Looks great! I just hope that in six months it doesn't end up looking like the 'before' pic just with blue walls.

I love the blue color, it really brightens up the pantry. nice job! :)

What a refreshing color to find when you open the pantry! Brava!

The before looks just like my pantry and I was really excited for the after, but was a little disappointed! The color is lovely and its nice and organized, but the shelves are smaller and there seems to be even less storage space. Not the solution I was looking for but still pretty.

why not take the door off the hinges? it's a shame to hide this adorable nook. i'd also use deeper shelves - looks like you lost some real estate from the previous version.

overall, awesome and inspirational!

Silverfire4200 - I think the "trick" was that miscellaneous stuff was put into the bottom baskets - one will still have to rummage through those. BUT and this is a huge BUT (groan!) the pantry does look great and will work. Congratulations! I think the color is fabulous and will motivate maintenance.

Lovely look and very organized. For those concerned that it is not enough space, the best way to lay out a closet redo is to measure your items, then carefully plan out your shelves based on the height of the objects you plan to store there. You can also install track shelf holders that give you the flexibility to raise or lower shelves as your needs change. A third option would be to put the shelf supports on the side walls instead of the back walls: this would make them less obvious (and let that blue color shine through) and would allow support for a deeper shelf that will hold even more! Lots of options!

I agree with Silverfire4200. Looks nice, but doesn't seem like it was done with efficiency in mind.

Looks great...I wonder though, could you fit formboard or some similar lighter weight but flat item over the wire shelves to create and more solid surface, and then paint or cover with fabric the board? I have the same wire shelves and each shelf has 4 screws in anchors in the wall...that's a lot of patching to remove it all. But if I could somehow cover the wire....

yeah the wire shelves are ugly but simply hold a lot more. This is cute, esp the color, but I think it would have been much more practical to get some smaller boxes for the wire shelves rather than having to root through those giant bags at the bottom.

I saw someone on another site cover those wire shelves with some of that decorative duck tape they have now.

My pantry is a coat closet that a previous tenet built a set of utility shelves in. Very simple, the shelves fit perfectly--it's great!

what paint colour have you used? looks great!

I think the solution for pantries like this (and mine!!!!) is pull out shelves. A more expensive route, but will maximize the storage and enable you to get to EVERYTHING in it without to much hassle. A quick google found me this. http://www.glidingshelf.ca/roll-out-pantry.html

Probably out of my price range but a good place to start maybe :)

Great change but let's see how long it lasts..haha.

I keep several small, clear plastic bins on the shelves of my pantry for small items. I have one for vinegars, asian condiments, baking items, and little jars/boxes. It helps to keep things from getting "lost" in the cupboard. I keep a small, clear bin in the fridge for the same reason. That tiny jar of capers will never go missing again.

We JUST did exactly what you suggested. Rather than foam board, we used an engineered wood cut to the same size as the wire shelves. While it's not as pretty as what's done here, it makes a huge difference. My spices no longer topple over each other and it's just easier to find things in general.

Nice after, but the 'before' look' wasn't done by the stuff. Things can be returned to pantrys, closets, drawers neatly.

I have the before closet and I'm a renter so I can't change it up completely. I ended up getting these in several sizes to organize and make the most use of the deep shelves.
http://www.amazon.com/Wheels-Expandable-Powder-Coated-Pantry/dp/B003WJPYW0

I love those roll out shelves, they can fit both on the wire shelving and on wood and I'm taking them with me when I move.

I have those wire shelves and I hate them. I think this is very inspirational, and an incentive to pare down.

That blue color is so beautiful! It would make me smile every time I opened my closet.

The after looks great! my only concern is that the new shelves seem a lot smaller than the wire shelves, so a lot of usable space was lost just to make it look nice.

Beautiful! Having an attractive organization scheme helps keep things in place.

I'd love to see some products to organize lazy susan cabinets. Mine are a mess, and I can't figure out how to corral the little things that float around the shelves.

I find shallow shelves very practical in a pantry. They allow you to see everything you have and reduce the temptation to load up your shelves with products that you will bury and never use.

There is storage space lost though. A great way to make up for it would be to put a set of shallow racks on the inside of the door for things like spices, condiment bottles and such. Looks to me like there's a good 4-6 inches of space to work with there.

This looks good etc. but why are the new shelves so short? If they went all the way across (wall to wall) you would gain another 4 inches of shelf space per shelf, and you would get rid of that gap on the sides which in my world would lead to things getting pushed off the sides.

I have almost the identical pantry closet, and I used the Container Store products to get a successful result. BUT there was nothing wrong with those wire shelves. The color would have been enough to brighten up the closet! It's another "throw out good stuff and put in more good stuff" post.

My favorite addition to my pantry closet is wheeled milk crates on the floor (the shelf I moved up really close to the next one is where I put my cookie sheets and other flat trays and grids). One holds laundry supplies and the other holds liquor. I can hook them out with my foot and grab what I need and shove them back.

Looks very pretty but where's all the food?! My shelves would be twice that full...looks like they only have one spice ;-)

To be fair to the poster....she not only put in new shelves and painted, but also started utilizing see-through glass or plastic containers for things like flour and sugar...so maybe that was enough of a space saver that she didn't need all the room the wire shelves looked like they provided. Plus she states that she wanted to reuse shelving she already had...nothing to go out and buy. I don't blame her, I've got wire shelves in all of my closets and I hate them...they are sturdy and hold loads but couldn't be uglier.

This looks nice, but it's not functional. Why wouldn't the shelves be spaced more efficiently? There are unnecessary gaps between every shelf. Also, I can only find a handful of items from the before that made it to the after. This looks like a pantry that the owner wants to be seen, not a functional storage space.

There were two things that happened in that makeover -- the decorating aspect and the function aspect. The two actually seem to have nothing to do with each other: it looks very pretty, but the before could have been just as functional if she unjumbled it and put things in glass jars and pretty containers and put anything unsightly in big bags on the floor. I don't begrudge anyone a pretty pantry, and I like to look at it, but let's not pretend the makeover either aimed at or achieved greater functionality.

I clicked through on her blog, and it looks like it's only a 2-person household. If you're used to buying fresh and only feeding two people, you really don't need deep shelves in your pantry. Deep shelves can actually be a detriment because it's so easy to lose things behind other stuff and it's harder to tell at a glance what you have on hand (Which ends up costing a lot in expired and duplicate foods!).

In most cases, the answer to uncontrollable clutter isn't to create more storage space, it's to reduce your belongings down to only what you use - and that's clearly what has been done here! To me, the shallow shelves with large clear jars look much more usable than the deep cave-like shelves that were there before.

I do agree with Parnassus that I'd prefer to see the shelves go tight against the wall, and if I had such a pantry I'd probably do spice storage on the door as per weatherman's suggestion!

Love the blue color, looks clean with the white.

WOW! These are the before and afters I love. Simple and not expensive but makes such a happy big difference. I love the change of the shelves, the color, and the add of the food storage!!

I agree about the functionality of just putting a lot of the stuff into the bins at the bottom--that seems like it would get frustrating. If you click through to her blog, you can see that the steamer baskets hold garlic and shallots, which seems like a great idea. They're kept in a dark place but with some ventilation.

What experiences have people had with those big glass jars and keeping bugs out of flour? They're pretty, but I've never been sure if they are that great for storing flour, cornmeal, and other things that seem to attract those little weevils.

I asked on her blog how the baskets of miscellaneous items have worked over the time sine the remodel in April 2012. We shall see!

I was intrigued by the steamer for onions/garlic/shallots. A great use of an over worked steamer that can't take being damp anymore.

My pantry is all cabinet space, but is on my Cure list.

Dextertracy has the best ideas here. This "after" looks nice, but they KNEW how tall their canisters are and nevertheless placed the canisters' shelf so that there's wasted space at the top. Same for several of the other shelves. With the space they wasted, they had room to put in at least one more shelf sized just right for short little cans of soup. The fact that teir shelves are too short on the sides makes me think they went to the trouble of getting custom shelves, but didn't think things through well enough to reap all the benefits of custom shelves.

My pantry in my rental is just about my favorite space in the whole house...must have been built by someone who loved to cook, as the kitchen is the largest room of all and was added on to the back of the little 1930's stucco box. The pantry is 42"X32" and has shelves on all 3 sides...4 and1/2 " on the sides and 10 and 1/2 " in the back, perfect sizes...leaving enough room to keep the recycling can in there and still have just enough room to walk in or place a stool to get up to the highest shelves where I store extra jars and containers and lightbulbs etc.. It was kind of dingy, so I wrapped all the shelves (top and bottom) with granite contact paper. Looks so good, and easy to wipe clean. And then I added 6 of the wooden Ikea spice racks to the back of the door. It's just perfect, makes cooking so easy...clear square glass jars for flours and the like, separate shelves for baking goods, for oils and vinegars, for soups and canned goods,for jars of olives and preserves... flat stackable plastic bins to hold boxes and bags of pastas and noodles, etc., even a shelf for wine. There's still enough space under the shelves at the bottom to store emergency water, a collapsable cooler, a lantern flashlight, and serving trays for outdoors. I LOVE it, can grab just what I need in an instant, so worth the time invested in return for daily time saved.

In my old loft, I built a pantry myself and it was great too. Not a lot of room, so I measured everything and placed the shelves accordingly. I made the swing-out door a shallow box as well, just wide enough for large soup cans, oils and vinegars, and spices, and put dowels across the shelves to hold things in place when the door was opened. Very functional.

So while this pantry looks cute, I wouldn't trade it for mine and think there's too much wasted space, Even in a panty this shallow, she could have put shelves on all 3 sides and a rack on the door and gained a lot of shelf space.

Agree w/ZapZap...it's the same storage with containers which could have been done with the wire shelves. Blue color is a nice touch but I don't think really merits a before and after.

Beautiful! I have been thinking about painting and organizing my pantry too, but also have those awful wire shelves. I found this site that sells plastic to set on top and in front which I may buy. http://randolphhomeproducts.com/. I'll look a bit more to see if there are other options, but I don't want to replace them. I really like the idea of hanging my spices on the door or wall of the pantry and will be putting in a pinboard for organizing as well.

pearl girl- I have had glass jars with a lock seal on them for a couple of years and have had no problems with bugs of any sort.

I too would like to see others solutions to a lazy Susan cupboard, I haven't figured out what I should do with mine much yet.

It's always wonderful to see a pop of colour inside a closet! So fresh, love it. Very impressed by the reusing of tin cans on the upper right for plastic forks and stuff.

Since the new shelves are narrower, you could even add a shallow shelf on the door as well. Great for small packets and spices.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I will admit that this looks nice, but to be honest I'm a little disappointed. Looks like most of the items never made it back to the pantry in the makeover. Its more for show and less for functionality now.

I had those wire shelves in a clothes closet, nowhere near the kitchen, but I hated them because they somehow collected something from the air and got sticky. Were a pain to clean. I can't imagine trying to clean them in a kitchen, where there actually is sticky stuff. Anybody else have that problem with them? Mine were the kind that are metal covered with white plastic, not powder-coated steel. I had some stacking wire shelves that had the same problem - couldn't ever clean them, so got rid of them. They are like magnets for stuff in the air - maybe it is because it was humid the summer where I lived (NYC.)

So I think the new shelves are a definite upgrade, for function's sake, as they are easier to clean (I don't care what they look like). But I would have put wood supports on the side walls, instead of using brackets, and made the shelves go across the whole width of the closet. And used deeper shelves. Cut the shelves to fit the space, basically. I did this in a shallow closet once - was very useful.

I really like the roll out shelves someone posted. A nice alternative if one owns and is into investing in the place.

And, to whomever was worried about bugs in the flour - they come already in the flour, and just hatch. Any airtight lid will keep out what's outside, but you can't help what comes in the flour from the store. Glass is actually good, in that you can see the pests better when they are there.

I would kill for a pantry.

@ Silverfire4200- I work for the Gliding Shelf Solutions- the company you posted the link for. I would like to thank you for recommending our product. We are actually very reasonably priced. A pantry makeover would cost $675-$999 depending on the size of the cabinet and type of glide. This price includes our warranty, consultation & measuring , as well as the installation! Hope you have found this helpful :) have a great day!
www.glidingshelf.ca

We have a hidden corner application that is custom. Check it out
http://www.glidingshelf.ca/hidden-corner.html

Looks great but where did all the stuff go??

That looks amazing. My pantry is a disaster. Glad I found your site - looking for helpful info for our clients at Rooof.com.

Awesome tips. Thanks!

Andy

Love the colour... but I'm with Liefie, where'd all the stuff go?

Good work; I love organization! I have the same striped bins that are in the bottom of the closet. They are from the Container Store, and they are AMAZING. I use them to corral toy clutter in our living room. :)

It's a nice simple redo. I realize that adjustable shelves do make it easier to get more stuff in when you do adjust the shelves, but, I'm like most people, once the shelves are in, they stay there! I agree that there is less space, but it looks like Mai is keeping it simple and is cutting down on the non-essential stuff that adds up to clutter.

I agree that moveable solid shelves are both more practical and more stable for small items. But that's certainly not an improvement in terms of overall amount of storage. I see quite a few things in the "before" that don't appear in the "after." Unless they are stuffed in those bags at the bottom, although I wouldn't want to root for my muffin tin under a pile of food bags.

I assume Mai has other storage options some kitchens lack. One of the smartest things about not making shelves too deep is the real estate it frees up on the door, but she hasn't taken advantage of that at all. Aesthetically, this is exceptionally pleasing but it's not an option that would work for many storage-starved people.

My kingdom for a pantry. One this size would be great. Right now all I have is that awkward corner upper cabinet. Solid shelving wire shelving. I'd take either. I think IKEA has shelf lining to conquer that problem. Then there are bins...

Now I totally want to paint the inside of my pantry!

The shelves are too shallow - lots of wasted space. I would have made them deeper and used those "stairstep" risers for visibility of back items. This is one of those "impossible" designer things that gets us all excited but is not practical or doable in our Real Lives.

PS re; bugs in the flour and other goods. The eggs are just going to be in a lot of those items - fact of life. If you put flour, meal, etc in the freezer for 24 hours before decanting, eggs won't hatch. they are invisible to the eye, but given the chance, warmth and darkness, will eventually develop into the larva stage (ugh) and then hatch out and become meal moths, dark, tiny fluttering creatures that can live inside a closed jar for a long time. Since learning the freezer trick I haven't had any show up in my pantry (which has roll out shelves).

Don't forget to add some lighting! You can install a surface mount celing light with a switch, or even a battery powered LED fixture to make finding all your goodies even easier.

oh boy how i HATE the wirre stuff!