Adding a Pantry to the Refrigerator Cabinet

I recently marked another project off of my to-do list. I added a pull-out pantry to both sides of the refrigerator cabinet at our summer cottage. I had to figure it out as I went along and made several trips to the store to fine tune the hardware but I got it done and am so glad that it is behind me. It adds a considerable amount of storage in an otherwise unused space. Big disclaimer here: this was not my original idea. I saw one at my friend’s house that was built into her custom cabinetry and I thought I could probably do that. So, I copied hers. (Thanks, Stacy!) Because my husband sometimes gets stressed when I am in a very messy project, I waited until he was out of town to complete this project. Thankfully, he was gone for two days so that it was completely finished when he got back home.

It was hard to take photos because the island is in front of the frig but I think you can get the idea.

I started by measuring the space inside the cabinet on each side of the refrigerator then I used a handsaw to cut the trim piece of cabinetry on each side of the refrigerator. I did cut 1/8 th inch from the trim piece so that it would slide in and out without dragging the floor.

I slid the refrigerator out to allow some workspace and I used a hammer to pry off the piece of cabinet trim.

I purchased 1 x 3 poplar boards from my local home improvement store and cut them the appropriate lengths to construct a simple bookcase type structure.

The photo above is the basic box laying on one side. The other shelves were then added. I used wood screws for construction and I did not think that I needed to use glue too.

The photo above shows the finished shelves and you can see that I added three casters to the bottom. Those were fixed casters, not the swivel kind so that the shelf would slide straight in and out. I also added aluminum strips (3/4 inch wide) to hold items on the shelves. The aluminum strips were purchased at the home improvement center too and I used a handsaw to cut them to the appropriate size.

Next I used wood screws to attach the trim piece to the front of the shelf. (The screws were put it from the back so that they don’t show.) I attached a cabinet slide to the top and the bottom to keep the shelf in place as it slides in and out.

The photo above shows the unfinished part of the cabinet where I pulled the trim piece off. The photo below shows where I painted that little piece to blend in with the cabinet. It only shows when the shelf is pulled out.

We have the same hardware in the laundry room and the kitchen so I used the pulls from the laundry room cabinet so that the pulls would all match and attached them to the fronts.

I am thoroughly enjoying summer and am looking forward to the Haven conference this week!

I’ll be linking to the Scoop at Worthing Court, to Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life, and to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style. Click the links for lots of inspiration!