Raise your hand if you have a builder grade bi-fold pantry in your kitchen! If so, you’ll want to keep reading, because I’m sharing the most charming pantry closet update to date! (Ok… I might be biased).
In this blog post, I’ll guide you through the process of how we transformed our outdated wire shelved pantry into a built-in custom hutch. The built-in kitchen hutch features cabinets below for closed storage and open shelves adorned with brass gallery rails.
The hiccup that led us to our pantry closet makeover…
We didn’t have the luxury of a walk-in pantry, but instead this little bi-fold door pantry with wire shelves straight from the builder grade warehouse. While pantries like this may serve their purpose, they lack personality and functionality.
The builder grade pantry wasn’t doing our space any favors – only adding to the early 2000s feel of the kitchen with boring bifold doors and cheap wire rack shelving.
Would you believe this pantry closet update with built in hutch was plan B?
In the original design, the plan was to remove the current pantry closet all together and potentially tap into some under stair space for pull-out drawer style storage.
However, a major water line had other plans… The whole reason for wanting to remove the old pantry was to open up the space and do away with the outdated bifold doors.
I was so bummed until I considered the option of adding cabinets and built-in shelves that could provide stylish additional storage.
Updating bi-fold pantry into custom hutch: Step by Step
Demolition
Once the contents of our pantry were cleared out, we started by demoing the existing doors and removing the tracks and hardware.
Next, we removed the shelves from the pantry to expose the drywall completely.
We removed all the drywall completely, down to the studs (which is when we found the surprise water line), but you may just need to demo the front wall of the pantry depending on your design.
Re-frame & add soffit
Once the front wall where the opening is is demoed you’ll be able to determine if you need to reframe forward facing studs.
We opted to add a soffit in the reframing process to create a built-in look and for a light later.
Electrical work
We had the soffit wired for a light source to hang above the shelves. Electrical boxes were also added at a countertop height as well as below that cabinets with plans of housing our robot vacuum under a lower shelf.
Dry wall
Once all of the, what I call, “guts” were added, it was time for drywall. This is where I could start to see my vision coming to life. A cubby! How exciting!
Getting creative with stock cabinets…
The depth of our closet was only about 18 inches which isn’t deep enough to accommodate standard base cabinets. Initially we thought we’d need to have custom cabinets made just for this nook which wasn’t going to be cheap. Until I had a lightbulb moment….
Hang upper cabinets as lowers
Since upper cabinets are quite a bit shallower than lower cabinets, I thought why not just snag more uppers and hang them low! My contractor confirmed they would fit and BINGO! It would provide the same look, but for waaaay less money than having them custom built.
The only problem…? The size cabinets we needed only came with glass front cabinet doors. To create some much needed closed storage I simply cut squares out of the matching side panels and exchanged them with the glass.
Add countertop
Using the same countertop used for the rest of the kitchen, we had the counter guys cut a piece for this little nook. It was a tight and nervous squeeze, but we made it through with hardly any damage to the walls!
Hang shelves
Next, we hung bead board, side panels, face frame pieces and shelves. The 1.5″ cabinet trim pieces meant to be used as filler pieces came in handy for this part.
We opted for materials in dark colors to add to the moodiness of the kitchen and with plans to use the same walnut color for additional cabinetry in our dining room (as soon as I can convince Kevin we ARE ready for another project!) I share more details on the open shelf design and brass gallery rail details in a separate post (click link below).
We repeated the same box shelf style assembly with a lower shelf in the same color as the cabinets for additional open storage.
This little shelf is perfect for storing flat things like cutting boards, serving plates and we even included a shallow basket for napkins and dishtowel storage. Underneath the shelf we keep our robot vacuum (you can see were we had an outlet placed for this exact purpose) and Burkley’s dog bowls.
Add lighting
We topped our hutch off with a picture light over the soffit. This Cabinet Maker’s light from Visual Comfort was a bit of a splurge, but so worth it! It coordinates perfectly with the brass gallery rails.
Other alternatives to bi-fold door closets?
If you don’t have an option to remove the bi-fold doors or door frame, at least consider an update like we did for our laundry room double doors. Simply painting them black and adding fancy hardware made a HUGE difference. Not to mention, it was a very easy DIY makeover.
Pantry Closet Turned Custom Built-in Hutch
This bi-fold pantry makeover still blows my mind!
By updating this bifold pantry into a custom hutch with cabinets below and open shelves with brass gallery rails, we not only added functionality but also created a custom-looking kitchen without the custom price tag. We went from a builder-grade look to a refined use of space! Now we have easy access to commonly used items that we keep in pretty food storage containers.
The built-in shelves were a beautiful way to utilize the wall space and are so much fun to decorate! If you have a bi-fold pantry in need for an update I hope you consider adding your own built-in custom kitchen hutch!
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Girl Behind the Blog
I’m Jess, the creator of Oak & Grain. A mid-west girl at heart who now resides in Raleigh, NC. I love finding old things and giving them new purpose by way of refinishing or incorporating unexpected, overlooked thrift store finds in the modern home. I work full-time in medicine and I love dipping into my creative side and in the process, keeping my sanity. Follow me on Instagram and YouTube to see more behind the scenes action.
Keywords: updating bi-fold pantry closet // transform builder grade pantry into hutch // built-in kitchen shelves with gallery rail // built-in kitchen hutch from pantry closet // pantry closet update // bifold pantry update // how to get a custom looking kitchen without the price
3 responses to “Genius Bi-fold Pantry Update with Custom Built-in Hutch”
There’s no option for CONTACT US on your site and for us non Instagram users thats sad! I have a question about the from down secretary desk hutch…the top does come off somehow, correct? This isn’t 1 solid pieces of furniture, correct?
Thanks for the comment, Lola. You can contact me here: https://oakandgrainrefinishing.com/furniture-refinishing/contact/. It’s a little buried on the mobile view, so thanks for the feedback. I’m not sure which secretary you’re referring to. I currently don’t have any pieces for sale. But happy to answer any questions you have.
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