Pantry Between-the-Studs

     Our ranch house, built in 1959, has a spacious feel due to the soaring vaulted ceilings, large open entry and big windows. It is, however, sorely lacking in closet/storage space on the main level, especially in the kitchen. Being an avid from-scratch cook, I keep stock of several types of vinegars, oils, flours, sugars. Canned goods and small tubs of extra beans, rice and nuts are stockpiled on sturdy shelves in the basement laundry room (this area doubles as storage for a small supply of natural disaster survival staples such as water, paper supplies, pet food, etc.) The kitchen's food storage situation is haphazard at best: a couple of small cabinet shelves, and an island for everyday essentials.At the very least, I can boast a large well-organized spice drawer!

     The last storage area is wall space grabbed from the basement stairway just off the kitchen - an ugly wire shelf mounted with clips. It has served its purpose but not very gracefully. I have long wanted to replace it and finally found an idea that appealed and actually opened up the stairwell by a few inches: between-the-studs shelving.

     So we began knocking out drywall, which was scary at first but after a bit we got braver and finished with a nice sized opening in which to place our shelves. After measuring, we visited the home improvement store and bought some lengths of durable but pretty poplar (Pop laughs at my descriptions of utilitarian wood), brads, and shelf clips. I measured and marked, Pop sawed and then I assembled, drilled shelf holes and painted - this was fun stuff!

     Putting the shelf boxes in place was a joint effort; the far one went in quite easily but the near one did not. My fault - I had measured the width between the studs close to the bottom and did not figure that it might be different at the top. Well it was - narrower by half an inch!@# Oh well, nothing for it but to disassemble that side of the box, cut the frame and the backing, and then nail it all back together again. Lesson learned!

     Pop used a nail gun to attach the boxes to the studs; I think he found this task highly entertaining - he loves wielding that tool! We were pleased as punch with the way things were looking (and that the drafty hole in the wall was mostly covered). The vodka bottle was kept handy because it was, ahem, essential for placing the lower shelves at the correct height.

     Here is a close up of the wires we encountered and how we dealt with that obstacle. It was simple to just construct that box a little narrower and use shims to hold it in place, thereby keeping the wires unobstructed and safely enclosed.

     The next step was cutting and assembling the face frame.  After considering some type of milled molding, we decided a clean flat surface was more appropriate, so the choice was 2 1/2 inch poplar for the outside and 3 1/2 inch for the vertical center piece. This photo shows a different angle - looking up the stairway.
















     The final step was placing the shelves. These were lengths cut from an old cd tower and after seeing how they looked in their natural wood finish, I decided not to paint them white. Actually the look mimics the kitchen island, which is white with a butcher-block top.

     And with the stocking of the shelves, we reach the end of our project and couldn't be more pleased. Now we are anxious to start another! 

                                          

 Mayhap now we need a shot of that American Honey to toast our hard work...