You have come to the right place if you are looking for Step by Step Instructions for building a DIY Pantry Underneath Stairs.
this post contains affiliate links
If you follow me on social media, you'll know that I have been working on remodeling my kitchen. It all started when the water line in our fridge leaked, ruining the flooring in our kitchen and dining room. Since we were going to have to fix the flooring anyway, I decided to do a little remodel of our kitchen.
Our house was built about 20 years ago in a builder neighborhood, where the houses were all put up as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Even though it has a lot of basic builder grade features, it has served us well for many years. Now that our kids are older, I have a little more time to fix the things I would like to. One of those things is to create more counterspace.
I spent a lot of time thinking, measuring and researching kitchens. The first thing I decided to do was move our pantry.
In our kitchen, we had a little closet that we used as a pantry that left very little counter space. Not to mention that the oddly shaped pantry made it hard to reach all of the items on the wire shelves. Because of this, I decided to move it.
Just a couple of steps away, we had a closet underneath our stairs that wasn't being used to it's full potential. We had been storing our vacuum, winter coats and food storage. I found new spots for all of those things and decided to make this our new walk-in pantry.
I measured all of the things that I had previously stored in the pantry to space all of the shelves. I used painters tape to measure out and visualize what the shelves would look like.
Once I measured, using a fractional tape measure similar to this that shows all of the measurements including all of the fractions that are so confusing, I drew it all out on paper and made my shopping list for the hardware store. At the hardware store, I bought wood for the shelves, wooden shelf brackets for the higher shelves, shelf brackets similar to these that are heavy duty and can hold a lot of weight and wood stain.
I repaired and painted the walls. I used this to fill in the holes with a plastic putty knife and smoothed it with this sanding sponge. Then I gave the walls 2 coats of paint that I already had on hand. I cut in with a short handled paint brush then rolled the paint on the flat surfaces.
How to Install Shelves for Pantry
This is a fairly simple beginner-intermediate project. If you have any woodworking/DIY experience it will be very simple. If you do not have experience, this is a good place to start. My advice is to do your research and ask a lot of questions. There are tons of resources on the internet and the people at the hardware store are super helpful!
I have learned the hard way that the best way to install shelves is to use the studs in the wall. To do this, you need a stud finder. You put it up against the wall, push the button and slowly slide it along the wall. The finder lights up and beeps when it senses a stud. I slid it left to right and right to left to make sure I got the readings correct. With a pencil, I marked where all of the studs were directly on the wall.
Once you know where the studs are, dry fit your brackets by holding them up on the wall and marking them with a pencil. You will also want to line them up vertically. Place one of your wood shelves on the wall as well to make sure the shelves will be level horizontally. Don't be afraid to make marks on the wall with your pencil because you can erase them. Measure measure measure before you do any cutting or drilling. Once you have everything lined up, screw the bracket right into the stud. You will be able to tell that you're going into a stud by the resistance you feel. If you do not feel resistance, you may not have gone into a stud. BTW- studs are usually around 16 inches apart in walls.
Once you have the brackets started, you can place your wood on them to make sure they fit well and to test that they are level. I used 1" x 8" for the upper shelves and 1" x 12" wood for the lower shelves. Do one at a time and measure a million times. My shelves spanned the entire wall from molding to the other wall. Since the wall is slanted, I cut each one individually to fit exactly in the spot.
After I cut the wood to size, I sanded until each piece was smooth. Don't forget to wipe the wood very well to get all the sanding debris off. Right in my kitchen, I set up a staining station. I used a folding table with a disposable table cloth on top. I gave each piece of wood a coat of stain, waited for it to dry according to product instructions and then gave it a protective finish with top coat.
Keep going s l o w l y until you are finished. I say slowly because when I get in a hurry, that is when mistakes are made.
Once I had the shelves up then I worked on flooring. I have always loved the look of black and white tiles and since this is a pantry, I used peel and stick vinyl. These were simple to cut with a utility knife and install. I started on the back wall of the closet and alternated black and white. Once I got to the walls, I cut the tiles down as needed. I'm sure there is a more professional way to install vinyl tiles, but this worked.
This closet does not have electrical and since that is WAY above my capabilities, I used cordless motion sensor lights. These work SO well!!! They turn on when we walk in the closet and are rechargeable. They hold the charge for at least 2 weeks. They are attached by magnet so they can be taken off to be charged.
How to Organize Pantry
I used various containers to organize my pantry. I'm not sure it will stay exactly like this but for now, I am super happy with it. Everything fits so well and is organized so all of us can find what we're looking for. I may come up with better storage for my crock pots, air fryer and bread maker, but for now they are just fine.
- cereal containers
- plastic storage baskets for paper towels and shopping bags
- wire storage baskets
- gallon storage containers for flour and sugar
- woven storage baskets for bread and chips
I mounted wire storage on the door to the pantry. I used a tiered storage rack with clear boxes to store protein bars, drink mixes, baggies, straws etc. I used 2 kitchen wrap organizers to store foil, plastic wrap, parchment paper and large baggies. Using the door is so handy!
Side Note: Do you see the markings on the right side of the door? That is where we have measured heights in our family since we moved into this house. This door will be going with us if we ever move!
I am super happy with how this pantry turned out. So far it is serving our family very well!! I love it so much, I almost don't remember what a pain it was to live in a kitchen that was torn apart with food sitting on every available surface. .
If you are thinking of redoing your pantry or putting up shelves somewhere in your house, GO FOR IT! If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer! I hope this post about a DIY Pantry Underneath Stairs was helpful to you!
