Pantry Build Progress
DH did the demo this morning. This is the dry goods storage area within the pantry off the kitchen.
I've been squawking about this forever, so thought I'd post progress pictures now that work has started.
Plastic up, one forgets the fun of plaster dust everywhere.
The wall on the left is being 'moved' over a couple of inches, to gain interior space.
Wall down, job site cleaned up.
Next up: move light switch on wall to kitchen side, move outlet on wall over, patch holes. Build framework for pocket doors and new walls.
Comments (93)
9 years ago- 9 years ago
Related Discussions
Aging-Gracefully-In-Place: Tips for reno or new builds
Comments (34)Good morning to Dorset from Scotland! My husband had a birthday last week and is now saying we're 'pushing 60'. We're active and fit, lol, but sensible too-the day will come sooner rather than later when one or both of us is not able to claim to be spry. Because the little cottage is in such a sad cosmetic state it was listed at a rather amazing price and we locked ourselves into it too early thinking it was a perfect spot for us to grow old. Whoops, thanks to several posts here about doing a reno or new build with a mind to age-in-place we are having to admit that is not the house for us. Luckily the town is the 'gateway to the glens' and if we wanted to use it as a holiday let we could easily. It's also becoming a commuter town-the hardier type people from Dundee and Aberdeen are buying in to take advantage of the great mountain lifestyle whilst being able to easily commute to their 'day job'. We were not looking for an investment property-not especially keen on the idea but more and more we're thinking that's what we've got. We measured the borrowed wheel chair, and also took the measurements of the typical mobility devices available now (the ones that are adverted as being in-outdoors), and frankly held up against the kitchen and bath measurements, there is no way we can make the bathroom work. Up thread (I think it was Deborah Butler of Brickwood Builders) a wet-room was mentioned as being best to accommodate a roll-in shower but hard to do as a reno project. Looking at the floor-plan, home report, and our own measurements confirmed that on this wee cottage-there is no way to do that and no way a wheelchair or mobility device is going to be rolled in that cupboard size bathroom. The kitchen could be managed if we drop the pantry wall idea, but the bathroom we planned to make a shower room is not manageable at all, and there is no room to extend that space. We would have figured all this out but much further down Reno Road, lol, so this thread has been a huge help to us just on that! Because we're now doing a much simpler reno (dropping the wider doorways and sliders, the ramp, and a few other a-i-p doings), the cost to renovate that lovely wee home is much lower too. The only things we won't be able to do ourselves is the shower conversion and the rewiring. A huge savings that we're going to need to find the right place for us! We know now that we need to look for a home with room to enlarge bathroom and kitchen areas, and with a less tricky entry to incorporate a ramp. For starters:) We have to be out of our current home by 1st August when the new owners will be arriving from Australia. We've borrowed the use of a caravan from friends to live in whilst doing the cottage reno (now that's small space living!) and that's going to be a help but I sure wish I'd joined Houzz sooner! I would have started this thread BEFORE locking into a property too small for our needs. Too, rather than use it as a holiday let or sell it on, we may move into the cottage once the reno is complete but we do know now there is no way we'll be able to age-gracefully-in-place in it. Sigh. Oh well, our builder is happy-he wasn't keen on trying to fit those sliding doors:) Take-Away For the Day? Be sure the property has room to expand vital living spaces before making an offer that is sure to be accepted:(...See MoreKitchen Pantry depth issue.
Comments (11)Your renovation looks like it is going very well, don't get discouraged. I think before you change the pantry cupboard, it would be worthwhile you and your partner mocking up the eating area and the kitchen island unit to get an idea of where you're going. Re the island, I think an island unit which runs to the end of the pantry cupboard will add more weight and bulk to the space and anchor the pantry. It could be a working bench at the far end and an eat-on area at the closer end. This will give you space to 'land' items you are pulling out of the pantry If you mocked this up with some boxes and sheets, and then also added some large "pictures" taped to the walls, left and right of the pantry, I think it would give you a much better idea of the finished space. Re the art size, possibly pieces that relate to the pantry cupboard height on the left side of it and two pieces either side of the range hood that relate to the lower level upper cabinets at the far end ....See MoreNaive idea on building costs
Comments (3)I'm having the same problem in being naive about price to building a rear kitchen extension 5 x 3.2m in North London - was expecting to be about £35k quotes coming a just over £40k - £65k and the kitchen isn't even included :-0...See MoreShould we block up our pantry
Comments (20)Wow thank you all so much for your comments and inputs. I should have mentioned before that we are also planning on blocking up the door from hall into the kitchen which will allow for more kitchen cupboards and work surfaces once the wall has come down. I have mocked up two versions of the kitchen on a design website; one with and one without the pantry. Would love to hear your thoughts (please ignore the colours, I have found that feature of the website particularly temperamental!) More details on the pantry: we think it is single walled and therefore pretty cold in there, it also gets wider towards the back (70cm) and slopes down. At one point we were hoping to stack the tumble dryer on top of the washing machine in there however the door and front of the pantry is slightly too narrow (55cm wide). Again, thanks for your comments....See More- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
And a short 3 months later... More or less complete! I'll probably stage after a Costco run, and I'm still learning how to shoot in a small space, but we're so very pleased with how it came out.
I owe a huge thanks to the forum for giving me so much help and encouragement along the way, with a particular call out to EAM44 (you are the best!!).
Original space, as a reminder:
From design (Sketchup)...
... to completion.
Right side:
Left side:
It took me a while to figure out, but I was able to place my most frequently used appliances at a comfortable height, so I can just walk in and pick them up, vs. open a cabinet to get to them and in the case of the Cuisinart, assemble.
It's very hard to get a decent image from straight on:
In one of my earlier designs, I envisioned a cabinet with multiple pull out/rollout drawers. I can't remember who it was, but some wise GW-er pointed out that the beauty of a pantry is the ability to tell at a glance what you have. This layout has been enormously functional. I have my soup shelf, rice shelf, pasta shelf, etc.... and a couple of few empty shelves still :)
Interior Left:
9 years ago- 9 years ago
- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
barncatz, mom2sulu, thanks!
Cheryl, Pennie - Thank you both for the kind words. It's been great fun watching your progress on the Lilysmom thread too:)
motherof3sons - You made me smile, what a nice thing to say!!
homepro01 - DH and I LOVE the Haiku light! We have it set to 1 minute and really like how it comes on each time we walk by. (Another chance to look in and smile). I had thought I would like the warmer lighting but much prefer the cooler tones. It's such fun to be able to adjust, thank you again for recommending it.
lafonda_ranch - the dimensions are 69" x 50" x 94". The back wall of shelves is 13" deep and the sides are 9" deep.
Annkh - Thanks! Yes, having a place for a well-used dish or appliance is just something satisfying:) It WAS so much fun to put away... DH would make a final cut and then hand me a shelf and I was right behind him putting things away / arranging.
autumn.4 - Neat, glad to hear, we'll be looking for before and after pictures! I'll be glad to post close-ups or explain in detail, if your DH has any questions. DH made the vertical shelf supports - but you can also buy them.
romy718 - WOW, what a lovely thing to hear! Thanks so much. I kept coming back to the below pantry for inspiration - for me, the key was the L shaped corner shelves and the ability to have deeper and more shallow shelves.
Spacious Kitchen Pantry - Riverside, CT · More Infoaktillery9 - I'm so pleased you like it! There was a very tranquil feeling currently in the pantry, which I didn't want to lose. Using the current tile was the right choice in the end. (And, thanks to Eam for hanging in there and tolerating my endless questions).
I am so grateful to this forum - I've had a ball designing this and seeing it come to life (thanks to dear, dear DH) has been great fun!
9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
9 years ago- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
Thanks for reminding me of dimensions. Gosh I wish I had those extra inches to make this work for mine. I'm super envious of this but know it wasn't meant for my space. It's, to borrow the word from my tea cup today:
oldbat2be thanked smm5525 - 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
cevamal - I always planned the vertical dividers as 'permanent'. That said, note how I changed them from my original 'plan'. As I lived with the space, I realized I really wanted a location where I could plop a case of, say, San Pellegrino, at the bottom and use the other shelves for items regularly used. (And then there's the dust factor, too, with a dog and a cat).
Consider that moving the vertical dividers up or down is easy - just move the shelves which hold them. (And potentially the shelves above and below too - if the next shelf has a divider as well). Resizing the height of the vertical dividers consists of cutting them down or adding bigger ones. Repositioning involves unscrewing the grooved piece of wood from the shelf, filling that hole, and screwing it in again. In short, put time into figuring out what you will store, where, to minimize any changes!
smm5525 - said with a nice plummy accent, no?! :)
buehl - thanks!!
9 years ago
9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago- 9 years ago
- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
MaWizz - Thanks so much for the kind words! We actually call this room the pantry, so the new dry goods storage is the pantry in the pantry :) Here's a shot of the space and the ahem, beer cooler, along with a sketch:
ILoveRed - good point about the size. It does feel so much larger! I used every centimeter available:)
cevamal - I have to say that this was incredibly labor intensive, and that DH constantly checked that surfaces were plum and level. Here's one of the build instructions I made for DH, which shows the general concept. I've added the sawtooth supports in, in green and orange, to show where they go. See above pictures earlier in the thread for close-ups. Rough opening was 69" x 50". Note that the walls on the right and back (in blue) were pre-existing, so are not included in the RO. The back wall of shelves is 13" deep and the sides are 9" deep.
And the bottom:
- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
motherof3sons