California Closets Pantry Reveal

The reveal of our custom built California Closets walk in pantry in our 1850 farmhouse on the coast on Massachusetts.

When we first moved into this house, we struggled with what to do with this long, empty room in the corner of the first floor. We first thought of having it as a mudroom, since it’s sort of by the back entrance of the house – but you have to walk down a little hallway to get to it. Our next thought was to make it a pantry, but since you have to go down two hallways and around a corner to get to the kitchen, it didn’t feel ideal.

It’s not huge, but it’s a rectangle with windows on two walls – that adds a little complication, but also adds much appreciated natural light.

We went back and forth about it for quite a while, and then decided to go with making it a pantry. While our kitchen is beautiful, it doesn’t have a ton of storage and some odd sized cabinets. It took some maneuvering to get all our plates, bowls, glasses, etc. in cabinets in a way that made sense, and it left us tight on space for food. The idea of having an entire room for food felt excessive for sure, but we knew we could also use it for appliance storage, cleaning tools on the back of the door, a recycling bin, storing paper towels…

It made the most sense for us.

We worked with our design consultant, Nancy, from California Closets to come up with the best use of the space. I knew I wanted a cabinet for appliances, and as much shelving as would fit. I also knew I wanted at least one root vegetable drawer, more if it was feasible.

The California Closets team actually ended up having to come by three more times after the initial consultation to fully complete the job, which was a bit frustrating (and also a mix of our fault and theirs), but the end result was totally worth the minor inconvenience and extra time. The team members that we encountered were all great, efficient, and a pleasure to work with. They even put up with the fact that the cats insisted on ~~visiting them and getting in the way while they were working~~ inspecting their progress.

In the picture above, Penny is sitting at the opening to the hallway that leads from the dining room and around the corner to the new pantry.

Around that corner is the “laundry closet” (which we had to take the frame and doors off of because they didn’t make it big enough to actually fit a washer and dryer… long story) and right behind this fluff monster is the pantry itself.

So, without further ado, here’s what we decided to do:

Voila! We got plenty of shelving, but still have enough room to walk around. We got the cabinet we wanted (plus a spice drawer!), root vegetable drawers, enough room on the top of the shelves for large carrying containers and paper towels, and even a little hidden corner shelving in the back.

We also got extra tall shelves specifically for sliding in baking sheets and cooling racks (the two above the drawers).

Padfoot made sure to explore the final result and report back with his findings. Thankfully, they were paws-itive reviews.

Don’t worry, I hated myself for that pun as soon as I typed it.

That’s what it looked like shortly after the first construction visit – here it is after all three visits and being populated:

Plus, the back window gives me this view, and it’s kind of hilarious to watch how confused Penny gets that she can see me in the pantry when she’s in the backyard.

Last but not least is the storage on the back of the door, that we actually installed ourselves at a later date. Took us a bit to find what we wanted, but this OXO expandable wall-mounted organizer has worked out pretty well since we don’t have a coat or cleaning supply closet on the first floor. Everything is easy to grab and put away!

So far, so good.

The only downside to the stuff stored way up top is that I am unfortunately not Slender Man and can’t reach. I picked up this cute little white stool from IKEA, and it’s been perfect for giving me that little extra height I need.

I also love that I can still display my gigantic fork and spoon without it being out in the main living area. I adore them, but don’t necessarily need it to be seen by guests eating dinner. It feels a little… well, not totally polished. And we’re doing everything we can to get the house put together and “adult”. You know, like clean and organized adults that display local nautical artwork… not inappropriate adult toys or something. Not our style.

We make little tweaks week by week, turning into an even more functional space as time goes by. I can’t wait to take a snapshot of it years from now to see how much it evolves and how our needs might change!

Some of the items you see in these pictures that I’m loving: