DIY How To Paint Your Pantry
I found myself standing in my pantry today just looking at it. UGH. I love my pantry – it’s 5 feet deep and 7 feet wide. It’s a walk in pantry and it is a MESS! Check out why my pantry needs a makeover. So standing there today I was looking at the walls. They are covered in the remains of a huge Dr Pepper 2 liter explosion.
Sooooo. What is the best way to repaint a pantry? I started my research. After reading several articles, this article from ehow.net has the best step by step instructions on how to paint your pantry.
Now I need to go gather all the needed materials and decide on a paint color.
[box type=”warning”] BEFORE you start to paint evaluate your pantry and determine if you will be making any changes (adding shelves, hardware, etc.) Take care of these items BEFORE you paint if they will need to be painted as well.[/box]
Selecting A Pantry Paint Color
There are a few things you’ll want to remember when selecting your pantry paint color.
Pantry Lighting
Is your pantry dark or poorly lit? If so, then whatever paint you choose will appear darker in the pantry than in the store. Do a test area if needed. This is also a good time to determine if you need to install new overhead or under the shelves lighting.
Color Effects Mood and Food
Red, yellow and orange are all proven to make you hungry. (Think McDonald’s and Burger King – hunger inducing colors.) If you don’t want to induce a binge while you are hunting for a snack in the pantry consider staying away from these colors. Darker paint hues on the walls paired with crisp contrasting shelves make items on the shelves “pop” off and easier to find. You can check out these 14 pantry make overs to see which colors you like and how they look.
Coordinate Your Colors
I’m in love with gray walls in a pantry with crisp white shelves, however, my pantry is inside my laundry room. I will eventually repaint my laundry room and gray won’t work with the light and cheery tones I’m considering. Keep the color of your kitchen or in my case laundry room in mind when selecting the colors for your pantry so that everything coordinates. If you are planning on doing some DIY containers for storage – I’ll be spray painting some mis-matched plastic bins and tubs from the dollar store with Krylon Fusion – think of what color you want those to be as well. This would be your accent color in most cases. Be sure the accent color you want is available in the medium (in my case Krylon Fusion) that you will be using – and make sure it will work well with your selected pantry paint colors. NOTE: Krylon Fusion “fuses” to plastics, allowing you to paint them without worrying about the paint chipping off! Krylon even has it’s own store on Amazon where you can get Krylon Fusion for your projects.
Paint Inspiration
I have an entire Pinterest board full of paint inspirations for the home. Take a look, perhaps you’ll find the color scheme you want there. You can also stop by my board dedicated to pantry organization and ideas.
Now that you know what paint color you want it’s time to prep for paint!
DIY Paint Your Pantry Shopping List
- Screwdriver
- Sponge or cloth
- Water and mild soap
- Painters Tape
- Paint roller or brushes (depending on the size of your pantry)
- Drop cloth
- Wall Paint (Use a semi-gloss or eggshell finish – you do not want to use flat paint in the pantry)
- Shelf and Trim paint (oil based is best for these high wear areas)
- Solvent to clean your brushes and spills, etc. with. Ask in the store what will work best for the kind of paint you are using.
- Step stool or ladder
[box type=”info”] Determine what type of finish is on your existing paint. Latex and acrylic paints won’t adhere to oil-based paints. If the trim you are painting is painted with an oil-based paint, you need to use another oil-based paint to use over it. To determine if your old paint is oil-based, break off a chip and try to bend it: if it snaps readily, it is oil-based paint. The best method to test what kind of paint you have is to use denatured alcohol. Rub a small area with the denatured alcohol. If some of the color comes off and the area feel tacky, it is latex paint. [/box]
Oil Based Paints Take Forever To Dry (and that’s okay)
Oil based paints take 12-48 hours to completely dry and can easily be marred while they are drying. The benefit of using oil based paint for your pantry shelves and trim is that it dries to a very hard, glossy finish that is easy to clean and extremely durable. You do want an easy to clean, durable paint on your shelves don’t you? After all, think of all the canned goods and heavy sharp items you place in your pantry that could easily ruin your latex painted shelves. Yes. Suck it up and live with the fact that your entire pantry will be on your kitchen table for at least 2 days while you prep, paint and wait for everything to cure.
Use An Easy To Clean Paint On Pantry Walls
Flat paint has no place in a pantry. Yes it is the cheapest, but it is impossible to clean. Use an eggshell finish or semi-gloss paint on the walls (I prefer eggshell finish paints) that are easy to clean. After all, a bottle of Dr Pepper may explode in there!
Prep The Pantry for Painting
- Toss out all expired or unneeded items from your pantry
- Take everything out of your pantry and pile it on the kitchen table or tubs or laundry baskets
- Wash the shelves and walls
- Lightly sand the shelves
- Wipe everything down with a tack cloth or damp towel / rag
- Remove any hardware or shelving – anything that isn’t attached.
Clear off the kitchen table, gather up empty tubs and unused laundry baskets and pile everything into them and out of your pantry. This is a good time to cull through your pantry and throw away anything that is expired or unneeded. Now take everything out of your pantry and stack it on the kitchen shelves or in baskets. Keep things grouped – it will make putting everything back in easier. It will also allow you to figure out if you need any new storage containers, bins, tubs or canisters. Now that everything is out of your pantry give it a good cleaning. Wash the shelves with mild soap and water. Wipe down the walls and sweep the floors (run a broom in the corners of the ceiling to remove any cobwebs). Ah. Looks better already! Now, lightly sand your shelves so that your paint will make a good adhesion. (Kids are great at sanding and they can’t mess it up, so give them a sanding block and let ’em at it!) After the shelves and trim have been lightly sanded wipe those surfaces with a tack cloth or damp towel / rag to remove all of the dust. You don’t want any dust from sanding! Don’t skip the wipe down step! I like to then take a blow dryer on the coolest setting and “blow out” the shelves. This ensures that any remaining dust gets blown away. 🙂 Now remove any hardware or shelving that isn’t attached. In my case, that will only be a light switch, all my shelves are attached to the wall.
Now Your Ready To Paint
Put your drop cloth down (you can cut up black trash bags for this or purchase a drop cloth). Use painters tape to tape off the shelves if they are fixed. You are going to paint the walls first.
Using a roller brush or paint brush (depending on the size of your walls) start painting. After painting the walls you’ll want to paint the shelves and trim next. Take removable shelving out to the garage or outside (make sure it isn’t going to rain for the next day or two if you go outside) and put them on saw horses and paint. Allow them to completely dry and cure before putting them back in the pantry. If your shelves are attached, work from the top down. Tape off the walls so you don’t muck up your newly painted – and completely dry – walls. Paint each shelf, top first then the underside and work your way down the wall. In both instances, finish with the trim or baseboards. Now, admire your work and walk away. Allow the shelves to dry and cure per the manufacturers instructions on the paint can. If it says 12 hours – wait 12 hours. If it says 24 hours – then wait 24 hours. BE PATIENT. (I know, I know, there is pantry crap everywhere! Just be patient, I promise it is worth it.)
[box type=”info”] To easily remove painters tape use a hair dryer to warm the glue of the tape while you slowly and gently pull it away from the wall.[/box]
[box type=”info”] While the paint is drying look over the contents of your pantry and determine if you need any new storage containers, bins, or baskets. If so, then now is the time to go get them. The dollar store, Wal-Mart and The Container Store all have great pantry storage solutions.[/box]
Now that your shelves are all dry and cured reinstall them in your pantry if needed. If they were fixed, reinstall any hardware you may have removed. Now, the next part is the most important. Stand back and look at your clean, freshly painted, beautiful pantry.