Bookcase To Pantry (adding doors)

Our kitchen is large and has lots of wall space, but lacks cabinet and counter space. I already added a DIY island, which helps enormously with food prepping, but I still needed a pantry.

So I took two free bookshelves (you can read more about them here) and turned them into a pantry.

The first thing I did was stain the outside of the bookshelves the same color as my kitchen cabinets. I used General Finishes Java Gel Stain.

This stuff is amazing. I used it on my kitchen and bathroom cabinets, over three years ago, and the stain is holding up great.

Another favorite of mine is the General Finishes Polyacrylic top coat.  It’s a clear varnish that’s also very durable and easy to apply.

Next, I added doors. My cabinet doors are made with 1/2 inch MDF. Home Depot cut them for me free of charge. I stained the doors and applied the poly.

Once everything was dry, I added the hardware. I chose the same silver knobs and hinges  I used for my kitchen cabinets. They’re from National Hardware and are super high quality. These knobs will last forever. I also used their hardware for my garage makeover.

Now it was time to hang the doors. This was the hardest part. Hanging doors without an extra pair of hands isn’t easy, let me tell you. Twice, one of the doors fell on my head. I’m ok, in case you’re wondering. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? The doors are up and I’m happy with the result.

In the future I might add trim to the doors. For now, I’m liking the clean lines.

So, if you have any extra space in the kitchen (or any other room) and need storage, consider getting a generic bookcase (many people already have one in the house) and turn it into an armoire, pantry, TV cabinet, or anything else you might envision.

This one is similar to mine. It’s from Home Depot and was originally $297.

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