Farmhouse Renovation - Pantry Racks...

Spice and Mug Racks In Farmhouse Pantry

I promised photos of my installed spice racks and our reproduction bottle rack (which we're using for mugs). They're installed and in use now, and I'm really happy with the way they turned out.

You may remember that I made these same racks for our pantry in Florida, and they worked really well. The only difference was that I added one more section to each set of "shelves". This was the post I shared with you of our Florida pantry. That post explains what I used and how I made them.

Pantry Wall Racks

We were told that this wall was drywall, instead of lathe and plaster, so I could use my favorite wall anchors to install the racks. Once they were installed, I put up my spice bottles. Yes, there are a few lot of spices there, and yes, they're arranged alphabetically. (How else would I find what I'm looking for? lol) What can I say? I love to cook!

The cup rack was purchased from DecorSteals. DecorSteals is a great place to purchase farmhouse or vintage items, but their items aren't always available, stock sells out quickly, and they may not ship for up to fourteen days after you order. When you see something really cool, you might have to wait a while for it to arrive. (Example: I ordered this rack on May 17th, and it didn't arrive until June 13th.) I think that's the only real downside of ordering from them. I do love the rack!

Vintage Scale, Antique Rolling Pins and Wash Boards

There are more than a few other vintage and antique items in our pantry. We purchased the scale in the late 1980s when my Labrador, Bryn had her first litter of puppies. We used this scale four times when Bryn and our golden Retriever, Samantha Rose had their litters. It holds memories of sweet puppies who grew and went to new homes when they got old enough (and two great hunting dogs that were wonderful mamas, too.)

The rolling pins are old, too. One belonged to my mother-in-law, one belonged to another family member, and one I puchased myself. They sit in a lovely, old crock I found at the antique mall in Kewaskum, WI last summer.

The washboards were Ebay purchases decades ago. I'm especially fond of the glass board, and was relieved when it arrived here safely after the move. I'll eventually mount it on the wall near where it stands now.

The Longaberger basket holds the attachments for my KitchenAid mixer. The mixer was a gift from Handsome and our boys in the 1980s. It's served me well all these years, and now it sits full-time on the counter in the pantry. I don't have to lift it to the counter to use it anymore. (It's really heavy!)

The Pantry At Hickory Hill Farm

This is how our pantry looks now that the racks are up. We'll change a few things when the kitchen is built later this year. The sink and base will come out to make room for our refrigerator. We'll put in a new countertop, and we'll put the same flooring in here that we decide on for the kitchen.

Even without those updates, this is a great room, and I really love that we have this entire space with all its storage conveniences. By fall, many of these cabinets will have home-canned goods in them, too. Just another thing to love about our farmhouse.
 

Getting "Spicey"...

Brynwood Needleworks - Florida Pantry Spice Racks

 

You may remember a post I did quite a few years ago about redoing the pantry in our Florida home. I needed a spice rack and decided to make my own. One weekend when Handsome was traveling, I set about getting that project done. I started by going shopping with one spice bottle so I'd have a size reference. 

I had seen these organizers at Bed, Bath & Beyond but I needed to find the proper size to fit those spice bottles.

Bed Bath & Beyond Web Image

The 6" x 12" boxes were perfect when I placed them horizontally. I purchased ten bamboo boxes and put them together in sets of 5. I mounted them to the wall and loved how convenient they were.

Making New Spice Racks

 

I didn't want to put the spices into a pantry cabinet here at the farm. I'm just too spoiled having them out where I can see them and just grab what I need. It's a little less convenient to get to a Bed, Bath & Beyond from here, so I "let my fingers do the walking" and ordered what I needed Here on their website. 

I glued them together (Gorilla™ Wood Glue), clamped them and waited for them to dry. Yesterday, the other item I ordered to mount on the pantry wall arrived, so today I'm going to mount everything on the pantry wall.

I'm excited about my plan, and having the spices on racks again. Please, come back tomorrow and I'll show you how everything turned out.

 

Kitchen Storage Ideas...

Not long ago, I posted a few home photos with you. One of my readers noticed my rolling pins on the back wall of the kitchen and asked about how I mounted them to the wall, so I thought I'd share a few of my organization tricks with you today.

The rolling pins are family favorites. I purchased the top one, which we use when we make our Friday date night pizzas. The other two belonged to my mother-in-law.

I use them quite often, so it's handier to keep them out in the open. Plus, I love looking at them. Hanging them on the wall seemed to be the best option for me.

I went to one of the home improvement stores (I can't remember if it was Home Depot or Lowes), and found just the hardware that would work. The knobs on the ends are perfect for keeping the rolling pins from falling off them, and they look good, too.

For just a few dollars, I ended up with a great storage solution for my treasured - and much used - rolling pins.

I don't think I shared pictures of my pantry before, but in this partial photo, you can see my storage solution for all my spices.

This was my own idea for a do-it-yourself project that I'm really glad I made. I wanted to have all of my spices organized, but easily accessible. Stowing them away in drawers or a cabinet doesn't work for me.

Like many of you, I really like going to Bed, Bath and Beyond. I just knew that if I went on a hunt over there, I'd find what I needed to make my own spice racks. I measured two of the spice bottles (two different manufacturers) I found these bamboo drawer organizers that would be the right size.

I'd purchased one rack to take home and figure out how many more I would need. When you look at the pictures, you can see that I settled on ten of them, even though a couple more might have been in order.

I measured my available wall space in the pantry, did a little calculating and then grabbed my bottle of Gorilla Glue™. I had enough space on each section of wall for five drawer organizers, so that's how many I glued together.

After I busied myself long enough for the glue to set, it was time to attach them to the wall. I screwed through the back of the top and bottom sections, and then put one more set of screws in the center section. That way I could be sure they wouldn't pull apart when the jars were in place.

I even had enough room between the top of the rack and the bulkhead for a few more small bottles. Yes. They're all arranged alphabetically, according to manufacturer. It's not so crazy. How else can I quickly find what I need?

We'll be leaving these behind when we move. Believe me, they're well-secured to the wall here, so I'll make new sets after we settle into our next home.

We have another showing today (traffic is picking up!), so I won't be back in the studio until this afternoon. I have a few projects on the work table, which I'll show you tomorrow.

I do have one nice, little story to recount before I go. At our last showing, our realtor was asked if we'd paid to have a professional stager come in to prepare to show our home. She told them that the home "was staged by owner's wife". Short of an actual offer to purchase, this was one of the highest compliments I could have received for all our hard work. Wasn't that nice?

Happy Hump Day!

(Tag still loves that commercial. lol)