How we Quadruped the size of a Pantry

photo by Emily Kennedy

Being in the construction industry, I see a ton of strange things. Vashon, especially, gets its share of funky design and build because, in my opinion, one of the biggest contributors to this is because building codes aren’t always adhered to.  Whatever the reasons, I encounter countless code violations and strangely "creative" ways to solve problems.   It makes me proud to know that my talents can help improve these situations and make homes safe WHILE becoming more beautiful as well.

Before photo of a chaotic pantry with empty space behind the shelving, and little room due to the oversized, inaccessible water heater living behind the shelves.

A recent client had an extra-large water heater enclosed in a drywall box, hidden behind pantry shelves.  I am sure at the time the house was built, there wasn’t an interior design professional watching over the project. One of my favorite parts of my “job” is to problem solve using my design knowledge, creativity, and past experiences to not only see the current situation but to analyze and reflect on  possible solutions.  As you know, if you change one aspect of a house, it often affects several other areas as well.

There is a huge water heater behind these shelves which is a code violation because it’s completely inaccessible.

As you can see in this photo, the dark void behind the canned goods is where the water heater is located. In this photo it kind of looks like R2D2 lurking at you and I would know because my son is 7 years old so I have them all over my house.  Here is one of the challenges with this situation, if you bumped a can, it would fall behind the shelves and disappear forever.

A second challenge is that the shelves were static so there was not a door to access the water heater. This was against code because appliances, such as water heaters, need to have access without having to remove permanent construction (IPC Code 502.5).

When we started to tackle this design dilemma, we had discussions on what the owner liked and didn’t like about the current pantry.  We played around with keeping the water heater in the pantry, but the water heater and pantry lived in this “box” in the center of the kitchen and the living room, along with a coat closet.  As I mentioned before, it is not safe, and now we also are focused on the fact that is it in the center of kitchen and living room. Remember, each adjustment has an effect on other parts of your home, so it is important to consider all of these aspects when planning.

The homeowner also wanted a cleaner more streamlined look for their kitchen, without all of the clutter with the recycling, trash, and microwave.

Keeping a full-sized water heater made increasing the size of the pantry quite difficult. We also contemplated converting to a tankless water heater, but we would still need a door accessing it, and that still took away from the pantry’s real estate.

The best solution was to put a strong platform in the attic and relocate the water heater up there. This provided a wide-open space around it and since we rarely need to get at it, why keep it in the main living space?  This now provides ample room for a larger, walk-in pantry without compromising the volume of the already-tiny coat closet.

I took these concepts, the measurements, and the goals back to my drawing board and created a few ideas so the client could see it on paper.  In the next few images, you can see how we manipulated the space so the microwave, trash, and recycling can all neatly tuck away within the new pantry, which has a great door for closing it all away.

We had an amazing general contractor on this project who created the shelving from some cabinet panels that were damaged in shipping. Those were replaced by the manufacturer, so it left these large pieces of finished  wood available to us.  Here is one of the reasons why I love working in this community, we all want what is best for the environment. What an awesome use of recycling!

Now, I am proud to say, the new pantry is extremely roomy and very well lit. The space is calm and “neat” when you walk inside, and the homeowner is pleased.

One of the most pleasing aspects of interior design and remodeling is that my team and I are able to improve the quality of life for our clients, reducing daily stress by creating a calm and organized atmosphere!

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@clarajearlyphoto

@emilykennedyphoto

Here are 5 tips if you are wondering if a remodel would benefit you and your home.

1)     Create a list of areas that cause stress or anxiety in your daily life.  What is bothersome to you as you move about?

2)     Determine if all of your appliances are up to code.  If you need help, let me know.

3)     Close your eyes and try to imagine your home with the perfect flow. What walls or areas would be removed?

4)     Determine if your outside living spaces (like deck, front porch, basement, attics, and closets) are being utilized to their maximum capacity.

5)     Identify what is in the way.  Chances are, it can be hidden from site.

Please be sure to download my free interior design guide!