Custom Pantry

When Mike and I bought our house, we knew it would need some love. One comment Mike continues to make as we live in this house, is that he knew that the kitchen would be the biggest part of our house.   My love for all things cooking and having people gather around food has never  been a secret! So after ripping out countertops and cabinets and the ceiling, it has become pretty close.

In the summer of 2011 Mike and I our family, friends, and ourselves completely gutted and revamped our kitchen. Looking at magazine after magazine and websites and any picture we could find, Mike with the help of many, turned our old kitchen into my dream kitchen. I got the farm sink I always wanted and the island. We upgraded our 1980's gas stove to a nice gas stove/convection oven with a roll out lower oven (I love it!). Needless to say it took all summer, we moved in with my parents for a few months and mostly completed the kitchen. We still had a few things to finish. And all of this was being completed while I was in the early months of pregnancy!

A winter, a spring and a baby later it was summer again and we were looking around our house and our "construction" to do list. We still lacked something we always wanted, and that was a pantry. We have used an old entertainment center for storage and a pantry, but we needed something to organize cans and small items. Mike, being the amazing designer and builder that he is, came up with a plan to build me a custom pantry around our refrigerator. 

The beginning stages.

The almost finished product.

We used the existing cabinet doors on our cabinets when we painted all the cabinetry. We shifted and moved the cabinets around the kitchen and we left some of our cabinets open without doors. I need to take some pictures of them, then I can show you! Because we did this we had extra doors, and Mike used those for our pantry. He also added crown molding that he made himself! Thanks to some amazing family that had the tools we needed! 

After each construction project around our home it makes me think of Miranda Lambert's The House that Built Me song:

Mama cut out pictures of houses for years

From 'Better Homes and Garden' magazines

Plans were drawn, concrete poured

And nail by nail and board by board

Daddy gave life to mama's dream

I love that our house already has so many stories intertwined in it. Every room, every board, every door as been touched with love and often frustration with each project we have taken on. I love that we will have endless stories to tell Lucy as she grows up in this house. And if we are ever to leave this home, I know there will be many tears. This house has built a part of me and our story as a family. I know this home is nothing without the family that lives in it, but I will always treasure the memories we have and continue to have in our home. And a BIG thank you to my husband for giving life to so many of my dreams!