Note to self: The kitchen is a room in my house that’s the most used but always runs out of space. What can I say, my passion is cooking and I have a TON of stuff, the majority of which are my spices and pantry staples. You can see how I organize my spices here, but I had to find a solution for storing them. I also wanted a way to store canned goods that I often use but always get lost in the cupboards. I don’t know it it’s happened to you before but if I can’t see it right in front of me I feel like I don’t have it and end up buying the same thing over and over again. I knew I had to find a solution ASAP so I went to Pinterest…the land of possibilities and creativity.
I saw this blog post by the Classy Clutter and was inspired to make something similar but customized to my needs. It was a little difficult trying to find everything at first, (I felt really out of place) but the people at Lowe’s and Home Depot were really friendly, they took their time to help me find what I needed. Both Lowe’s and Home Depot provide a service to cut wood in the exact measurements you need so if you don’t have a saw or tools at home to cut wood you can still do this project! You can also customize not only the shelves but also the color you want to paint the frame and backsplash. I decided to match it to my kitchen decor and did the backsplash in a diamond pattern with the colors gray, white, and black. (I would recommend to use painters tape to get those sharp clean edges and getting primed wood to make painting easier)
It was my first time DIY-ing anything, to be honest it was my first time using a drill lol, but alhumdulillah it came out great in the end it was relatively easy… I did have a few minor stumbles along the way and I’ll adjust it in the directions to try and make this as easy as possible to follow.
Note: I adjusted the shelves to my needs (mostly because of my spices, so the shelves are closer together. If you need this mostly for canned goods adjust the amount of shelves and spacing as necessary)
I video documented the whole thing so you guys can see in depth the step by step process. (For those of you who follow me on snapchat you guys saw behind the scenes footage while I was working on it) Overall it was pretty easy for a beginner like me…granted since I was winging it and figuring it out as I went along there are a few blips here and there that are noticeable to only me but overall I’m amazed at how it turned out and quite proud of myself. 🙂
In the end it was glorious!…I emptied out 4 whole drawers and one entire cupboard! For those of you who have a small kitchen or trouble with storage space you can totally understand how incredible it feels to have not only space but to be able to see everything you have in an organized fashion. All you need is those 6 inches of space between the refrigerator and the wall! 🙂
My sliding pantry contains 7 shelves that are ~5″ tall (which hold my 4oz mason spice jars), 2 shelves that are ~8″ tall (which hold 8oz mason spice jars and most canned foods), and 1 shelf that is ~12.4″ (and holds large items such as sauce bottles, condiments, vinegar, etc.). You can see the diagram below how everything fits and the basic structure of the pantry.
Note: I added an extra 1×4″ shelf to the bottom of the frame so the casters (wheels) can be attached firmly. I used wood glue and screws to bind two 1×4″ shelves together
Now if you don’t need the small shelves for the 4oz spices and want it all to be filled with canned food and big items like pasta you can adjust the shelves and have the bottom shelf be 16″ tall and have 6 shelves that are all 8″. (See below). If you choose to do this version adjust the amount of 1×4 boards and dowels to the amount shown in the diagram. Remember to include the top board and bottom 2 boards as well for a total of nine 1×4″ primed board cut to 29½, and 7 dowels. If you want all of the shelves to hold canned foods you can add another shelf and dowel to the middle of the last shelf. The best part about this project is that you can customize it to whatever you need it to hold!
Items to buy: (For my version with 10 shelves)
- 12 – 1×4″ primed boards cut to 29½” (Top board, shelves and 2 bottom boards)
- 2 – 1×4″ primed boards cut to 64″ (Side boards)
- 1 – Thin board cut to 31½” x 64″
- 8 – 2 in. rigid non marking rubber casters
- 10 – 7/16″ dowels cut to 30″ long
- 7/16″ Drill bit (For drilling dowel holes)
- Drawer pull/handle of your choice
- Wood screws (I used the Everbuilt Wood Screw set)
- Drill
- Paint, spray paint, brush, roller, or sprayer (The following is what I used but regular paint will be the most cost effective if you decide to want it in one color)
- Krylon colormaster in matte deep gray (3 cans)
- ArtMinds Metallic soft gloss acrylic paint in gunmetal (8 oz)
- ArtMinds Decor soft gloss acrylic paint in simply white (8 oz)
- ArtMinds Decor soft gloss acrylic paint in onyx (8 oz)
- Paint brushes
- Frog Tape or any painters tape (optional)
- Measuring Tape
- Screwdriver
- Wood Glue (optional)
Directions:
- After buying all the supplies decide whether you want to paint a design or a solid color on the inside of the cabinet. (On the thin, flat, 31½” x 64″ board) It’s not necessary because no one will see it unless it’s open but it adds a pop of color in my opinion. I did a diamond design and used the colors silver, white and black.
- Tips: If you decide to paint a design I would recommend to get painters tape. I used the brand “Frog Tape”. It helps keep your lines crisp and clean and peels away easily. If you want something simple and the same color you can paint everything in one shot)
- Spray paint or paint all the 1×4″ primed boards, the back of the thin board, and all the dowels.
- Once everything is dry you want to measure out the placement of the shelves on the long 64″ side boards. Since I wasn’t sure how many shelves I needed or the height of each shelf, I took the items I was going to put on the shelves and measured the height needed to place the items comfortably in and out of the shelves when the dowels would be attached. I made a diagram with all the measurements so it’s easier to picture.
- Align both of the 64″ boards together so it’s easier to make the lines even and measure out where the shelves will go with a permanent marker.
I measured out 5″ increments for 7 shelves to hold my 4oz spice jars. For the next two shelves I measured out 8″ to hold canned foods. And the last shelf I measured out 12.4″ to hold large items such as sauce bottles, vinegars, dressings, etc. - Now on each shelf you want to make a mark for where the dowels will go. I measured 1 inch above the shelf line and ¼” from the side of the shelf. These dowels will hold everything in place in the shelves. Then use a 7/16″ drill bit to drill a hole where you made the mark for the dowels. (you don’t want to drill all the way through, just deep enough for the dowels to fit)
- Screw 2 of the 29½” 1×4″ primed boards for the bottom shelf and add the casters. (I used smaller casters as first but then changed them out to the 2½” Soft rubber rigid caster because i wanted a smoother pull when rolling it out. I forgot to take a picture with the new casters but this is how it looked with the smaller caster)
- Now you want to screw in one of the long 64″ cut 1×4″ primed board to the bottom base with the attached casters.
- After the side is attached, screw in all of the 29½” cut 1×4″ primed board shelves where you marked with the lines earlier in step 4.
- Now align the remaining 64″ cut 1×4″ primed board with the shelves and screw it in to each shelf. (Make sure the dowel holes are aligned as well)
- Now attach the back thin board that was cut to 31½” x 64″ to the back of the frame. Place it face down on the frame so the backsplash that you made will be on the inside. (The back of the frame is the opposite side of where the dowel holes were made).
- Screw the board to the frame. First screw on the outsides and then screw the frame to the shelves so when products are placed on to the shelves it won’t bow.
- Now the last thing to do is screw on the handle to the side of the frame.
- Fill your sliding pantry with cans, spices and anything to free up your cupboards!
