Farmhouse Kitchen Phase 2 ~ DIY Pantry w/ Antique Screen Door

Once upon a time, a long time ago (before there was Pinterest), I spotted this image

I can't find the original source for this image.
If someone knows where it's from, I'd LOVE to link to the originator.
I found the image here.

and fell. in. love. At the time, my kitchen looked like this

and I didn't have any nice little closets to convert to a pantry. (That door leads to the laundry room.)
So, I tucked the idea in a back corner of my mind and dismissed it as an unlikely-to-come-true dream.

Then one day, as I was dreaming about turning my kitchen into a farmhouse kitchen with painted cabinets, an idea occurred to me: Why not create a pantry?! I had this narrow space beside the laundry room door that was too small for cabinets. The wall was offset from the dining room side of the beam (deeper on the kitchen side) making a 'nook' of sorts. It was about 4 inches on the kitchen side and only about 2 inches on the dining room side. On the other side of the room where the other log beam is, it's about 6 inches on both sides. So, I decided this was the place for a pantry and I would 'build' the beam out to match the other side and make an indention about 8 inches. The side of the pantry toward the laundry room door sticks out into the room but it's not enough to be intrusive.

I began watching for an antique screen door similar to my inspiration photo but any time I found one, they were way out of my budget. I mentioned to my mom that I was looking for one and a few weeks later, she texted me this pic:

It was $25 (I think); did I want it? Oh yes! I DID want it! Granted, it looked pretty rough but she told me the wood was mostly solid and the door was sturdy. It laid in the garage for quite awhile until last winter when I FINALLY began to realize my dream of a pretty farmhouse pantry. I used 1 X 8 lumber and built the shelves, top, bottom, and sides. I had already wallpapered the wall with beadboard so it wasn't necessary to put a back on it. I spray painted it white and screwed it to the beam on the side. I had already been gathering my Golden Harvest Canisters at garage sales and thrift stores so I custom made the shelf spacing to best utilize the space. These canisters are pretty widely available in my area and usually pretty inexpensive. I paid as little as $.10 and as much as $2.00 for mine. I saw them for as much as $10 - $15 apiece in antique stores (and on eBay) but since I was in no hurry, I would only buy them if they were less than $2. I have a few more in my cupboards that aren't pictured. The lids come in several colors but I knew I planned to paint them to coordinate with my kitchen so was unconcerned with the mismatched lids.

After I got the shelves built, I filled and labeled the jars and organized the shelves. It sat like that for awhile until I got the door re-sized and hung. Then, just last week, I finally painted the lids (Krylon Pistacio).

As you can see from the previously shown picture, the door was pretty rough. Red paint that had faded to a brownish-pink and very dirty. The screen was very torn and the surface of the wood was very weathered. I began by removing the screen and the MANY staples and tacks that were attempting to hold it in place. I then carefully removed one side and the bottom of the door because it was too tall and wide. I cut off what I didn't need and made new 'pockets' to slip the tabs into to make it sturdy. I used my Dremel since I don't have fancy joinery tools and it worked fine. A little crude looking but once it was all glued and stapled back together, it looks fine. Some of the corner braces were broken or broke when I removed them so I used plywood the same thickness and using a good one for a pattern, I cut new ones with my jigsaw. They are on the bottom of the door: can you tell which ones? :)

The picture actually makes them look more visible than they do in real life but it's because the wood wasn't as weathered. I used MMS milk paint (tricycle) and dark wax. The dark wax really went into the grooves and toned down the red. Since the plywood had less grooves (weathering), it's brighter red. After the door was re-sized, painted and waxed, I stapled in new screen. I used the black fiberglass screen from Menards and doubled it on the bottom where I didn't want the items to be as visible. I hung the door using cabinet door hinges.

A few pictures of what it looks like now:

(As you can see, I still need to de-country-fy my dining room.)

Pretty organization! Makes me happy. :)

My Tupperware Modular Mates fit perfectly and I didn't even plan it. I love when things like that happen!

For my spices, I got square spice jars (unfortunately, I don't remember where I got them!) that fit perfectly into a Coke crate. A little story on the crate.... I had been looking and looking for one but they were all more than I was willing to pay. I looked locally, eBay, and Etsy. One evening, I decided to check online again and checked eBay first. Finding nothing, I switched over to Etsy and a few down the list, I spotted this one. The first thing that caught my eye was the price and the second thing was the date of manufacture. It is stamped 7-76 inside; my birth month and year! The price was much lower than any I had found so far and in my price range. After a quick conference with hubby, it went into my cart and was on it's way to being mine. After I bought it, I noticed it had only been listed less than an hour! Providential, I say! :) I love how it's framed perfectly when the door is closed.

I know some of you will wonder about my labels and where I got them. I made them myself using the printable vinyl from Expressions Vinyl and my Silhoutte Cameo to cut them out. I will probably end up re-doing the spice labels because I used red for some of the text and it's a little hard to read.

And just for kicks, a side by side comparison:

The third and final phase of the kitchen makeover will be my island. Hoping to share soon!


Note: The spice jars I used are similar to these* but were less expensive. I think I paid around $12 for 24 jars.

LINKING TO:

Vintage Inspiration Party on Knick of Time

from the farmhouse,


*POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINK