Turning Your Underutilized Spaces Into a Gourmet Pantry

Turning a Closet Into a Pantry

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, a well-organized pantry is the soul. That’s why turning a closet into a pantry is an ideal way to declutter your kitchen and create a more efficient and aesthetically pleasing space. We’ve put together a guide that gives you insight into how the custom pantry transformation process works. Read the steps below to learn how Inspired Closets will turn your chaotic, overlooked closet into a calming, space-saving pantry.

Pick A Professional Design Team

Before you move forward with turning a coat closet into a pantry, take the time to do your research so you partner with the right custom closet company for the job. Choosing a reputable and experienced team, like Inspired Closets, ensures your design will include features you may not know you need, and that the installation will be smooth and hassle free.

Declutter Your Kitchen

Next, take some time to declutter your kitchen. Many kitchens sacrifice valuable cupboard and counter space to items that aren’t used daily, like a Crock-Pot, an air fryer, or a toaster oven. Once you have a custom pantry with designated storage for these things and more, you can clear off the counters and eliminate visual clutter that causes stress, as well as save valuable space in your kitchen.

Decide What You Plan to Store in the Space

Our design experts come to your home and help you determine what you want to store in your pantry. We work together to make a list of what you plan to keep in the space—including the size and weight of these items—to ensure you have the correct shelves at the proper heights and depths. We also add adjustable shelves to your new pantry design so you have more flexibility in the future.

Take Measurements & Design the Pantry Layout

During the initial design consultation, you and your designer will talk about what you need this space to do, how you want it to function, and how you want it to feel. After a bit of conversation, your designer will carefully take measurements for your pantry closet conversion to ensure accuracy. This will lead to a well-designed pantry that maximizes every inch of available space.

While designing the space, your designer will take into account all your storage pain points, as well as your pantry wants and needs, to start designing the layout of your pantry closet. They incorporate features and functionality that make the pantry closet your new favorite space.

Select Additional Features

Work with your designer to think about any extra features you’d like to add as you convert a closet to a pantry, like built-in lighting, stemware storage, or vertical dividers for efficient storage of pizza pans and platters. You’ll want to include space for each component in the new design.

Update the Closet Door to a Pantry Door

Next, to finish turning a closet into a pantry, think about what you want to do with the closet-turned-pantry door. You and your designer will talk through several ways you can make it match your new space, including replacing the door with a new one, upgrading to beautiful double doors, or removing it altogether.

Clear Out the Closet

As you prepare to convert your closet into a pantry, you need to take everything out so you have a blank space for your professional installation team to make your new design come to life. Remove items that are currently being stored in the closet that won’t make sense in the new pantry, and determine where else you can put them in your home. Next, take out anything you want to keep in the pantry, being sure to put these items somewhere you can easily access until the project is complete.

Preparing for Installation

Next, it’s time to prep the space for the new pantry system to be installed. At Inspired Closets, our expert installation teams help with this part so that nothing ends up on your to-do list. Be sure to talk with your designers about the preparation plan for your space.