Sigh. I am terrible at sticking with a project all the way through the last stages. When it comes to the finishes, I tend to leave them for later. After I put the new pantries in my kitchen, I got very distracted with reusing the cabinetry that I pulled down by installing it in my laundry room. That momentum got me through until a hit a snag that left me searching for another new project to focus on. The problem is that I have too many that are waiting for the finishing touches. The one that needed the attention the most was my new pantries back in the kitchen. I got as far as building and installing them. They looked so out of place. What I wanted was for them to look very intentional...which they are. I just didn't want them to look like an afterthought. They are completely different than the rest of the cabinets in the kitchen so I had a lot to think about.
When I bought the pantries, I knew that they wouldn't fit the space perfectly. I planned on just putting in a filler strip between them but finding one that was the right size and color was tough. Even though I felt really out of my element, I went in search of some trim in natural wood, with a pretty pattern that I could stain. This house is a craftsman style. That's mostly obvious from the outside. The only clues on the inside of the house are a couple of bay windows, a couple of columns and a window seat. None of those features really scream craftsman because they are not done with any type of detail. I plan on rectifying that at some point in the future so I have been trying to focus on adding small craftsman style accents here and there. I was really drawn to a piece of trim that made me think of a more modern craftsman style.
I needed trim at the top too so I grabbed an even bigger version of this one but I just wasn't sure if I would use it or not.
I took a small piece of some of the trim with me from the original cabinets to match the stain.
After two coats of stain, I put the middle trim in place. The color is not an exact match, but it is really nice.
For the toe kick, I cut a piece of nice plywood to fit the space and then added the same trim that's at the bottom of the existing toe kicks. Then, for the top, I added a melamine board cut to size so that I could put things up there and not accidentally drop them down between the pantries. To the front of the melamine board, I added more of the small trim just to see if I liked the look enough or if the top trim needed to be bigger.
I kinda like the simplicity of this look but I had to at least try the bigger trim to see which I like better.
I want new cabinet pulls for the rest of the kitchen cabinets and I haven't settled on the right ones yet but, when I do, that will be the last thing these pantries need. Meanwhile, let me show you what I did inside the bigger pantry. When I pulled the kitchen desk out to put the pantries up, I discovered that the light was hardwired in. I already knew I needed to cut the back out of the pantry to keep from covering up the outlet in the wall. Since there was backsplash tile back there and I had wiring for a light, I decided to cut a big opening in the back and install the light under one of the shelves. This meant that I needed to fix that shelf in place to stop it from being adjustable. It would be bad to leave it for the next homeowner to try to move and find live wires hooked onto it. Anyway, first step was to install the fixture.
Next, I needed to add trim around the cutout since it was done very roughly.
It seems like the perfect place for a coffee maker but I already have a whole coffee bar on the other side of the kitchen. I'll have to brainstorm and try to come up with a different use for this because it's a little silly to have an outlet and a light inside a pantry shelf if it's not used for something specific.
Now I need advice. What do you think? Thick top trim or thin?
Next up, more laundry room fun! Now, where's my paintbrush?
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