Before and After: The Butler's Pantry

We might only have 455 sq feet, but that includes a butler's pantry. Yes. A butler's pantry. No, we did not come up with that name on our own -- the Realtor and landlord both refer to it as such. Our apartment is part of what was once a much larger, grander apartment. The kind of apartment that would have a butler's pantry.

Anyway. This butler's pantry has wonderful built-in cupboards and shelves and glass cabinet doors. It's one of the reasons we can live in just 455 sq feet together. Storage.

However, the butler's pantry used to look cluttered, thanks to those glass-fronted cabinet doors. I had covered one of them in colorful IKEA paper, but the rest was just left open for all to gaze upon.

[Mostly] Before:

Clutter. Mess. But functional.

I took the "before" photos in the midst of the move, when the BP (as I affectionately call it) was used as the way station for all things headed towards the basement. It usually wasn't quite so messy. Ok, ok, fine, it was usually somewhat cluttered but not quite this bad. Also, the left photo has the initial panel of the "after" solution. I got so excited I put it up before taking the "before" photos.

After:

Clean. Peaceful. Butler-less.

Our initial thought was to tape in some of the wallpaper left over from the hoosier re-do, but quite frankly it was too expensive to be used in such a disposable manner. Instead, a trip to SewFisticated resulted in this perfectly matching pale blue fabric that I stapled to the inside of the doors after serging the edges to prevent fraying.

The project took about an hour (excluding the trip to the fabric store), but this is hands down my favorite change to the apartment.

What it's hiding:

Our dirty secrets. Books, sewing suppplies, T's clothes, the Kitchen Aide, etc. I feel so exposed.

Bonus Pic:

GO FOR IT! You can finish those DIY projects in no time!

I love going to a nearby church thrift store, and drag T along after our Saturday morning breakfasts at Jim's Deli. I buy medium retro dinner plates, T buys random games from the 1980s like "Go For It!" or "Museum". Think of "Go For It!" as the 19080s version of Life, where you collect Status Cards in "house n' home", "wheels", "feelin' good", and "goin' places" categories. They just discovered the power of the apostrophe back then.

Right now "Go For It" sits on his dresser top in the BP. It's just that special.
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