My pantry renovation is now complete. I moved everything back into the pantry last night.
Unfortunately, I can’t find any decent ‘before’ photos, except this one.
old shelving and wall color
The old warped , dull looking shelving is better suited for its new home in my basement. The walls were tan. You may recognize the tan as the color I have painted over in almost every other room of my house.
First, we took down all the shelving and painted the walls Restoration Hardware Butter (matched in Benjamin Moore Paint). For the back wall, I purchased an Elfa system. Once we got the top bar anchored to the wall, the rest of the Elfa installation was easy. I still need to add the track cover.
On the right wall, I repainted the existing shelving. First, we applied two coats of white paint. Then we topped it off with four coats of water-based poly. It dries quickly, so we were able to do 4 coats in 24 hours. It also dries clear and does not yellow. Hopefully, the finish will hold up to the cans and bottles that I placed on the shelves. My dad redid the supports so that they didn’t take up any shelf space.
For the left wall, I purchased more Elfa Shelves and had my dad saw them in half. The old shelves occasionally flipped out-of-place, leaving my appliances on the floor. I had my dad secure the new shelving to prevent that.
I finished the project off with a new pull for the light.
I have pantry envy!
You can come over and cook whenever you want
You might want to let people know that we protected the narrow painted shelves with 4 coats of water-based poly. Otherwise, the “shelf life” of the paint will not hold up with heavy use. Water-based poly is crystal clear and will not yellow like oil-based. Water-based poly dries very fast, so you can do all four coats within 24 hours.
Sure, I love cooking with you!
Thanks, I updated it.
Great work. Very jealous!
I’m buying a house and the pantry shelves are white but dirty- like the kind that won’t come out with a good scrub. Since I’ll be painting OVER already painted shelves, do you think I should still do the Poly? I’ve read that if I just do semi-gloss or gloss, I need to wait 30 days for the paint to cure. Do you have to wait this long with the poly? Thx!
Hi Emily, thank you for visiting!
You should be able to complete the whole process in a week, including drying time. Here’s what I would do:
- Clean the shelves with alcohol to remove any grease.
- Prime the shelves to give yourself a good base.
- Apply two coats of semi-gloss paint. Allow to dry in between coats according to label directions.
- Apply four coats of water based poly with a brush, sanding lightly and wiping with a tack cloth in between. The water based poly should have about a four hour drying time. Check the label. Also, be sure to stir the poly gently so you don’t create bubbles.
When you are all done, I would wait 2-3 days before putting items on the shelves.
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