Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Pantry Takes Shape

A pantry is a wonderful thing to have.  It's where you hide those awful plastic thermos jugs and the dogfood, plus the brooms, mops and the Swiffer.  Also it's a good place to stash liquor and the potato chips.  And, if you happen to have any- it's where you put the canned goods.

In our old house we had a walk-in pantry--what a luxury.  The previous owner said the reason she bought that house was the walk-in pantry--she had two boys, so I believed her.  Since we loved that pantry and knew it was a good selling point, we realized we had to include one in this house--not as big, but as roomy as possible.

Here is it, tucked into the corner next to the fridge.  Luckily we had a door we could reuse, complete with crystal door knob and hardware.


We labored over what to do for shelves--should we go with the wire racks from Lowe's or maybe build wooden shelves?
I thought something almost industrial or from a professional kitchen would go with the "look" we were after.

Here's some inspiration:

(McAlpine Tankersly Architecture)


(Briggs Shelving)


(Restoration Hardware)



(Restoration Hardware Baker's Rack)


And finally the "in the flesh" shelves from Ikea.
  I liked the "professional kitchen" style and thought it would go with the other parts of our kitchen.



Of course since nothing is easy these turned out to be 3 inches too long. But the style was right.
We found that Ikea sells wooden shelves for these units--and we could cut them down to fit.

I spent 3 long hot--very hot steamy sweaty--days priming and painting.
Here's what we wound up with:



There's a touch of the industrial with the adjustible metal hangers.
Not exactly a match for the inspiration, but we gave it a shot.


Next time I'll measure the shelves and then build the pantry.
Right.

Later,
Patti

Sunday, August 8, 2010

We're In!

Here's why I have been a total Blog Slacker:


I've been opening boxes and pulling out things I haven't seen in a while--some things I've found that I can't believe I hung on to, other things haven't shown up.  We do still have that storage unit in Roswell.

Steve and I have made a lot of progress.
We can cook dinner and watch tv, 


...and sleep in our own bed.




The office is set up--but it's still a mess.
We're missing that one little VERY important cord to the printer...


I've worked on the living room.  The first week I think I just moved boxes around and made almost no progress.
This weekend it started to come together.



Notice my very stylish shades.  I kinda like the paper look. It's very clean and not at all fussy.

I just piled stuff on the shelves waiting for the MOOD to strike.
When I feel inspired, I'll arrange them a little better.



We did the same with pictures and wall decor.
Some of which could find its way to Good Will.




I've done just about all I can in the dining room for now.  I hope my china and pictures are in the storage unit.  White dishes in the corner hutches would show up well, don't you think?  If you squint you can see Mrs. Hinkle's coffee set in the left hutch.  This set of china is white with silver designs.  Steve's dad got it in Japan during the Korean War.

The light fixture is from Restoration Hardware's outlet that used to be in Destin. 
The glass jars and the curtains are from Pottery Barn's outlet in Dawsonville.

I loove the curtains.  They're raw silk. So chic.
The curtain rod came from Home Depot--not your usual fashion destination.



One last thing:
The door knobs came--yippee!
Steve has been busy putting them in.  We tried to match the style of the lights.



So much better.




 I'm going to try to be a little more regular with posts.  There's a ton to do around here so I won't be lacking for subject matter.
Take care everybody and check back soon. 

Patti