DIY Pantry Renovation Featuring Hampton Bay

This pantry project has been an absolute labor of love, and something I’ve been dreaming up for years. Working with Hampton Bay, available exclusively at The Home Depot, on our cabinetry and countertops pulled everything together and saved me so much time that would have otherwise been spent custom-building the cabinets. I’m excited to share the process with you all in hopes that it helps with your own projects, whether it’s a pantry, a kitchen or a laundry room!

I was shocked at the quality of the Hampton Bay cabinets and how they looked IDENTICAL to our kitchen cabinets, for just a fraction of the price. They also all come with soft-close hinges and are made of 4x stronger plywood with a premium finish!

I’d say the only difference is that you’re choosing from the sizes they offer versus having them built completely custom, but even so, I only used one filler piece for our cabinets to make them fit our space.

I actually would have needed a filler anyways so that the doors and drawers would not swing into each other in the corner, so I could not imagine doing this room any other way than with Hampton Bay. They truly do look and feel like custom cabinets!

For the uppers, I like to screw a piece of wood into the wall as a support, making sure it’s level, and that will help hold the cabinets in place while screwing them in. Pre-marking where the studs are helps to make sure you’re hitting them and then tightening the screws just enough to secure them to the wall.

Just like the lowers, I want to secure the faces of each cabinet so they’re flush before completely screwing them into the wall. Your drywall may be wavy, protruding a bit where the studs are, so this way you’re ensuring the cabinets are straight across the front. This can be a bit tricky when you’re installing two sets of uppers like I did, but I just adjusted them as needed until they were all flush before tightening the screws into the studs.

I ordered two of these counters and lined them up first to choose which configuration would make the seam look most natural. Then I taped the top of the counters where I would be cutting and flipped them over before using my circular saw to cut them down to size. Fortunately for me I cut them to the right length the first time and didn’t have to cut again!

These countertops come with pre-machined routings and use tie bolts to connect multiple layouts quickly. The tie bolts attach the corners, and you do that step from underneath. This secures them to each other making sure they’re tight and flush!

If you install these around a sink, or if will have the possibility of water splashing on them, I’d recommend using a silicone caulk around the edges to prevent any swelling from occurring. But otherwise, it really is that simple!

Installing the cabinets and counters was the quickest part of our pantry project, and after living with the room for about a month now, I can say I would absolutely use these cabinets and counters in our home again in a future renovation.