I'm not sure where I developed my disdain for cabinets but I continued my mission in the pantry to eradicate as many of them as possible from my house during our renovation.

Opening and closing cabinets are two extra steps I just don't need in my life and forgoing them completely is a decision I've yet to regret.

I've always hated our pantry. What used to be a closet off of the garage before the previous owners enclosed it and the room became my tea party room, the pantry was the most ergonomically incorrect room ever. The cabinet doors never completely opened all the way and they were so dark in the back and corners, you had to have a flash light anytime you used them.

My ideas for this room were pretty simple compared to some of the previous rooms: rip off the cabinet doors, convert to open shelving, and paint everything extra bright white. My philosophy was why hide our food? Food is the essence of life. It's the one thing that brings our family together in the evening when we gather around the table to eat. Food plays a big role in almost every family so I wanted to make our pantry not only functional but another chapter in the story of our home.

Again, Brian, Benessa and Brooke Morrison did an amazing job not only making my visions happen but making them even better.

Here's the after:

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Yes, that is a gum ball machine and yes I charge my children $0.25 for each.

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I'm determined to give the room the personality so sadly lacking in it's previous life. I found this small watercolor in a thrift store for $2 and now it greets everyone who crosses the threshold.

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There's more before and after pictures in the gallery below. I hope you enjoy them and are inspired to do what YOU want do do on your next remodel. Prepare yourself for builders who have zero creativity and aren't comfortable thinking outside of the box. Frankly, I got tired of constantly defending my choices to some of the builders I worked with early on but the Good Lord had me covered because He sent Brian, Benessa and Brooke my way.

Now, my pantry is functional no wasted space and it also serves as a canvas of sorts. You can paint some pretty compelling pictures with the cans in your cabinets.

Note of warning: the only thing worse than my before cabinets were the before pictures I took prior to the demo. Even still, it's not hard to see how wretched the situation was before.

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