Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The Sunshine Room

Here it is in all its glory. Finished right down to the last shelf mounted on the wall. Finished but not yet stocked with all the goodies I want to stock in my pantry.

This is the door leading into my 8' x 16' pantry room. Well, those are the outside measurements so you know it's only 7'-something by 15'-something on the inside. Still a wonderfully roomy pantry by any standards. It's been a long time coming, but now I have it. (Hee-hee-hee!)

Open the door and you see the one window (facing north) directly across the room. My big freezer will be centered under the window.

Looking down to the right along that same wall will be a small chest freezer snuggled up next to the big one. A short length of shelves above the small freezer will hold back-up paper products, freezer bags, aluminum foil, freezer paper and such.

Across the room (on the same wall as the door) and to the right as you enter is the set of extra sturdy shelves hubby constructed.

More of a full-on view of the same shelving unit.

Standing inside the doorway and looking to the left, you see the U-shaped unit of closed cabinets below with shelves above.

Just a little different angle of the same storage area.

I am so eager to start filling shelves and cabinets. Papa Pea is trying to hold me back thinking we will need the space to temporarily store the contents of the present kitchen cabinets when we start tearing into them.

The frames of my current kitchen cabinets will stay the same, but I will paint the frames. New pine doors are being made to replace the old, worn and bonged-up doors on the cabinets.

However . . . (shhh, don't tell Papa Pea), I'm thinking only the lower cabinets in the kitchen will have to be emptied. We're keeping some of them, but also adding newly constructed ones for a different cabinet configuration. I will have to empty the lowers in order for them to be rearranged and then screwed back together but that should take no more than a day's time. I could empty them and stack everything on the kitchen table for a few hours. So I may employ a little guerrilla warfare today when Papa Pea is engaged elsewhere and start pulling things I have stashed in various (inconvenient) spots all over the house (yep, places like under the bed and in closets) to start making the pantry look like a pantry is supposed to look.

I will concede that we should wait to move the freezers into the pantry since the open floor space will be a handy spot to put furniture when we get the kitchen done and start on the living room. That would be a lot easier than trying to cover the furniture and work around it while doing the stairway, ceiling, walls and floor in there.

It set us back a day or so in the move-ahead scheme of things, but both of us are so, so glad I took the time to repaint the pantry walls. Yes, it's bright, no doubt about it. But I love it!

21 comments:

Sparkless said...

It looks fantastic! You both did a wonderful job. I can't wait to see it filled with all your homemade goodies.
I like the yellow better too.

Susan said...

Oh, my goodness, do I have pantry-envy! What a wonderful room! I l.o.v.e. the bright yellow walls, Mama Pea - and so much storage space! It just brings one to tears. You go ahead and fill up those shelves.

MaineCelt said...

Beautiful, and even though it's not yet full of jars and tins and freezer-bags full of home-made treats, that pantry is already full...of PROMISE!!!

Congrats, MamaPea!

2 Tramps said...

What a wonderful space you have created! I have butterflies in my stomach just looking at it! What fun you will have putting everything in there and knowing just where things are when you need them.

Jenyfer Matthews said...

Beautiful! I can only imagine how anxious you are to have it all full up and fully operational!!

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

Well hello heaven! May your pantry always be full!

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - Thanks so much! You like the yellow better? HOLY UNDERSTATEMENT, BATMAN!

Susan - I haven't been brought to tears yet, but I have dragged a stool in there, shut the door and just sat and looked. And looked. And looked.

MaineCelt - I love what you said . . . full of promise! Hugs to you, my friend.

2 Tramps - Ah, knowing where things are . . . I think that's been the hardest part of this remodel. I know where NOTHING is!

Jen - Only as anxious as I am to have this whole remodeling job done!! (I'm not being a very good worker, am I?)

Jane - You may have just hit on something. For a couple of days now, the thought has been rattling around in my head to put some sort of a sign on the outside of the pantry door. You might have just said it: Heaven. That's how much I've wanted a pantry like this. (It would be a conversation piece!)

judy said...

spectacular and I'm also catching pantry envy.

Alla said...

Absolutely beautiful!!! I am so envious. How wonderful to be able to have a place for everything and everything in its place. I'm sure you will have fun filling it up.

Erin said...

Oh, how can you STAND it? I could not wait to fill that room UP! I would send the whole family out of here, probably drink a whole pot of coffee while just standing there and contemplating all the possibilities! I'm excited for you, and can't wait to see it later this fall when the commotion dies down a bit - it's beautiful!

Mama Pea said...

judy - Hope there's still room to walk in there when I get it filled with all the stuff I want!

Alla - You can bet I will have a ball filling it up! Every homesteader/farmer really should have a pantry. Those old-timers were a lot smarter than we are today!

Erin - I absolutely KNOW you would have it stocked and arranged just perfectly in about three hours. If I didn't know I'll have so much fun doing it myself, I'd have you come do it for me!

dr momi said...

Time to fill that baby up! ....Love the morning glory photo!

Mama Pea said...

dr. momi - I'm gonna tell my hubby you said I should fill 'er up!!

Thanks for the compliment on the Morning Glory photo. My Morning Glories, my daughter's photo!

Sue said...

Scallopy shelves-scallopy shelves........oooooooo, I love the scallopy shelves. So darn CUTE.
I would stand there ALL DAY staring at them.
And yes-that paint color is sooooo much nicer.
Love it. It's HUGE. And gorgeous. I'm so happy for you!!!

Mama Pea said...

Sue - OMG, you are such a sweetheart to be so happy for me. I'm happy, you're happy, it's all good! ;o}

The Apple Pie Gal said...

I LOVE IT! All those shelves can make a girl swoon for sure! I would be hard pressed to contain myself too! Well I can't wait to see them stocked up and what the next stage will bring!!!

The Apple Pie Gal said...

I LOVE IT! All those shelves can make a girl swoon for sure! I would be hard pressed to contain myself too! Well I can't wait to see them stocked up and what the next stage will bring!!!

Sue said...

See--APG loves them so much she's "stuttering"!!! LOL!!!

I love pantries--there's just something about them. I had them add 2 when we redid this house--but they're not a walk-in, so I'm living vicariously thru you-LOL!
Oooo, now the pressure is on!
:D

Mama Pea said...

APG - It will be an evolving process. Oh, that all the remodeling would be done and I could spend the rest of the summer organizing and putting everything in just the right place. (And I'd like to get back to actually preparing some good meals in a finished kitchen, too!)

Sue - Would love to see pictures of your two pantries . . . how big they are, off what rooms, how you use them, etc.!

mtnchild said...

I would want 2 rooms like that. One for a pantry and the other for craft storage... OMG what I could put in there; a large table where your freezers would be, etc., etc., etc ..... not that I would give up my current craft studio, but I still have tons of wood items in the shed.

Just love your pantry and am having trouble waiting to see it filled.
Hugs
Yvette

Mama Pea said...

Yvette - Thanks for your kind words. I'll be sure to keep y'all up-to-date with the filling of the pantry!