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rlkelsey

advice for kitchen pantry / closet

rlkelsey
5 years ago

In our kitchen, we have a very small closet that we use for a pantry. I have 2 issues with it. Is it possible to remove the door frame and change it to use a cabinet door instead? I want to maximize the width of the closet so that we can put in rolling shelves. The closet now goes all the way to the floor (of course since it's a closet now.) The width of the closet opening is 18 inches, but we lose 3 inches of space on both sides due to the door frame. Is it possible to remove the door frame and put a tall closet door instead?


And, what are the most economical ways to do rolling shelves? We are DIYers, so that doesn't bother us. I have heard of ShelfGenie, but I want something that is not super expensive.


I have this same issue with our bathroom and would like to do the same with our bathroom closet.




Comments (10)

  • lisapoi
    5 years ago

    If you are really handy, I would consider completely removing the entire closet and replacing it with a purchased pantry cabinet (if you can find one that fits your space), or make your own. We made our own kitchen cabinet boxes and fitted them with Bloom pullout hardware for full extension pull-out drawers.. Our whole kitchen is now mostly drawers. The cabinet fronts were made by a local cabinet maker. Maybe you could remove the old closet door and frame, and make drywall corners to finish the new opening...then measure and make (or have a local cabinet maker make it) a new cabinet box with Bloom pullouts to fit the space. Get the cabinet maker make the drawer fronts too. The box could then be slid into place. I don’t think you would need any side fillers, but you could research that, or maybe someone on this site would know that answer.

    I think there are two types of pull out hardware to be aware of...one kind can be installed after the cabinet is built, but these are not an efficient use of drawer space as they require several inches on each side to Install—wastes too much interior drawer space for my liking. The other kind must be installed as the cabinet box is being created, but the shelf space is much more efficient. Full extension pullouts are a must for the most efficient use of space.

  • Buehl
    5 years ago

    There might be information to help you in the following thread. I'm not sure, but I thought I'd post it anyway as it might give you other ideas as well.

    Note: You will have to select/click on the "See XXX more comments" at least once to see all the comments. Sorry, but it's a Houzz thing, we cannot control it. (Unfortunately, people often miss the most important comments in this type of thread b/c of the functionality that hides the all but the last few comments.)

    Thread: Pantry photos/ pics of pantries

  • apple_pie_order
    5 years ago

    Suggestions above are excellent. Rolling wire shelves may be a cheaper way to get full extension. Buy one and see if it is sturdy enough to handle big cans, and has fine enough mesh to keep small things from falling out. Many ideas shown on https://www.kitchensource.com/pantry-organizers/d/pullout/


  • Toni Hamlett
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I recently did a kitchen reno and removed the pantry closet and replaced with pantry cabinet. The inside width of the closet was 24". Once we started demo and measured the space we captured over 10" of space between framing of the closet and finding a few extra inches on one side which housed ductwork. End result was a custom pantry measuring 35" wide. Pantry as 2 adjustable shelves, 2 pull outs which you can also adjust height and 3 drawers. I ended up with so much room I could not believe the difference. Note I did custom cabinets so the size fits the space. But if you remove the closet you will be amazed how much room framing takes. I also noticed you have a cabinet to the side of the closet. The second picture shows show it will look. Note the top cabinet at the coffee station is 14" deep instead of the standard 12" as I have two large items on each side. Good luck as you will make the best decision for your space, Also shop around for cabinet sizes as you don't need to do custom. I did it as my kitchen is not very big and I wanted to maximize the storage space. For standard sizes I found 18" wide to be standard so it you end up with say 36" you could use to standard sizes.




    Final and note to the right of refrigerator we still have 5".


  • Steve Grimes
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    _assuming_ that the current closet door header is not load bearing you could re-frame to increase the opening by 3" per side OR to the size of a cabinet you purchase.

    - remove the trim

    - remove drywall

    - insert double 2 x 4's on each side and header

    https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2009/01/14/frame-a-door-rough-opening

    - replace and patch the drywall

    - replace and finish the trim (unless it's on the pre-constructed cabinet)

    The suggestion above is excellent - use a pre- constructed new cabinet or build a cabinet with roll-out drawers and then insert it into the new space. Closet walls probably aren't square or plumb so sliding a cabinet in makes sense.

    It's possible to construct the cabinet

    https://www.woodmagazine.com/make-cabinets-the-easy-way

    https://www.familyhandyman.com/storage-organization/roll-out-cabinet-drawers-you-can-build-yourself/view-all/

    rlkelsey thanked Steve Grimes
  • artistsharonva
    5 years ago

    Rev A Shelf

    https://www.rev-a-shelf.com/

    Can get pullouts that attach to shelves & come out through existing doors. For the 3" on both sides can still store items on sides that don't need to be pulled out.


    Or get a 24" wide or 30" wide pantry cabinet. Remove door & frame, insert into opening then frame around pantry cabinet to finish it off.


    While at it add lighting inside


  • Valerie C
    3 years ago

    I'm going to suggest you check out the prices on Shelf-O-Matic. When I did the price comparison with ShelfGenie, the Shelf-o-Matic was 1/2 the price. I've used them on over 5 projects and find they are super responsive and would even send installers if I needed (I didn't). It's a great alternative for DIYers. Valerie

  • PRO
    Christy Collection International
    3 years ago

    So proud to be discussed on Houzz and compared to others! Shelf O Matic is USA made and extremely responsive to quotes/ manufacturing/ installation / warranty (life time - no questions asked) Our pricing is extremely competitive. It is always our goal to save the end user 1/2 of what other suppliers quote. We also do closets, built ins, garages, you name it!

    Thank you for the positive comments about working with us. We are proud to help. www.shelfomatic.online 614 746 9182 Our founder answers - not kidding!