We’ve finished the LEAST crucial space in our house FIRST. Forget the bathroom, or the kitchen. No one lounges in the pantry, or eats in it, but I don’t care. I’ve always dreamed of a space to show off my jam jars, pickles and cookbooks. The pantry was a major selling point when we bought this house, despite the scary before pictures.
The former pantry was dated and far from beautiful. It had shelves that were way too deep and items hard to access. When we demo’d the shelves we discovered that this was a place where critters were hanging out, so in hindsight, I’m really glad we started from scratch in this room.
When I found Young House Love’s tutorial on built in shelving, I knew that I wanted to mimic their simple, clean pantry design. Although their tutorial was helpful, I’m almost certain the houses they renovate aren’t 1848 farmhouses. Which means when we went to do everything they instructed, it didn’t work for us. Our studs are NOT 16″ on center. We made 6,000 trips to Lowe’s to find other solutions, and we ended up using very heavy duty wall anchors and screwing into the studs wherever possible. We did the best we could and think we achieved our goal in making this space feel open, clean and functional.
And check out this hutch! We bought it at an auction for $25 and painted the back of it white (yes, I held an auction paddle and spent way too much $$). We also bolted it to the studs of the wall behind it, so it feels built into the room too (and won’t fall on anyone). I’m obsessed with it and love that my baking scale, cookbooks, vintage Saveur mags, and jars of beautiful ingredients live out in the open. There’s also a very convenient cabinet below for “ugly stuff” storage.
Lastly, I wanted somewhere to hang pots and pans that was outside of the kitchen. I found some tutorials online for this, but we decided to wing it and figure it out ourselves. Check out the instructions below to build these on your own. It’s really easy – the industrial pipe pieces screw together and end up looking very chic against a white wall. I think it looks stunning!
Nothing brings me more joy than walking into this room, labeling jars of dried goods, stacking (and re-stacking) cookbooks, and getting inspired.
DIY Industrial Pipe Rack
What you’ll need for two racks:
- 2 3/4 in. x 48 in. Black Steel Pipes
- 4 3/4 in. x 3/4 in. Black Malleable Iron 90-Degree FPT x FPT Elbow
- 4 3/4 in. x 2 in. Black Steel Nipple
- 4 3/4 in. Black Malleable Iron FPT Floor Flange
- Screws with a head big enough to not slip through flange holes
- Drywall anchors if your studs aren’t 16″ on center
- S hooks that fit the 3/4 inch pipe (I bought 6 of these, but they could only be installed prior to screwing the pipes on the wall)
- Total price comes in at $99.64 if you already have anchors and screws!
Step 1: Slide S hooks onto the pipe
Step 2: Assemble the pipe to the elbows, then attach each nipple to the elbows, then the flanges
Step 3: Make sure the flanges lay flat against the wall and the pipe is level. Mark your holes on the wall
Step 4: If using anchors, drill holes for anchors and insert anchors. With someone holding on side, screw the flanges onto the wall.
Step 5: When attaching the second rack, make sure the distance from the bar to the wall is the same as the first. Or you can also stagger them, but make sure you’re aware.
Step 6: That’s it! Hang your pots and anything else from this very simple rack.
