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See How This Dark Closet Becomes a Beautiful, Functional Pantry

Shifrah Combiths
Shifrah Combiths
With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.
published May 25, 2023
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Before: an empty white room
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Credit: Andrea De Castro

It’s a rarity to have too much storage space in a home. More often than not, people look for ways to add more storage by utilizing the already-limited space they have in their homes. But every once in a while, previously useless or frustrating areas in the home can be turned into functional storage. 

This was exactly the case with Andrea De Castro (@hostesstoday), who transformed a scary-looking closet with a very sloped ceiling into a beautiful pantry. 

Andrea is to-the-point about what inspired her to make this change. “I needed a pantry, so I decided to turn this space into one,” she says. The before, in her words, “was a lost space under an outdoor staircase. It was dark and not good for storage.” Her goal was to “be able to store and have good access to my groceries.” 

The project took place as part of a renovation. “When we were renovating our home we decided to transform this space into a pantry,” says Andrea. “I drew what I wanted and hired a closet company to execute it. Fortunately, we didn’t have any hiccups. The company I hired was very efficient, and they were able to make exactly what I wanted.”

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Credit: Andrea De Castro

It took about two months to complete this project. Andrea says that the hardest part was waiting for the closet company to deliver and install the closet system. “The easiest part was organizing it,” she adds. 

While waiting for the closet to be delivered, Andrea shopped at IKEA and Homa Portugal for organizational finds. She touts that baskets and clear jars are the ideal organizing tool for her home. 

When asked about hidden organizational elements in her project, Andrea shares that she used a label machine to identify the products in the containers. Additionally, she writes the expiration dates on a piece of tape and places it on the bottom of the jars. 

Andrea’s favorite part? “I love the shallow shelves. It’s a great way to display and reach everything that I have. Good lighting helps a lot too.” 

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