Pantry Reno Part 2

It was time to get the door ready. I bought the door from craigslist for $10. It was pretty dirty from being in someone's shed or something. I cleaned it well, scraped off any loose paint and put on 2 coats of Polycrylic to keep the paint from peeling anymore lest one of my rugrats decides to eat paint chips.

 Hanging the door was definitely a 2 person job. A third person would have been helpful too. The hardware was heavy and so was the door. By the way, the panes are glass but have some sort of textured coating that obscures the glass. Looking from a side angle, you can't see in really at all. The hardware is from Grainger and was less than $150 for the track and hangers. Much better than the $400 stuff.

 Front view:

 Sliding open:

 Here is a comparison with the old door jamb. I gained like 7 or 8 inches in the opening. Don't miss the cutest helper on the planet.

 

 Here is another view...from standing on the counter. Because everyone does that when they come over.

 People kept asking how I would keep the door next to the wall and not swinging out. And believe you me, the kids were pulling it out like crazy until I put this little do-hickey on. I found it with all the decking/framing connectors at the hardware store. I had to bend part of it up to suit my needs. Think outside the box people.

 I built a cabinet to house the drawers.

 And built this big, heavy pullout. Building it was the easy part. Getting all the drawer slides to work together took days.

 Here I was testing fit:

 How it looks when it is pulled out.

 After I painted it and put a handle on the pullout.

 Front view:

 Drawers pulled out all the way:

 Requisite pinterest photo with drawers all pulled out at staggered intervals. I lined the drawers with some shelfliner from Walmart. I looked and looked for alternatives but finally just settled with the grasscloth-lookin' stuff. It's wipeable which was the first priority.

 Somewhat loaded up. I have so much more room to use! The pantry is the same size but has a lot more access and better use of space so I can fit more in it. BAM!

 If you look strait on the door, you can see somewhat inside. Vaguely.

 But, again, from the side, you can't see what's in there hardly at all.

 Almost forgot. Since the door doesn't "latch" I put a lock on the top. You know, to keep the rugrats out when I don't want them gettin' in to things. The block acts as a stop for the door as well. If I had made the stop deeper then the lock could have sat better, but this works.

 I had it done just in time for Thanksgiving and I can say it passed with flying colors. I had 25 people at my house, including my own hubs and kids and it stood the test. I love it. It is all I imagined.

Kitchen-before and after

While not 100% done, I am at a good stopping point. I need to look long and hard for a great deal on some tile for a backsplash. Plus I want to get a new window covering for over the sink and do something special with my pantry door.....and on and on. But here are the before and "after" photos.

Kitchen remodel-lower cabinets

Well, here we are. Though the lowers are not 100% done, it's time to at least give you an update and show you the new granite! Wahoo!


Before:

After:
(You can see the side of the cabinets where I still need to paint, etc,)

Before:
(Also notice the top "drawer" just to the left of the oven. It has hinges on the bottom. It used to be that you would open that little "door" and pull out the breadboard. So weird.)
After:
(I countersunk some screws in the front of that drawer/door thingy and spackled over them so now there is no weird door. You just pull the handle and it is directly attached to the breadboard. In this picture the spackle is still drying and hadn't been sanded or finished yet.)

Notice the false front drawers under the old sink. While I was at it, I turned them into tilt-out drawers and added cup pulls to them too. So much more useful!


I still need to finish the side and back of the peninsula. That is a post for next week. Then they will be 100% done! I am super happy. The room is SOOOO much brighter, cleaner, and sparkly.

Future plans: Find some tile for the backsplash. Oh, and learn how to actually do the tile.

Crown moulding/shelf done!

Here is the finished product!









And then today I did this:








I beat up the base cabinets a little. At least they were kinda crappy to begin with. Plus, my painting plans include some new trim that will cover any of that anyway. So it's all good, little chickens. I started with my little jigsaw but this job was too much for it. So I called in the big guns and borrowed a sawzall. Holy moley. I know what I want next. Hee hee.

Granite comes tomorrow! Yipee!!!