Hello to everyone, it’s been some time since I have blogged anything, I have kept myself busy and distracted with home improvement projects and have left 2 paintings on the easel for over 1 1/2 months which I think I need to start over. I initially started with a strong pace, I even painted the walls of my art studio and decorated my space to be cozy and just a nice environment to be in. I wanted the walls to be warmer so I opted to paint them from the creamy white color to medium to dark blue-gray-green, not sure how to describe it but it does change color and hue with lighting. Here’s the before and after.
Before
After
Then… Halloween came around and the paintings that I have started are still sitting patiently waiting for completion, during that time I had the brilliant idea of redoing my pantry, I had those annoying wire shelving which does not support those Fido Storage Glass containers. The whole pantry was looking pretty ratty and I had placed pieces of plywood with some supports so the shelves would not slope down. It was time to tackle this pantry.
I started to search on google for ideas on how to tackle this pantry but I could not find something that inspired me, I knew that I did not want any support except the walls. I wanted wall to wall but the pantry is situated in a corner. So, I opted to lightly sketch or scribble if you will an idea and then it hit me… why not make it interesting, functional and different. Here’s a picture of my sketch, I don’t think anyone can make sense of it.
Then, I measured the length of the shelves and figured out how many shelves I wanted and the depth of the shelves. I did a quick list of supplies and headed out to my HD store in hopes that they had everything I needed which, is usually a challenge to find what I want from my local store.
4 sheets of 3/4″ 4ft x 8ft plywood –
I originally was planning on using MDF but I decided to go with wood and figured 3/4″ plywood would be a good pick, this is what I got.
I had them cut the 6 sheets for me because it would make it easier for me to carry and place it in my car.
I had them cut:
2 sheets in 4 lengthwise making them 1ft x 8ft
2 sheets in 3 lengthwise making them 16in x 8ft
then I just would have to cut the shelves into length once I was home.
16 1x2x8ft common board – for the walls where the plywood shelves would sit on.
Hillman Pop-Toggle anchors – 8 boxes
These I used for the common boards that go on the wall.
I also purchased a box of SPAX 2 inches to substitute for the anchors when there are studs behind the drywall.
I used the SPAX 1-1/2 to screw the shelf to the common board that had been screwed to the wall.
I cleared out the pantry, spackled and painted the walls a greyish color named “Sparrow” by Behr.
Once dried I started marking, writing down measurements and taping where the shelves would be.
I did all my cuts and did some painting for the shelves but then had a change of mind about prepainting.
Now for the fun part…
I had to predrill install the common boards and shelves in layers. Otherwise, if I would install all the common boards to the wall I would not be able to install the shelves because of maneuverability. I work at a turtle pace, I tackled this project all by myself because hubby had no spare time to help. So I worked meticulously and tried not to get overzealous. I took longer but I knew that I would be happy with the results.
I had measured the shelves but had not measured and cut the vertical supports but no problem, I added them as I moved along. Once the shelves were all done I had to shave with a surform plane and sand all the shelves. I taped and painted the shelves a semi-gloss white.
This is how it all turned out.
So now that I have a whole bunch of plywood left because the shelves measure between 50 – 51inches so, therefore, I am left with a whole bunch of 36″ length boards. No worries I have an idea… I’ll blog it when it’s done. Maybe I’ll go finish those paintings on the easel, lol.
Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Wonderful prosperous NEW YEAR! 🙂
Art by Isabel 
