It’s hard to believe that I’ve literally been begging Eric to let me get this project done for over two years! I’ve been telling him that swapping our pantry and coat closet would be the best idea in the world. He didn’t believe me. I had to work harder at convincing him. Mission accomplished people! Once I convinced Eric (that he had no choice in the matter), I set on swapping our Pantry and Coat Closet. I mean… after all… who needs a step-in coat closet, and an awkward pantry? I surely don’t and I don’t think my family does either!!!
Since swapping the pantry and coat closet involved two spaces, I decided to tackle one at a time. First, the pantry. I figured that all of the coats could simply hang out somewhere else while we tackled the behemoth that the pantry would become! Now, since I was literally starting from square one with our pantry, and since I had absolutely nothing dictating what it had to look like, I took it upon myself to put everything I think a pantry should be into it!!!
The Plan
In the end, my design plan included:
- completely gutting the existing shelves
- retexturing the walls
- painting the inside of the pantry
- stenciling a fun pattern to add dimension
- building a completely custom shelving arrangement using Purebond Hardwood Plywood (since it’s completely formaldehyde free- and that’s important, since this is where all of our food would be housed)
- painting the shelving semi-gloss white to really brighten the space and make the shelves wipe-able in case of any accidental spills
- adding a pretty light fixture to illuminate the space, since there was no light in there to begin with
- and finally… beautifying the space with functional baskets and storage containers
The Process
It would ridiculous to say that all of that added up to be a “slight” or “small” overhaul. No, this, like I said, became a behemoth! And it took a few weeks of on and off work to complete for sure! First, came tackling the disgusting shelves and walls that I started with. As our former coat closet, the first to go was the shelving and rods… and random hooks that the previous owners had installed.
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Next up was patching and texturing since the shelves were installed with some kind of ridiculous grip in a few areas!!! Ugh!
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Image may be NSFW.
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Then, came the real change. I painted the closet white. Yup, white. It was a game-changer. I know you probably are reading this thinking that I am completely nuts, but seriously, hear me out. The walls were so dingy and had so many scuff marks and dings that it made me cringe every time I opened the door. Well, with the walls all patched, textured, and now painted solid white, it was a fresh start. I know the picture doesn’t communicate this, but you’re just going to have to believe me on this one.
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And then came the STENCIL!!!
Oh yes… the beautification! The stencil!!!!!!!!! Cutting Edge Stencils was kind enough to send me a stencil of my choice to share my experience with my readers and to do a giveaway so that one lucky reader can get a stencil of their very own! Sooooo cool! I chose the Shipibo Stencil. I loved the geometric pattern. For some reason, it felt modern to me, but at the same time, had that little bit of traditional that I like!
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With the paint, roller and stencil ready, I went to town! Luckily, Cutting Edge Stencils has this awesome stencil level that attaches to the bottom of the stencil. This seriously helped so much in making sure I was level and cutting around the corners of the walls!
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Image may be NSFW.
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While it took me about seven hours to complete, I have to say that it was 100% worth it! The pattern turned out beautifully. The stencil was easy to use and gave clean, beautiful results! I think the most challenging part was definitely the corners, since I wanted the pattern to be continuous. But, thanks to awesome videos from Cutting Edge Stencils, it wasn’t as bad as it could be.
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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
In the end, if you’re taking on a stenciling project, remember to have patience! The results will be more beautiful than you ever imagined and the time it took will quickly be forgotten once the compliments start rolling in!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
TELL ME… WHAT ROOM/SPACE ARE YOU DYING TO STENCIL? AND WHAT COLORS WOULD YOU DO?
The post It’s the Start of a Pantry (Cutting Edge Stencil Review) appeared first on Design Build Love.