One of the realities of living in a smaller home is the need to get creative with storage. That is certainly true in my home and my kitchen, in particular. We have a crazy narrow little pantry just off of our kitchen. It’s tucked under the stairs to our second floor. It’s only about 3 feet wide, and the ceiling slopes down to a point at the floor. If you can picture a 45 degree triangle, that’s the shape of our pantry.
Today I’m sharing how I updated the narrow left side wall of the pantry with DIY mason jar spice storage.
Here it is before.
***This post contains affiliate links. For my complete disclosure, see here.***
Before
I know, dingy, but it worked. Sort of.
Shortly after we moved into our home 16 years ago, we added shelving on the right for our food storage. I also hung some IKEA picture rails on the left for my spices. When I wanted to hang a broom or Swiffer, I just put up a random hook here and there. It functioned for us, but there was definitely room for improvement.
After
As with so many of my projects, it started as a quick little project to re-organize my herbs and spices, and then snowballed into a (much needed) pantry overhaul. My old spice jars had small openings (like most spice jars do) and the lids never really sealed right. I wanted to be able to fit the larger measuring spoons into the jar. So, I replaced my small spice jars with larger ones.
And then the larger spice jars no longer fit on the old picture ledges. So, why not just go ahead and build custom floating shelves that fit the sloped ceiling perfectly, right?
I took down the old picture ledges, and that’s when all hell broke loose, lol.
I gave the pantry a fresh coat of paint, added beadboard wainscoting and a proper hook rail. I built 3 floating shelves for the spice racks, and angled them to fit the sloped ceiling, utilizing every inch of wall space. I left enough distance between the shelves so that I can store taller jars as well. I’m using the space at the top for platters.
This space has no natural light (also making it very tricky to photograph, by the way, but I did my best!), so the lighter, brighter paint colors really help. The beadboard will be easier to keep wipe down and clean.
The spices are alphabetized so I can find them quickly.
When we moved into our home 16 years ago, my son was 1 year old and I was pregnant with my daughter. We marked their heights on the inside of the door as they grew. Some of the early marks have worn off, but it’s a sweet reminder of how much they have grown. Of course, I didn’t paint over those marks! You can see them in the photo below.
I am a huge fan of vintage blue Ball jars. When I found these little cutie reproduction Ball jars, I knew they would be perfect for my spices. They are 8 ounces and have wide openings.
I buy my herbs and spices in bulk at the grocery store. It’s much more affordable – dang spices can be expensive – and reduces waste. I bring an empty jar to the store, “tare” it (weigh the empty jar), and fill it with the amount of herb or spice I need, and then weigh it again.
[Bulk food sales are currently not available here due to the pandemic, but I’m hopeful they will be back!]
Of course, I needed pretty labels, too. I found them on Etsy, and they are perfect.
My measuring spoons fits nicely now. Ahhh, it was all worth it.
The Ball jars come in packs of four, and have 2 piece metal lids. I picked up some plastic leak-proof lids as well, but the metal lids are working just fine.
I added labels to our seasoned salt and red pepper shakers as well.
Even though the pantry door is usually closed, it feels more like a cohesive part of my home and kitchen now. I am so happy with the new mason jar spice storage.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Susan
Sources
Blue ball jars | Spice labels | Plastic lids | dustpan | broom | beadboard – Lowe’s| Wall paint color – Benjamin Moore “Classic Gray” | Beadboard paint color – Custom, but very close to Benjamin Moore “Cloud White” | Pantry sign | Dining room chandelier | Dining room rug | Dining room table | Parsons chairs – Ballard Designs
