Pantry Progress — Ten Down, Two In The Works, Eight To Go
I don’t know if y’all are getting tired of my daily updates yet, but I can tell you that this whole accountability thing is just exactly what I needed. Knowing that at the end of every day, I’m going to have to give y’all an update on what I’ve actually accomplished (or failed to accomplish) keeps me focused throughout the day. When I feel tempted to let myself get sidetracked on some random project, I remind myself that it’s going to be pretty embarrassing when I have nothing to show for my time the next morning. This accountability has kept me on track! So yesterday, I got two more items crossed off the list, and I got about halfway done with two more items, which should be easy to finish today.
(Having trouble? Click here to watch on YouTube.)
Yesterday, I focused on painting. Just painting. And I made quite a bit of headway. I got the tall freezer cabinet finished (second coat of paint done, doors installed, and door pulls on). I got the window trim painted (which took four coats of paint!). And then I got the first coat of paint on the walls and shelves. So that last one isn’t finished, but it won’t take much time at all to finish it up today. I also got the backs of the four lower cabinet door painted.
It looks like I might have some touchups to do on those cabinet doors, though. For some reason, the finish on those two doors above the freezer looks kind of streaky and blotchy. That’s not acceptable to me, so I’ll have to fix that today.
And I know that at least one person will want to tell me that the freezer door opens the wrong way. I promise, this decision was thoroughly thought out and the freezer was intentionally placed where it is to open just as it does. 🙂 (You can see more about that here.)
The strangest thing is that the walls, shelves and window trim are all painted the same color. They’re not just the same color, but they’re all painted with the same paint right out of the same can. And yet, the walls and shelves look so much brighter than the window trim.
Maybe it’ll look different (or all the same, rather) in the daylight. But I do love how bright and clean the walls and shelves look now.
So here’s what my list looks like as of this morning:
Finish painting the edges of the ceilingDone!Add stile on top right cabinetDone!Add stile on cabinet above freezerDone!Add electrical outlet for microwaveDone!- Wire freezer outlet to breaker box
Paint second coat on right side cabinetDone!Paint second coat on freezer cabinetDone!- Paint walls and shelves on back and side walls Halfway done!
Paint window trimDone!- Install under-cabinet lighting
- Paint four cabinet doors Halfway done!
Finish building new drawer frontsDone!- Prime and paint drawer fronts
Build four more pull-out shelvesDone!- Clear coat all pull-out shelves and drawers
Install and caulk door trimDone!- Paint door trim
- Paint the wall around the door
- Re-install ceiling light
- Load in stuff and start using the pantry!
I’m not sure how many more of these daily accountability updates I’ll do. The whole purpose was to get me focused and help me finish up the pantry. I’m definitely motivated now, so these daily posts have served their purpose. But at some point, I’m going to want to hold back and save the rest for the big before and after post when it’s finally completely finished. Plus, between the time that I actually finish up my list, and when I show the finished pantry, I’m going to have at least one full day (maybe two) of cleaning, putting away tools, getting my breakfast room put back together, etc., that I’ll have to do before I have the big final pantry post.
All that to say that I may have one more daily update/accountability post tomorrow, but then it may be radio silence for a couple of days while I get my breakfast room put back together, and get everything cleaned up and put away. But I’m going to try to do my absolute best to have the final before and after pantry post before Christmas, even if that means posting it this weekend. I won’t make promises, but I’ll do my best. 🙂
Update:
My pantry is finished! Want to see the entire project from start to finish? You can find every single post about the pantry build right here…
Or you can skip to the end and see how it turned out. Here’s a peek of the finished pantry…
You can see more pictures on the before and after post right here…
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
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I’m loving the daily updates 🙂
Same. I’m surprised by how motivating it is to watch just a little bit of progress, a little bit at a time. This is what really DIY is like. (It’s inspiring me to finish up my own projects, too!)
I love that the shelves and walls are totally seamless. Those are the floatiest floating shelves I’ve ever seen.
Can’t wait to see the finished product!
This is so exciting!!! Daily updates keep the excitement going! Love the colors in there!!! It is gonna be awesome!! Hang tough… it’s almost done!!
The completed project is just around the corner, thanks to your diligence. Keep on keeping on. I love the colors.
You go girl! I love to see what Kristi crossed off the list today. It’s fun to follow along. Excited for the big reveal.
It’s looking great!! I can’t wait to see the final product!
Everything is looking fabulous. I noticed right away that the shelves looked brighter than the window trim in the video. I was wondering if it’s because the can lights are shining directly on the shelves so they look brighter. And the window trim is getting the light indirectly so that’s why it looks darker. I think once you get your stuff loaded onto the shelves and the items are absorbing some of that light, the shelves won’t look so stark white. Just my theory. I can’t wait to see everything finished. I would LOVE to have a pantry that large and with that much storage!!
I’m glad you mentioned the window trim color discrepancy. It’s so weird that the shelves look milk white while the trim is more cream😳. Perhaps you’re right it is the light, maybe from the can lights? I know you want to have a big reveal but the daily updates do seem to be working; could you shoot snippets of what you’ve done and blur out the surrounding parts? Well, that might be a lot of extra work because on top of doing all of this work you have to placate your fans with photos, videos and such. We may have asked for too much.
You’re on the right track and I’m anxious for the big reveal! You’re like the little engine that could!👍😉❤️
It’s looking fantastic and I love the daily accountability posts :). It makes me want to do daily posts to keep accountable of just cleaning my house 😉 . Can’t wait to see the finished product.
I love these updates. I feel almost like I am crossing things off of a list myself! I can’t wait to see the finished room. I love the shelves. I like white anyway so your walls and shelves are exactly what I would want in a room.
Good job getting so much done!
Love these daily updates, Kristi! Keep up the great work! You are almost there!
I love your updates!! You’re helping me to get my projects done. How about short daily updates with no pictures? That way you are held accountable and we know what you’re up to.
Noooooo! I love the pictures! 😀
Me too!! This is becoming such an awesome pantry!
Woohoo!!! You are getting it done!! I love the updates!! So exciting!! 🙂
Love, love that room. Thanks for the updates – so motivating. Can’t wait to see the finished product – it’s going to be just amazing.
Merry Christmas to you and Matt and thanks so very much for all you do – sharing your accomplishments and beautiful work – and – all the “how to’s”
JoAnne
Loving the daily updates!
Your pantry is looking amazing! Love all the specialty drawers. Seeing it completely finished is going to be a wonderful christmas present. I can hardly wait to unwrap. Humm.. I wonder how many of these ideas I can incorporate in my tiny washroom/pantry. Merry Christmas Kristy!
I love these daily accountablility updates! WTG Kristi! Almost there!
I LOVE the daily posts and updates, much better than waiting for a big reveal. I check your site daily anyway (weekdays), it’s always more fun when there’s a post! The pantry is looking beautiful and amazing, and I like those tiles better than I thought I would!
The daily posts are great! I always am so anxious to open and see what you have done. 🙂
You are so close and I can’t wait to see the finished product. Thanks so much for sharing and for your tutorials.
You’ve been motivating me, too, so I thank you for that. I agree with the commenter who said maybe just words now, saving the photos for the end. It’s looking pretty fabulous and you will have a wonderful working pantry soon.
You are doing great and I always enjoy reading your posts — weekly or daily 🙂 When I saw that you were writing daily accountability posts, I thought, “Eat That Frog!” LOL. It is from a book titled, “Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time” by Brian Tracy. Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long. Your “frog” is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it. I listened to the book on tape and I’ve shared this morning everything you need to know about it but I do find myself laughing to myself when I’m putting something off and I remember what I’ve gotta do! I think you work hard and are deserving of the breaks you allow yourself but hope that when you do get behind — you won’t beat yourself up; just Eat That… well, you know what I’m going to say! LOL. Merry Christmas, Kristi and Matt (if you’re reading). Blessings to you both 🙂
Love the updates! Love the way the freezer opens(I have that issue as well and completely understand the need to have the door open full range) I’m so impressed with your progress and really happy that your including the clean up on your list as well. It really does take time to do everything!!! You finishing your pantry is not only a gift to yourself, it’s like a Christmas present for us!!! I’m so excited!!!! I wonder if Santa will need cookies and milk left when you are finished? Ha!
Daily posts! Daily posts! daily posts! …I nearly cried when you said weren’t sure how many more of the daily posts you would do….”not sure” means there is still hope I can convince you right?? 🙂 I am with another commenter, I like daily pots even better than a big reveal…and to top it off…even if there is no video, I would love to see the before cleanup mess in the breakfast room, during and after clean up pics and description. I like it when you keep it real…helps me feel normal…LOL!
Either way, you are making amazing progress. I love how it is coming together and this seems like it would be a great place to serve from if you had a party ’cause it’s so darn pretty!…and it has lots of outlets for crock pots and such. You’re almost there! Keep checkin’ off the list!
Another possible explanation for the difference in color between the window trim and the shelves could be that the window trim was painted more recently and hasn’t had as much time to dry and cure, or that the paint wasn’t mixed well so the color was different at the top of the can vs the bottom of the can. Slight variations in the texture of a surface can sometimes impact the final sheen of the paint, making two areas appear different in color when they’re actually the same. And that reminds me of the optical illusion effect, where your brain interprets such areas as being different in color simply because they are next to areas that are different in color or are cast in different light, when they are in fact the exact same color. Hopefully with a little time to cure all the way and with the benefit of sunlight the color will balance out. Keep up the great work, Kristi!
Big thumbs up!👍
I love your daily updates, but I’d imagine they take up precious time that you could be doing something else. I for one, never get tired of daily updates, or any other. I’m just so fascinated with everything you do, I don’t want to miss a thing. Can’t wait for finished pantry, it is so beautiful!
Like your other groupies, I LOVE your daily updates. Reminds me of back in the day when you got a greatly anticipated letter in the mail😊😊😊but everyday!
So fun and inspirational 😁
I like your daily posts. It gives me incentive to progress with my own project.
That pantry has to be the nicest pantry in the world! I love it.
OK, here’s my thing. I know it is a matter of personal taste, but I keep thinking that the drawer fronts and lower cabinets should be your lovely teal color. To me, it brings out the color of your tile, and somehow I love the contrast between the color of the cabinets and the upper part of the room. To me it feels more grounded. I feel guilty for suggesting more work, but after all you have done to make this perfect, I wanted to express my opinion. Feel free to disregard it.
I think the intention is that all of the lower cabinets will be teal with exception to those two drawer fronts with the handles already installed (and the two drawer fronts that will mirror it on the other side of the room). I agree with you that the teal makes it more grounded, but I also agree with Kristi that it might be too much of a good thing and those four drawer fronts will help break it up a bit! She’s crossing off things quickly, we’ll see soon enough how it all works together 🙂
Sherre is correct. All of the doors and drawers on the back wall will be teal. Only the four side drawers (two on each side) will be white (whitewashed oak, just like the countertop).
Nice job, Kristi! I’ve been enjoying the daily updates, but understand you wanting to save the rest for the final reveal! You are so inspiring!
Please keep the daily updates even without pictures of just a few upclose pictures. I so enjoy the daily posts and am rooting for you to finish and acually enjoy your beautiful space.
I am so excited for YOU!
Y’know, I’m thinking that with an air mattress in there, a person (maybe me, maybe another reader) could easily park themselves there for a couple of nights!!!!
Kristi, it’s utterly gorgeous and unbelievable that you do ALL that stuff by yourself! Of course, you do have Matt cheering you on (as well as us), but still! I think you need a super hero uniform!!!!
Whatever you decide to do and however you decide to do it, I hope both you and Matt and the fur-babies have an amazing Christmas and a safe and happy New Year! God knows you deserve it!!!
This has been inspiring to me. I’ve loved these daily updates, but I get the burden of it. The reveal is going to be stunning because it’s terrific already. Can’t wait to see it all!
I like your updates. If that’s what works for you to get the pantry finished, then great!
Your pantry is beyond amazing! Just a suggestion, but shouldn’t the drawers and pull out shelves be clear coated as soon as possible so they’ll be dried/cured enough to load up as soon as you get to that point?
Good point! I hadn’t even thought about that. 😀
Okay, you have ruined me for life!! I LOVE the daily posts! I read them every time they come up and make me feel like I need to keep moving on my stuff! and I am!!! So thank you! Im glad you mentioned the trim around the window. I’m thinking it a lighting issue not a paint issue, too. I so want to build those pull outs in my miniature kitchen. I keep telling myself I have to heal up from surgery before I play with power tools! 🙂
Everyday I can’t wait to see your daily update. I love seeing so much progress. Except for the wiring of the freezer, the rest seems to be painting and that should go pretty fast. You must be getting excited to see an end coming up so soon. I had my kitchen done last year and for an entire week, every single thing was out of the kitchen and in the dining room in every kind of box, cart, wagon and bags I could find, it drove me nuts thinking won’t this ever be done, I can hardly stand this mess, or should I say foot path through the dining room to get anywhere else in the house, so I can only imagine how anxious you are to finally be done with your mess and have your house organized again. The best part of my mess, it gave me a big opportunity to get rid of so much stuff I thought I should keep just in case, but decided after years of non use, out it went to Goodwill. Felt good to unload a bunch of stuff.
I have a suggestion to help in some of the clean up. Since you haven’t yet removed your disherwasher, load all of your dust covered pots, pans, cookie sheets etc into it and let it free up your time to tidy up another area. That can be it’s good deed before it leaves your kitchen.
I too, have loved your daily posts. They are a wonderful, happy distraction for the holiday stress happening over at our home.
Merry Christmas to you and Matt!
What a beautiful beautiful room!
Yay for you! You are going to be so happy when you are sitting in your tidy breakfast room with a coffee (or tea) looking over at your finished pantry. That will be the best Christmas present ever.
your daily posts have been awesome! i know it may add to your overall work day, but they are so inspiring. your design sense is fabulous and your execution of your plans is just spot on for each project!
you should be so proud of yourself for what you have done here!!
I’m really enjoying these daily updates. You are almost there, Kristi! You got this! It will feel so good when you’re done. I bet you can taste already! 🙂 . Keep going!
I’ve been finishing up my condo to rent/sale for the last year and came up with the same plan – a list and daily updates….happy to say I’m making the same progress 🙂 Here’s to a New Year filled with lots of new projects!
I AM ENJOYING THese posts. I like seeing how things are done. And look forward to the result.
I love the daily posts!
I want to live (or at least vacation!) in your pantry!!! So gorgeous. Can’t wait to see the finale!
I make lists almost every day just so I can feel I accomplished something. Especially since retirement.
i’m LOVING the daily updates! please keep them coming! bonus of being it will
help keep you motivated 🙂
promise we will still oooh and ahhhh over the final reveal even if we have seen it
the day before 😉
Nope… this has been my favorite thing to start my day with. 🙂 Get up, put away dishes, get kitty food, get something to drink… read newest update! Doing great so far, Kristi.
I LOVE the daily updates and never tire of them, they are so inspiring!! You are really punching through the final to do list. Go Kristi, you’re nearly there and it is looking absolutely gorgeous already!!
I used to manage a paint store and I have seen this problem with the window trim before. There was probably a yellow tone to the white paint color that was on there before. You may need to hit it with a coat of kilz and then repaint it. Love the daily posts but can’t wait for the big reveal!
I’m amazed at how inspiring and motivating it is to watch your daily updates! Thankyou for sharing them, even when they may not seem like much to you. It’s weirdly satisfying watching you chipping away at things. xx
Kristi, I’m really enjoying the daily posts. What will it take to get the floor back to perfect?
A vacuum cleaner, a mop, and probably some spot cleaning with a scrubby sponge. 🙂
Amazing
I love your pantry – it’s absolutely beautiful. You should be so proud of yourself!
Looks great and great idea to keep yourself accountable. I’m in awe. My only question, where are outlets?
The backsplash has four outlets. And the fact that you’re asking where they are thrills me. 🙂 I used full-coverage outlet covers on them (the kind that only has the slits cut out where the actual plug goes in) and gave them the same resin and alcohol ink treatment that I did on the tiles so that they would blend in. I also have one outlet at the back of the microwave shelf in the tall cabinet on the right, and there’s another outlet behind the freezer. So in total, the pantry has six outlet.
I knew they were there, just couldn’t figure it out! I must have missed that day! Love the updates and thanks for the reply.
I I know we have been tough on you with our vow to keep you accountable, but it had to be done😃. I think we can agree to cut you some slack now since you are on a roll. Kidding aside, my friend, it looks awesome and you, and your mad carpentry skills, deserve a rest.
Kristi,
I love it — I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about a pantry. Congratulations on bringing your vision to life!
Hope Matt and you have the loveliest of Christmases. Try not to spend it staring at your gorgeous pantry! I know I would!
Hi, I’ve been reading ur blog lately and I read ur about page this morning. Wow u really r a hardworking girl! Love reading ur posts. I’ve read several blogs/bloggers who say they use their blogs to keep theirselves accountable as well as share beautiful projects. After reading ur blog this morning, I’m convinced to give blogging a chance myself, to keep myself accountable. Nothing else has worked. Thanks for sharing! I appreciate. And I enjoy reading about ur interior decorating journeys. 🙂