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Adding Open Shelving in the Pantry

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You all remember those pantry inspiration pictures I showed you all a few weeks ago? As I was studying the common elements between those photos and assessing our true needs for that area to function, I was really excited to see the capability for open shelving. I have spent so much time pouring over glossy interior design magazines and seeing these incredible wooden shelves built from beautiful rustic slabs of wood.

Well…we live in Dallas and are on a budget. So we have to make do with what we have, which currently does not including barn wood or distressed slabs of rustic flooring. So we did the next best thing and took (yet another!) trip to our old pal, Home Depot. We knew we wanted the shelves to run the width of our countertops and that we wanted two of them, so we were very glad to find these 9’ long by 10” wide slabs of wood to bring home with us.

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Once at home, Scott treated and stained the wood with Minwax Honey stain—our favorite! We matched the stain and the look of the other shelves that are already in our kitchen  (no comment on how the herbs are doing. 😛 Just kidding they aren’t that bad). It helps tie the two rooms together.

After letting it dry for a day or so, it was time to hang them up, hooray! We had picked up some white brackets while we were at Home Depot. Each one said it could hold 150 pounds which was important to us since we were planning on loading up the shelves with all kinds of breakable items.

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We figured out where we wanted the brackets to go and made sure they were completely level by using a laser-level tool. Then it was go time—all we had to do was screw into the wall, right?

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Like most things in DIY-land, hanging the brackets was much more challenging than it should have been. The stud-finder malfunctioned a few times, leading us to believe there was a stud in two places where there wasn’t. So we had a few more holes than we would have liked but that’s nothing that some drywall patching and repainting can’t fix (tutorial here).  We had to use a combination of screws because the ones that we purchased for the shelves wouldn’t fit in the holes. There were some frustrating moments. We both walked away from the kitchen entirely at different points to take a breather. But in the end Scott was the more patient one (always) who got the job done. Woo hoo.

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After the brackets were up and we double-checked that they were level, Scott screwed the boards into the brackets so they were super-secure.

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Then he coated the shelves with a coat of Zinsser Shellac. Shellac is non-toxic when it dries completely, so even though we weren’t planning on stacking food up there, it made me feel a lot better to have our dishes touching that over stain!

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Finally, a few days later when we were positive the Shellac was dry, it was time for the best part—loading those shelves up! Scott was out with real-estate clients so I put on Pride & Prejudice in the background and got to work. 😉

Again, I tired to make everything as easy and categorized as possible. Coffee beans and our French press went on the bottom shelf above the coffee station and a teapot and to-go containers went above them on the top shelf.

Above the smoothie area I put our straws and extra Vitamix container with some to-go containers for our smoothies. I made sure baking items were over the stand mixer. The mason jars that I use for canning are on the very top shelf—I have to use a stepladder to reach them but since they aren’t used daily, that’s okay. We happen to have the perfect spot for a stepladder right in the pantry, which I’ll show you all later. 🙂

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Ya’ll. I was so in my zone. Organizing AND Pride & Prejudice? I love, I love, I love you. Swoon. 🙂

So…here’s the pantry now. We have just a few things left to do and this guy is done (for now!)!

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Are you all fans of open shelves in the kitchen? I feel like people can be very divided here. I really love the look, but if you are afraid of dust or the dishes getting dirty, glass cabinets can be a great option too. 🙂 Show off those pretties!

 

 

Photo of Tania Griffis, owner of Run to Radiance
Website | + posts

Tania Griffis is an accomplished writer, blogger, and interior designer with a Journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma. She started her popular blog, Run to Radiance, in 2011, demonstrating her design expertise through the personal remodeling of six houses to millions of readers across the globe.

Tania also owns The Creative Wheelhouse, a respected ghostwriting agency for bloggers, further showcasing her talent for creating engaging and informative content.

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23 Comments

  1. Looks so lovely. You could be the next Martha Stewart. I love your decor and your writing. well done Mr. and Mrs.
    Griffis.

    1. That is the nicest compliment ever and basically my dream in life! 🙂 thank you, thank you, thank you!

  2. I am so, so excited that you stopped by my blog + commented, so I could find your blog. You have such a beautiful space here, and I’m so excited to follow along. Your remodeling is gorgeous + I love that you re-purpose all sorts of items!

    1. Thank you Caitlin! So glad we connected as well. 🙂 I love repurposing things—so much fun!

    1. Hah well we will see! Luckily those are items that aren’t used as often so maybe not a ton of movement but time will tell!!

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  4. Very cool idea! We are saving for a kitchen remodel and I plan on turning the adjacent dining room into our new eating area, including a buffet for “stuff” and possibly the microwave. You have great style, but in my humble opinion, I’d put the doors on the bottom to hide all of the stuff since you have open shelving up above. For me, it’s too much showing, even as organized as it is!

  5. i looked thru several of your DIY’S great job to you and your husband,,, very nice,, love those new shutters… but, oh how I love the old ones too. you should try doing something with them,, now, just one things viewing your pic. of front of the house the one porch post that matched the old shutters, has to be updated, too. even thou I love it, to update it to match new shutters,,, good luck THANK YOU FOR SHARING, VERY NICE OF YOU.. Patricia

  6. You are soooo lucky to have a handy helpful hubby! He is really talented! Congrats and proud of both of you! Your hard work is paying off. That butler’s pantry will sell that house if you decide to ever move.

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