Having an organized pantry is the dream… but not always the reality, unfortunately. So when we find real-life organized pantries, we feel it’s our duty to share — and we’re excited to share Natalie’s awesome and beautiful (but doable!) pantry makeover with you today: 

Natalie put just a handful of easy updates and smart organizing products into her pantry to make it look and function so much better — scroll down for all of the details, and peruse these other organized pantries as you scroll: 

slide-out pantry shelves and clear containers

pantry to coffee bar

organized pantry with sliding barn door

budget-friendly pantry makeover

Easy Organized Pantry Makeover
by Natalie from Refined Rooms

This post may contain affiliate links; see our full disclosure policy here. 

Hey Remodelaholics! I’m Natalie, and my little slice of the internet is called Refined Rooms. It’s where I regularly share ideas, tips and inspiration to help others create an organized and beautiful home. I’m over-the-moon excited to be included as a guest contributor on Remodelaholic! Like the rest of you, I’m a huge fan of the home decor and home improvement loveliness that Cass and company share with us each week.

Over the past few years on my blog, I’ve chronicled my efforts to transform our house from builder-grade “bleh” to a home that reflects my sense of style. Along the way, I hope to provide some design inspiration for my readers who are on a similar mission. Currently we’ve completed about 60% of our mega “whole home redesign” project (you can check out all of the completed room makeovers here).

The next project that’s in the queue for us is a massive kitchen overhaul. While we save up the necessary funds to tackle that beast of a project, I decided to focus my attention on a smaller kitchen-related project: a pantry makeover. And that’s the project that I’m sharing with you today.

 

I wouldn’t say that our pantry started out as a hot mess, but it certainly wasn’t what I’d call Pinterest-worthy. It contained a mishmosh of low quality storage products that found their way into the pantry over time.

The only existing storage containers worth salvaging for the makeover were these stackable baskets:

I got the ball rolling by pulling every last item out of the space, purging the expired food as I went along:

Once everything was out, I cringed at the site of those pantry shelves. The wear and tear of the past 11 years was undeniable.

So after giving the empty pantry a thorough cleaning, I grabbed my trusty can of Benjamin Moore Advance trim paint and gave the entire pantry a few coats of semi-gloss goodness:

 

Ahhh…so much better!

After repainting the pantry, of course I wanted to protect those newly painted shelves with some spiffy new shelf liner. I chose Plast-o-Mat clear ribbed shelf liner, since I’ve heard rave reviews about this product.

Inspired by several pantry makeovers I’d seen on Pinterest, I really wanted to pimp out my pantry by using removable wallpaper to add a pop of “Wow”. I’m a huge fan of this decorating element, and definitely think it’s worth the investment when used in a prominent space in your home. But when I calculated what it would cost to use removable wallpaper in my pantry (a not-so-public space), I decided that I needed to find a less pricey alternative.

Enter Peel ‘N Stick Laminate Shelf Liner!

 

This product looks like and behaves like removable wallpaper, but it was a fraction of the cost. All it took was a little measuring and cutting:

Voila! This gray and white trellis pattern added just the right amount of subtle interest to this itty bitty space, don’t you think?

 

 

Finally, it was time to put everything back. I splurged on some stylish new storage products and used some gorgeous printable labels to create Pantry 2.0.

Ready for the big reveal?

I’ve always lusted over those pantries where everything has been taken out of the ugly packaging and stored in classic glass canisters. I didn’t go to quite that extreme with Pantry 2.0, but I did introduce a few glass containers, including these beauties that are stored on the top shelf:

 

 

While we’re touring the top shelf, here’s a sneak peek at how I use a set of shelf helpers to create additional storage and improve visibility of items stored way in the back:

{I store back stock items underneath these shelves}

Not much changed on the next shelf down. I did replace the label on the container that we use to store breakfast-related packets.

Did those pretty hand-lettered labels catch your eye? I created them using a set of printables from the Creativity Exchange blog.

There’s more glass container loveliness to be found on this shelf. These containers now store our pasta:

The more dramatic changes took place on the lower shelves. I kept those white stacking baskets, but decided that it was time to ditch the cheapo storage containers and upgraded to ones that are more sturdy and attractive.

I had been eyeing up these wire milk crate baskets for months, but just couldn’t think of a place to use them in my home. Now I had the perfect excuse to finally snag them! They’re absolutely perfect for storing snack bags:

 

Moving down a shelf, I replaced the clear plastic bins that we used to store bread, cereal, and grains with these gray resin wicker storage baskets. This one simple tweak made the pantry interior so much more pleasing to the eye, since all of those bags and boxes were now hidden from sight when you open the door.

 

 

That brings us to the bottom two rows of the pantry, where you’ll find more stacking bins, as well as the open-front bin that we use to store potatoes and onions. We also store oversized jugs of cooking oil and vinegar on the floor, as well as our mixer.

 

 

Since storing things directly on the floor is not my jam, I had been storing these items in unattractive plastic crates. Wouldn’t you know it? Those fabulous milk crate wire baskets were also available in a larger size that worked perfectly for pantry floor storage.

It’s been several months since I painted the shelves and installed the new shelf liner. Let me tell you, the Plast-o-Mat shelf liner works like a dream. It’s attractive, a breeze to clean, and crazy heavy duty. Absolutely LOVE it!

 

PROJECT TIME BREAKDOWN:

• Pantry clean out, sort & purge process – 1 hour
• Painting (not including dry time between coats) – 1.5 hours
• Measuring, cutting, and hanging wallpaper – 1 hour
• Measuring & cutting shelf liner – 0.5 hours
• Organizing food items in storage containers & returning to pantry – 0.5 hours

TOTAL TIME: 4.5 hours

 

COST BREAKDOWN & SOURCE LIST:

• Shelf liner – $18
• Removable “wallpaper” – $9
• Glass storage containers (4) – $12 (purchased at TJ Maxx, these are comparable)
• Stackable baskets: large (4) – $28
• Stackable baskets: medium (4) – $16
• Shelf Helper (3) – $21
• Open front stacking bin – $12
• Lazy susan – $15
• Grey Resin Wicker Storage Baskets (3) – $18
• Clear acrylic organizer bin – $7
• Milk crate wire baskets (4) – $70
• Hand-lettered labels – $0
• Sticker paper for labels – $5
• Paint (Benjamin Moore Advance) – $0 (had on hand)

TOTAL COST: $231

 

 

 

 

So that’s a wrap!

I’m a huge fan of projects that improve both the functionality AND the aesthetics of a space. I heart this pantry makeover project because it was a quick and easy organizing/decorating WIN. I hope you did as well

I would love for you to head over to Refined Rooms, to check out some of my other redesign projects (our great room makeover and master bedroom makeover are definitely reader favorites!)

Oh, and if you’re looking for more home organizing projects to dive into this year, I’ve got you covered:

Thanks for hanging out with me here today…I hope I convinced you to tackle your own pantry makeover!

 

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Thanks for sharing your pantry with us, Natalie!

Remodelaholics, be sure to visit Refined Rooms to see more beautiful projects — and I, for one, need to take up the 40 bags in 40 days declutter challenge! 

 

The post Pretty Easy, Pretty Organized: Pretty Pantry Makeover appeared first on Remodelaholic.

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