One of our ‘winter projects’ this year was to add more storage to our tiny kitchen.

Now this may seem like an impossible idea, because you see, I could stand in the center of the kitchen and touch the walls, cabinets and appliances with my arms wide open in all angles….but it’s not impossible with a little creativity.

We have been designing and updating our kitchen and our whole house, for that matter, since we moved in 18 years ago ~ making it our home.

Here is a little taste of our kitchen during move in week (…we’ve come a long way) ~ and the entry- way (Christmas Photo) that we found space to add our new Green Pantry Cupboard, into the kitchen for additional storage.

First measuring from every angle ~ being mindful of walkways, opening doors, carrying groceries in, places for shoes, and a heating vent obstacle. And then searching for a perfect size cabinet, depth, width and height to fit the space.

This was no easy task ~ we did find a cabinet with the perfect width ~ but the height was all wrong and we had to be creative with how it would sit on the floor next to the heating vent….and the cabinet we found already had a finish, which meant sanding,….and that equals no fun.

But the good news was it had a wainscoting front which would tie in with all the wainscoting within the kitchen and dining room.

It took a few creative solutions to make it work.

Thankfully my hubby is willing to ‘make things happen‘ ~ by adding unfinished wood legs to the front of the cabinet, then raising it up and securing the back of the cabinet to the wall. This not only raised the height above the heating vent, but it was much more pleasing to the eye and the height was perfect.

This cabinet was found thru Home Depot (here). The legs were purchased thru Lowes.

Adding the color was next ~because I reeeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy wanted to add color to our all white kitchen. Something to compliment our ‘comfy blue denim‘ look and feel of our home….and ‘Green’ it was.

the cabinet and legs were sanded and scuffed then painted (exterior only), ‘Park Bench Green’ from Fusion (found here).

The legs were added before screwing the cabinet to the wall.

I make it sound so simple, but it was alot of measuring and figuring prior to making it all look pretty.

This little white not-so-perfect cabinet became our much used and loved ‘Green Pantry Cupboard’!

Now you know I can’t just let things go and call it a day. So I spent some time dreaming up creative ideas for the interior of the Green Pantry Cupboard to add extra charm!

First adding a gold metal hook (found here) to the exterior side for aprons and such ~ the apron shown is one that my husband’s Grandmother wore often.

And I am still deciding on changing the knobs and drawer pulls to a gold ~ but living with the black knobs for a while….I like them too.

The interior upper doors were completed with a cork board on the right and a punch tin design on the left…..just like a vintage pie safe!

For the right side ~ we purchased rolled cork (found at Joann Fabrics) ~ then measured and cut to fit the interior of the door. We attached the corkboard with Command Strips for easy removal if needed. We then added a few charming details with twill tape (found here) creating a criss-cross pattern and then securing it to the corkboard with gold upholstery tacks, clipping off the metal ends if too long (found here) …you know how I just love my upholstery tacks. Then just simply slip in a few favorite recipes, photos, or a measuring chart.

My favorite Antique Dealer friends from Sister Stash & More (shop found here) ~ gifted me the sweet child size cloths pins to tuck within the twill tape, how cute and a simple reminder of good friends.

For the left side ~ we simply created the look and feel of a vintage pie safe with a ‘punched tin’ design made with aluminum flashing and a center punch.

The aluminum flashing is a roofing supply and can be found thru your local hardware store, or your husbands work bench (it comes in a roll, like here) ~ then measuring and cutting the ‘tin’ with tin-snips to the size of the interior of the cupboard door.

Lay the flashing on a flat surface (to loose the curl) ~ use a pencil, a square, a ruler and a circle stencil, to design a fun unique pattern. You can also find patterns thru quilting magazines.

Once the design is created follow along with a ‘center punch’ shown in the image above, to punch with even spaces along the drawn design.

Then add the ‘tin’ panel to the cupboard door with Command Strips.

You may also scuff the aluminum flashing if desired ~ so the finish is dull and not so shiny.

Our ‘Green Pantry Cupboard‘ is pleasing to the eye, adds a bit of fun and the extra storage was so much needed!

A few more ‘kitchen’ updates will be shared soon ~ stay tuned in for flooring, accessories, curtains, chalkboards, canisters, collections and more…and then a final reveal!

Almost there… well, at least until the next idea comes along.

Be sure to check out our ‘Daily Dose‘ Tab (here) ~ for daily Classic updates, kitchen tips, decor tricks, artful techniques, crafty ideas and more!

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