Pantry Transformation-Allover Wall Stencil

Ever since I learned about stencils, I wanted to try them in my home. I gave them a try in Stencil Design Art and enjoyed the process and the effect they gave. So, this past weekend I decided to take my stenciling skill a step higher and stencil the pantry.

As a designer, I tend to analyze every project and highlight the “problems” in order to create successful design “solutions”. So, what is the problem with the current pantry? Functionally, I have it organized with open baskets, storage containers, helper shelves, and spice racks for smooth functioning. However, it falls apart after a while and end up looking like the picture above. Also, there is wasted space above the top shelf that I should take advantage of. Moreover, I buy several spices from my country of Jordan so I need to find a way to store them out of sight. Another thing is the current school snack area which tends to get too messy too fast, I need to think of a way to help it function better. Finally, as you can see, the pantry is dull! No Color, No excitement! It is begging for some design attention. 🙂

Design Goal: I need to create a dramatic, organized and functional pantry.

Design Solution: To create drama, I will use bold colors in yellow and brown. I will add white stencil to tone down the bold colors and allow me to keep all the white open containers I currently own. I will also order two closet maid Cubeicals which would be used vertically to take advantage of all the space above the highest shelf as well as provide hidden storage. Finally, I will add a couple of open baskets for the kids school snacks for easy access.

Let the work begin!

I painted the walls a golden yellow color from Behr. The kitchen walls are green with a golden yellow undertone so the golden yellow was the perfect choice for the pantry. Take a look

Now, comes the fun part, Stencils. I prepared all my supplies: Iron Lattice stencil pattern, Folk Art Wicker White acrylic paint, stencil adhesive, brush and roller (In my excitement I forgot to take a picture of the supplies! Sorry) This was fun until I had to stencil between the shelves! This was a large sheet that did not fit between the shelves, so I had to do a lot of bending and folding to be able to stencil the pattern on the wall. This was extremely frustrating and hard to do! I know what you must be thinking, why didn’t you cut it to fit between the shelves? I was afraid to mess up the pattern and end up with a bigger problem and further frustration. So, I decided to be patient and try my best at making it perfect. Finally, I painted the top side of the shelves brown (Behr breakfast blend). It was all worth it! Take at look at this

I could not wait for the paint to dry so I can put everything back and see the complete picture. I have included the before pictures so you can see the transformation of my pantry. From Boring to exciting! Yay

As you can see, items that are used on a daily basis are within reach. That includes the cereals, snacks, oils, rice, etc. The least used items such as extra spices and K-Cup coffee are hidden inside those decorative fabric drawers on the highest shelf. I still need to buy cute labels to list the contents in each.

I am extremely happy with my new pantry design. It is not only functional but it looks bright , spacious, exciting and inviting (though I am not sure if that is a good thing ! ) 🙂