How about this?

100 Square Foot Kitchen Remodel · More Info

Former ironing board cupboard, converted to spice storage.

Thanks for the excellent photos. @mama goose_gw zn6OH and @crl_, how deep are your cabinets?

3 1/2 inches. Perfect for spices.

Cookbook shelves (in progress shot), between studs on a thick wall:

From deedles amazing kitchen. If you scroll about 1/2 way through thread, you'll find a couple more.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2814455/very-late-reveal-small-rustic-white-oak-kitchen-pic-heavy

This is a very interesting idea, but I seem to be missing something. A typical 2x4" interior wall might be 4 1/4" deep, assuming the drywall is left on the back side. A typical cabinet has 3/4" front & back walls, so it seems to me that your maximum interior depth would be less than 3" (unless of course you have very deep walls). Could someone explain this to me?

Not that I have one--but since it's not structural, you should be able to use 1/4" material on the back, there's 3/4" or whatever wallboard on the other side. Then, if you look at the topmost pic with the doors, you can see that the doors & trim are proud of the wall itself--level with the base trim. So not as much loss as you are talking about. Equally, looks like about the depth of a can of tuna--so somewhere in the 3-3.5" range from the pictures...

I do find shallow is incredibly useful for pantries because you can see everything...

My house was built in 1925 and has plaster walls. Modern material standards don't apply.

I headed off two studs to accommodate my recessed spice shelves.

Top shelf is 3.5" deep with a short lip rail, and bottom shelf 5" with an extending sill.

Meganmca is correct--I used inexpensive 1/4" sheet beadboard, glued to the sheet rock on the other side of the wall, which is in a closet. The 1x trim adds 3/4", and the re-used doors are overlay.

There is a laminated beam above the opening to the right of the shelves, so the wall is built out a little deeper than the standard 2x4 framing. The pantry is 6.5" deep.

Fantastic examples, all. I can't wait to open up my walls and see where I can squeeze one of these in!

Great idea for our pantry!

Here are ours.

Kitchen Spice Cab

Pantry Cab (mostly for baking supplies)