Kitchen Remodel: Moving the Pantry Door

High at the top of our kitchen remodel project list, is to install the wood cookstove. After finishing the ceiling beams, Dan was ready to start on this, but I hadn't finished stripping, sanding, and painting (which turned out to be not such a brilliant idea after all) the wall behind where the stove will go. No sweat. While I worked on that, he tackled another project on the list, relocating the pantry door.

This is the second door we've moved for our new kitchen, the first being the back door. This second door was to the three rooms added on to the house after it was built; the part of the house I call "the addition."

The original door, probably installed when
the addition was added on to the house.

The above photo was taken before we moved in. I like French doors, but this one was somewhat in the way since it opened into the kitchen. Of course, if it had opened the other way, it would have blocked one of the other doors behind it. We always kept it open, because of the bathroom. During the winter, I would hang a quilt in the hall.....

Quilt (not handmade) hung over pantry entrance.

..... beyond the bathroom door, because the pantry does not need to be heated. This helped somewhat, to keep warmth in the kitchen and bathroom, and for this reason I wanted a permanent pantry door. Since I liked the French door and we already had it, I thought the best thing to do was to move it.

It was easy enough to take the door off the hinges and pull the whole frame out once the moulding was removed.

Original moulding, door, & framing removed

We chose a spot in the hall, beyond the bathroom and utility room doors. Dan found a stud in the wall and framed out the new location. I wanted the door to open toward the pantry, so he turned it around and put the hinges on the right hand side.

The door's new framing

You can't tell from the above photo, but the door knob fits exactly between the hall corner and the freezer, giving me good wide passage into the pantry. (The door is almost 34 inches wide.)

Old door, new location. I like it.

Here it is, just finished. The bathroom is on the left, the utility room is on the right. One special touch Dan added is the shelf above the door. I have a lot of nice knick-knacks, and this will be an excellent spot for some of them.

Lastly, I painted this short hallway the same color as I am the kitchen.

Still needs trimwork & touch-ups

It's a soft off-white that coordinates with my wallpaper. When we install the kitchen floor, it will extend into this little area as well, to give a look of continuity. The ugly paneling and vinyl flooring in the pantry will probably stay as is.

The door is already doing its job to help keep the kitchen and bathroom warmer. Since it has hardware for cafe rods, I can also increase insulation value by hanging something quilted over the glass panes. Or something lacy to let some light in. Either way it'll help hide my mess in the pantry!

Another project checked off the list. :)

Kitchen Remodel: Moving the Pantry Door © November 2011 by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/