This spring has been very cold and wet. The cold is unusual. We typically break out shorts at the end of February and stay in them until Thanksgiving. But not this year! Of course, this is the spring we decided to get some outside stuff done before the summer heat kicks in. We managed to get the new fence installed, the ceiling up on our sunroom, and some patio chairs around our fire pit, but the rain has prevented much else from getting done. We didn't want to waste time though, so we started a new project.
This was our coat closet. It was filled with jackets that are too small (literally, my 18 yr old son's jacket from when he was 10 was still in the closet!!), some odds and ends that we had stashed when we moved in that we didn't know what to do with, and the dog and cat food. So except for the pet food, it was completely wasted space. On the other side of the wall to the right is the pantry. I have yet to understand why home builders who build family-sized homes (we have a 4 bedroom, 2000 sq ft home) make kitchens that impractical! Our overall size is actually good in this kitchen, but the pantry was stupid small. We took the door off two years ago because things would spill out at us because it was over packed. In my defense, of my four kids, three are teenage boys. They eat A LOT!!! And I love to cook. I like having a well stocked pantry. So I asked The Builder how he felt about closing off the wall to the coat closet and opening up the wall into the pantry to expand it out. He was completely on board!
You can see here that the drywall is going in where the closet door used to be. The two spaces are now open side by side, although the studs still need to come out. The left is the original pantry. I think if it hadn't been framed for a door, it might have felt more usable, even though there really wasn't any more space. But trying to get into the pantry through the narrow door was never good. The coat closet added about 36 inches to the overall width. The total width when we're done will be 84". The top will have open shelving but the bottom we're building a custom cabinet. It will have a butcher block top and three divided sections.
One of them will be used to store the pet food that was in the coat closet. We will use these recycling bins from Ikea:
One of them will be used to store the pet food that was in the coat closet. We will use these recycling bins from Ikea. We bought one so we could properly size the shelves to put them on. This is the shorter one, but we actually bought the taller ones that will hold more food. The 'door' that opens on the front of the recycling bin is perfect to be able to scoop out pet food.
We'll also use some of the cabinet space to store my ever-growing collection of small kitchen appliances. Because you see, apparently I have a problem. I recently got a panini press to add to my collection. Earlier this year I bought an Instantpot (LOVE this) and an air fryer (love this even MORE). We have a tabletop movie popcorn maker that my son got for Christmas, in addition to normal appliances, like a toaster. I also have an assortment of mixing bowls and other kitchen gadgets that aren't currently stored very well. My kitchen cabinets are awkward with a weird half shelf in them that doesn't let me store larger items. So this extra tall pantry cabinet is going to be a great addition to our kitchen.
On the bright side of this demo, this is the first project that we've had at this house where when we opened a wall, there was NO water damage. I mean, there shouldn't be in a pantry and a coat closet. But with this house, we never actually know. We suspect most of the water damage is from Hurricane Ike. We know they put on a new roof after that. But this time, no water damage!
This demo did end up being more complicated than we expected. At one point in time, there was a security system in this house. The panel was still hanging in the coat closet but has been disconnected for some time. There was a power supply to the box that we thought we'd move to the outside wall since there was already a junction box in the pantry. Well surprise, that is a dedicated power line that is COMPLETELY SEPARATE from the rest of the power in the entire house. After we finally got it turned off at the box, The Builder went up to the attic to move the power line. Only to discover we'd have to remove the carpet in the closet of the boys' room to access the junction box in the ceiling to get to it! That is not a project we want to take on at this point so we're going to cap it at the wall and leave that as a project for another year day.
This has all been over the last couple of weeks, but we've made a lot of progress this past week. More to come!
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