into play. Behold the Magic Light Trick! Using these battery operated puck lights, a beautiful “hardwired” look can be created. Here’s how we did it.

We bought this very cheap but super stylish farmhouse style wall sconce. It was 25 bucks! It came in an antique bronze color and I really wanted the clean contrast of black so I picked out this matte spray paint from Rustoleum in the color Farmhouse Black from our local Michael’s store. We also painted the outer rim of the puck light so it would look cohesive with the lamp. After it was painted we used this leftover epoxy glue from our recent diy succulent planter. My husband glued the puck light into the inside of the lamp where the bulb would typically go.

Since we had extra lights we added them along the sides and under each shelf. When we push that remote button the whole closet lights up and it’s just so beautiful and I know why Brooke named it “The Magic Light Trick”!

Then came the organizing. Target made it SO easy to organize this cute pantry space. All of my organizers and baskets are from there. I’ve linked some similar ones here.

I divided up our pantry in a way that it wouldn’t just hold a buncha stuff but that it would also work to serve us in a way that keeps us mindful. Let’s start from the bottom.

I bought two large wicker bins for $40 each from Target. Pricey but they are awesome! They hold our reusable bags, bulk items, and lunch bags. Here are similar ones with great reviews. I love the way they fit perfectly under the bottom shelf.

• 

• 

Next up we have what I call the kid’s shelf. I bought two open faced wicker basket trays for $12 each. Not bad! These are among my favorite that I bought. I love the way the baskets warm up the space and add an inviting element. One I used as a sort Montessori station for the kids to grab their own plates, cups and utensils. These were all reasonably priced at Target also!

The other tray holds breakfast items the kids can grab in the morning. And yes, I now have a daughter who can make her own bowl of cereal! A little sad but mostly amazing. I bought an OXO cereal container and we love it because it’s easy to open and hold. Plus it’s the perfect size and keeps the cereal FRESH. I also have a canister for some yummy granola.

The next shelf is for mostly yummy and healthy snacks the kids can grab and go. (With the exception of the vegetable basket of course). Before I continue on you might be noticing these incredible tags on the baskets. I bought this super fun tag maker for only 12$ on amazon and I can’t say enough good things about it. I mean just look how cute and organized everything looks. It made all of my pantry dreams come true. This is the exact one!

Back to the baskets… For the snack shelf I chose these open-ended white stackable wire baskets from Target. Three of them fit perfectly along the shelf and I love how they are open in the front, perfect for little snackers! Along with the veggie basket is the fruit basket and the fruit and nut basket. Having these organizers really helps me to be mindful when buying groceries because I just think of the basket labels and know exactly what we need!

As for the third shelf I went with wire baskets again but this time not front facing so they could hold a bit more food. This shelf holds our dry food like bread, rice, pasta, popcorn, and crackers.

Onto shelf number 4..! This is one of my favorite shelves because of the beautiful glass canisters that hold my baking flours, sugars, and toppings. I bought a pack from Target that came with 4 varying sizes. After realizing how much I loved them I bought second pack too! They look so pretty dressed up in the labels,

Also on this shelf are grey linen baskets from Target. They hide things like canned goods and chicken stock boxes. I love the variety and warmth they add to the space.

And last but not least is my top shelf where I store my clear server ware. I kept it clean at the top to give the whole space a tidy, not busy, put together look.

So are you ready to see the whole pantry all put together?!

TA-DAAA!

We couldn’t be more thrilled with the end result!! We finally have a beautiful and functional pantry space. The kids have the freedom to grab healthy snacks when they please and help themselves to a bowl of cereal. I get to look at my pretty baskets and canisters and my husband gets a “get out of jail free card” from further projects… well at least for a short while! If you know me then you know I’m already cooking up more projects in my head haha. But I like to think that’s what makes life fun and exciting don’t you think?!

I hope you enjoyed our DIY Pantry and that it inspires you to think of ways to make your own home more functional. For more fun and ideas stick around, because we’re just gettin’ started!