Pantry and Mud Room Addition

The weather is turning chilly and work on the inside is starting up again.

We originally talked about building simple shelving in the pantry but as we started comparison shopping the cost of 1x12, hardware, storage boxes for organization and construction time we realized for not that much more money we could install stock cabinets that almost matched the custom cabinets we ordered for the kitchen perfectly.

After all this would not only be a pantry but with an outside entry it will serve as a mud room off the deck so we wanted it to look nice as well as be functional. We're also creating an enclosure for the cats litter box in the lower cabinet. A cat lover's dream - a litter box that's out of sight.

The kitchen isn't that large so the addition of the abundant storage found in the new pantry makes the size of the kitchen less important.

We want to be able to add the new square footage to the overall footprint of the house. To qualify the pantry had to be heated. Since it was once a screened porch and was offset from the main house this made connecting to the existing heating system a logistics nightmare. To accomplish our goal we opted to install radiant heat in the floor. For just over $200 we ordered a floor heating system over the internet. It will consist of a heated strip 2x6 under the flooring. We've discussed installing the same heating system in the new upstairs master bath as well. This will be a good test run on how easy it is to install and how effective as a heating source it actually is.

This project is coming close to completion. Look for updates on the progress soon.

Visit us at Leyland Ridge Farm to see our entire 1926 farm house renovation project.