Butler's Pantry Updates

Yes, we have a Butler's Pantry.  At least that's what I like to call it:-)

I don't know what else you would call it--it's a little room located near the kitchen that has cabinetry.  We store all kinds of kitchen-y types of things in there like roasting pans, entertaining dishware, candy dishes, vases, seldom used appliances.  You get the picture.

When we moved in, it had two-tone cabinetry and gray walls and trim.  I don't think anything had been painted in there in the last 40 years and there were stains all over the walls.  The paint job on the cabinetry was holding up nicely, though.  Here is a "before" picture.  It actually doesn't look that bad here--it was much worse in person.  The stuff on the counter was from the estate sale that took place shortly after this picture was taken.  I'm a freak about clutter so there is no way this stuff could be mine:-)

Butler's Pantry "Before"

The Butler's Pantry also houses a behemoth freezer (that came with the house) and has an attached area for coats and boots that we call "the mud-room" although a more accurate description would be the mud-corridor.  I'll post the mud-room/corridor makeover on another day.  There is also another closet off the butler's pantry that we use as a food pantry.  Our house has never-ending niches.

Here is the Butler's Pantry after the makeover.  I used Benjamin Moore Advance Paint on the cabinetry.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this paint.  This cabinetry was painted in oil-based paint originally.  All I did was sand it lightly and paint right over it with the BM Advance Paint--no primer required.  It levels like oil and adheres to either oil or latex.  And it cleans up with soap and water.  It's amazing stuff.  It takes awhile to cure, however.  You have to wait 4-6 hours to touch it and 16 hours to re-coat.  We used it in our master bathroom cabinet a year ago and it looks good as new.  So I knew it was durable. Sorry for the wonky angle of the picture!

After picture of cabinetry.  The painting was done by my (late) grandmother, Evelyn Tobias.  You can also see the edge and handle of the freezer.

The cabinets were painted BM Chelsea Gray (I love this color) and the walls were done in BM April Showers which is a light grayish green.  All trim was painted BM Decorators White.

The floor is the original linoleum--a really cool gray mosaic-like linoleum.  Love it.  Hubby and I want to have it waxed--or whatever you do to linoleum to make it shiny.  It's in perfect condition.

Original Linoleum

We kept the hinges on the cabinets but replaced the knobs with these "Orbit" knobs from Lowes:

Here is a picture of the window in the Butler's Pantry.  We had psychedelic rainbow pinch-pleat curtains on this window when we moved in.  Here's what it looked like "before".

Psychedelic rainbow curtains (before picture).

Old curtains.

Close-up of old curtains.

The new ones are just Target and the rod is from Country Curtains.  The rod is good quality and simple without being "country".  I grew up in a 1980's "country" house and I never want to see that again.  I like these curtains, though.

Notice the beautiful wood doors and original handles in my house?  I'm not sure what kind of wood they are--birch?  Either way, I love them--they are so cool.

Door to the food pantry

 Here you can see the original countertop.  It's a shiny Formica.  It seems much thicker/more durable   than the Formica's sold today for some reason.  I added a couple of West Elm vases my mom bought me.  I like the colors.

And that pretty much completes the tour of my Butler's Pantry.  A small corner of organizational sanity in my world.