I feel like this post should begin with a big drum roll…after 5 weeks of One Room Challenge chaos, it’s time to show you the finished and organized pantry!
Let’s get to it!
As a reminder, here is what the pantry looked like Week #1. It is a GREAT space that was a big factor in us selecting this floorplan, but the room wasn’t as organized or stylish as I knew it could be.
I put together a plan to give the pantry a Vintage Modern Chic vibe with tons of storage.
Ahh…it looks so much better through the glass door now!
Ready to step inside?
I’m in shock that the mood board came to life better than I could have ever dreamed.
Side note: I moved many cookbooks to the garage sale tub. I’ve had a LOT of comments about “missing cookbooks”, but part of EVERY organizing project should start with purging the items you don’t need. 
Let’s go back and talk about that ridiculously amazing chalkboard wall art for minute.
I believe my words to my husband were “Can you draw me one of those butcher cow or pig things? Make it big”.
I left the house while he worked, and before long started getting text messages with photos of his progress and I was blown away. He drew the pig exactly as I imagined!
Then my phone chirped again and it was a drawing of a much more elaborate scene and he wanted to know if he should add it to the wall as well. Ummmm…Yes!!!!
The new art incorporates our last name, the year we were married, our home town, and the PERFECT scripture for the space. The ribbons on the left and right say “Go eat your food joyfully & drink your wine happily – Ecc 9:7”.
Seriously, how did he go from a pig to this whole brilliant thing while I was gone for a few hours? Mind-blown.
I can’t really top his artwork with the rest of the room, but I love it all anyways! Let’s take a closer look.
The drawer hardware is gorgeous, and you’d never know I saved 84% on it!
I was totally bummed when my beautiful DIY orb wasn’t bright enough to light up the space, but all is good now.
This drum pendant from Lowe’s is perfect! I had to paint it gold, but I was so relieved to find such an awesome fixture without breaking the bank.
I used to have a shallow wicker tray for our coffee/tea/cocoa, but as I was putting the room back together, I had a sudden and overwhelming desire for the tray to be Lucite. It’s divine, right?
Now I skip joyfully to the pantry for my coffee in the morning.
Above the coffee station, I used some jars from the “before” pantry to hold our dry bulk goods. I love the new labels!
These clear food storage containers are an affordable alternative to the popular Oxo containers.
The tile wall was absolutely worth the drama queen grout. And seriously, isn’t that sombrero-wearing frog juicer the cutest thing ever?
The photo boxes along the top are for cookie cutters!
Can I be sappy again? This is the first time I’ve completed a room that is a total reflection of me without compromise.
The space embraces pretty much every varied aspect of my personality. It’s a contradiction between splurges and frugality, between glamour and functionality, and between modern and vintage.
I relate completely to all of those contradictions – I am the lady with the Kate Spade purse in the Dollar Tree.
To see what the room looks like a few years later, check out the real life pantry follow up post next!
Since this post was originally written, I’ve completed the One Room Challenge many times. It pushes me to be my best, and I still have trouble believing the rooms we’ve created our my designs or mine in general!
Here’s a list for you to visit next:
Girly Glam Office
Dreamy Organized Master Closet
Tizzy says
I personally love your “after” pantry; you’ve done a great job!
Emily-Grace says
What a fabulous job!! I love the mix of “old” and new! I’m a huge believer in reusing what you can when you can, and being willing to buy what will truly WORK for the space when you need to. Honestly, though, I think my favorite part about this project is just how much YOU can be seen in the space. So many times when I look at gorgeous rooms I think “yes, that’s pretty, but Who Lives Here?”. This speaks volumes to your love of God, your husband and your family. It’s whimsical yet sophisticated. It’s gorgeous but doesn’t take itself too seriously. I think the time and effort that you both put into is clear (in the best possible sense). (Also I love that choice of scripture!!)
Again, wonderful job! (PS if we ever run into each other in some random dollar tree, I’ll be the other person with a Kate Spade bag, exclaiming over the savings) 🙂
Melissa George says
Oh my gosh Emily-Grace! If we ever run into each other at Dollar Tree I’m going to claim you and your Kate Spade purse as a new best friend. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such an awesome comment. YOU seriously got ME and what I was going for in this room.
Emily-Grace says
Anytime, gorgeous!! I’ll keep my eyes peeled for ya’! 😉
Kellie says
This is just amazing! Found your blog on Pinterest and thrilled to see a BA girl with such great taste. If I see you at a TU game I’ll try not to run up and gush about your home 🙂
Melissa George says
Oh my gosh Kellie! It’s AWESOME that you are local and found me on Pinterest! It would seriously be an out of body experience you ran up to me at a TU game. I’ve never met one of my readers in real life, unless they knew me before the blog, or are a blogger themselves. Feel free to introduce yourself if you ever see me around!
Jen in Jersey says
Popping over here from I(heart)organizing. Now that you’ve had this pantry in place for awhile is there anything you’d change? I specifically am wondering about the can dispensers, do they work well? We move a lot (my hubby is in the Air Force) and I love to find organizational systems that can move with us!
Thanks. 🙂
Melissa George says
Hi Jen! Thanks for popping over! So far, I haven’t come up with anything to change. The can dispensers are perfect for us. The exact ones we bought from WalMart worried me at first because I thought they’d be too flimsy. I don’t notice that at all now, but you might consider ordering sturdier ones if you are moving a lot. I’ve also heard people who use more canned food than we do complain that they can fit more cans in the same space by stacking vs using the dispensers. For us, that isn’t an issue because we still have open space in the dispensers. It is seriously amazing to need a can of Rotel and know exactly where is it going to be! No moving things around to find it AND the next can just rolls to the front without me having to rearrange things. Whew, sorry for the long winded response, but I DO love them! And thank YOU and your husband for your sacrifices.
Mandy White says
I totally cracked up at your “Kate Spade in the Dollar Tree” because that is ME, except it’s Goodwill or the $.99 Store! I came over from I Heart Organizing, and I love the makeover!
Melissa George says
It’s so nice when you find out that you aren’t alone in these odd contradictions. Thanks so much for stopping over – I hope you come back to visit again soon!
Rebecca Robinson says
Hey Melissa!
I love your pantry makeover! The tiles for the back splash wall were adorable and your use of gold and chalkboard were a perfect harmony. Great Job!
Leah says
Hello! Can you please send me the link to order the custom labels?
Melissa George says
Sure! https://www.etsy.com/listing/220444886/customized-pantry-labels-small-organize?
Rupa Wong says
Wow! Love your pantry!!! Gorgeous. We’re going to be building a walk-in pantry this summer and you have given me to strive towards. One question – is the fridge in your pantry your only fridge or is it a second fridge? I have 3 kiddos and we don’t have room in our garage for a second fridge and I was actually just thinking last week to put it in the new pantry. How big is your space? Thanks again for the inspiration
megan says
love your pantry!!
fantastic!
i was wondering where you found all of your containers?
it really is just a lovely space.
thanks for the inspiration!
Melissa George says
Thanks Megan! Toward the bottom of this follow-up post – http://www.polishedhabitat.com/2014/pantry-organization/ – there is a source list that breaks down where each of the organizing containers came from. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Holly says
Oh my gosh. Instant obsession. I am seriously in love with EVERY aspect of this pantry!! Those gold accents tho .. they steal my heart 🙂 Beyond fabulous job.
Melissa George says
Ah, thank you Holly!!!
Eileen says
I absolutely love the entire pantry…I’m wondering if you have any information on the door! I’d love to have a door with the windows like that! Thanks!
Melissa George says
Hi Eileen – The door was provided by our builder, but I’ve seen similar ones at Lowe’s! I am pretty sure it’s called a single french door. Thanks for reading!
Teresa says
This may just be the coolest (can’t think of a better word) pantry I’ve ever seen. The organization is outstanding, and the chalkboard art?! Your husband has some serious talent. It’s all fantastic!
Paige @ Reasons to Come Home says
Hi! I love the makeover. You did such a great job! I’m just curious as to how the spray painted hardware is holding up. I’m looking for hardware for our kitchen reno but there’s no way I’m paying $20+ for a drawer pull!
Melissa George says
They are holding up amazingly well – I have a six month follow up picture of them on this page about halfway down: http://www.polishedhabitat.com/2015/the-state-of-the-pantry-six-months-later/ I think I mention it in that post, but in case I didn’t, I don’t use them every single day, so even the six month update isn’t exactly the same as if they were in the kitchen. BUT, they are flawless enough in the pantry (now at 9 months out), that I wouldn’t hesitate to do that same pull/paint combo in our actual kitchen. I would guess that different pulls would take the paint a differently and if you had a super high gloss pull, it might be more problematic. A higher gloss paint might also have trouble sticking. Hope that helps!
Kathy Biallas says
This is lovely! I was delighted with the backsplash tile you chose, and since green is my favorite color, every bit of the room that had green was perfect. Really nicely done. (My personal preference is silver over gold, but the gold really worked well in this space.) Really nice!
Melissa George says
Thanks so much Kathy! I’m glad you enjoyed the green accents. I usually fret over picking a color, but for that space I knew exactly what I wanted.
Carolyn Foxworthy says
You and your husband make an awesome team. That is the most beautiful pantry I have ever seen. I love it. How did you paint the refrigerator door handle. I want to do that.
Melissa George says
Thank you so much Carolyn! It was really easy! The fridge handles unscrew so you can switch the door opening. I just took the handles off and spray painted them in the garage! For gold spray paint, I always use Rust-Oleum Metallic Bright Gold in either the 2x Coverage formula in the can that looks like this: (but it’s around $4 at Walmart) http://www.amazon.com/280724-American-Accents-Metallic-11-Ounce/dp/B00KZ6LW06/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451573699&sr=8-1&keywords=rustoleum+2x+gold or if you can’t find that, the Rust-Oleum Bright Coat line (http://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-7710830-Bright-Metallic-11-Ounce/dp/B000Z8FGE2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451573782&sr=8-2&keywords=rustoleum+gold). WalMart & Home Depot almost always have one or the other of them. I recommend them over the fancier Universal formula for the gold color.
linda says
love it . i did not see where you got the clear containers . i love them
Melissa George says
Thanks Linda, they are BHG branded Flip-Tite containers from Walmart.
Heather Adams says
Just wondering how ge cabinet hardware is holding up since yoy didnt prime them first? Beautiful transformation but I gasped when I saw you spray those handles with gold (non priming) paint, because I did the same thibg in my bathroom and the paint scraped off after a few months and lots of handling.
Melissa George says
I’m so sorry I didn’t see your question before Heather. The handles in the pantry have been painted about 18 months now with no signs of chipping. We ended up doing the same thing for the pulls in our master closet 6 months ago, and they are holding up to daily use so far as well! The handles we use are a satin finish, so maybe if yours were glossier to start it couldn’t adhere as well?
Emily says
Oh my goodness – your pantry pig is amazing! I can’t believe that was your husband’s first time creating chalk art – he has some serious skill! Also – I have the same Lowe’s pendant in my office, but I left it silver 🙂 It looks awesome in your gorgeous pantry!
Ashley says
Wow what an inspiring pantry! Love the organization tips and the beautiful decor!❤️