A Note From The Home Depot
Follow along as Lauren Beavers, the face behind Hand Makes Home, transforms her pantry into a space perfectly and beautifully curated for her home’s and her family’s every need.
Our Pantry Before
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!
Measuring and Designing the Space
As with every project, I begin by measuring out my space. This room is approximately 9.5’x7’ with 10’ tall ceilings. I knew I would be using the Avondale Ready to Assemble Cabinets in Alpine White from Hampton Bay and knew I wanted as many drawers as possible, so after playing around with a few configurations I found a way to make the most of the space.
Then, I like to draw up the design in SketchUp using my iPad which helps give me an idea of what the space will look and feel like. I like to start by drawing out the bottom cabinets first.
Next, I repeat the process with the uppers until I’ve figured out exactly which products to order. See my product list at the end of the blog for a full run down of everything I needed to make these dream cabinets a reality.
Assembling the Cabinets
Then I get to work building! These cabinets were all very simple to put together and the instructions are straight-forward. Once I finished the first cabinet, I was able to get the rest done very quickly without even needing to look at the instructions for reference.
We spent a lot of money on the cabinets in our kitchen, upgrading to shaker style with the soft-close feature and having them all custom built.
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!
Installation Tips
When installing cabinets, I always start by setting them all in place and clamping the faces together to attach first. I’m using cabinet screws to do this so the head of the screw doesn’t penetrate the wood. Next, you want to make sure they are completely level and plumb. This means you may need to use shims underneath or behind in between the cabinet and the wall. Then you’ll screw the cabinets into studs in the back wall to secure them.
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.
Installing the Countertops
Then it was time for the counter! Hampton Bay Configurable Laminate Countertops are easy to install and multi-configurable to fit any project needs. This was my first time working with laminate countertops and I loved the way they turned out. I was a little nervous at first about the seam, but I am so happy with the seamless results!
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.