Room by Room Recap – Butler’s Pantry

To continue the Room by Room Recap series, let’s move into the butler’s pantry.  This small room between the dining room and kitchen is one of our favorite features in the house, and luckily didn’t have a ton of work that needed to be done before we could move in.

We’ve had a few people suggest that we knock out this room and create more of a “great room” feel that connects the kitchen and the dining room.  Like they say…noses are like opinions: everyone has one.  But Charles and I agree on this one.  That’s a BIG no-no! We’ve worked so hard to preserve the character and historical features of the house, and we feel like knocking down those walls would be a slap in the face to all we’ve done.

Anyway, let’s get started.

IMG_2559 IMG_2560 IMG_2561 IMG_2562 IMG_2563 IMG_3527 IMG_3404 Butler's pantry Butler's pantry1 IMG_3965 IMG_3966 IMG_4140 IMG_4292 IMG_4293 IMG_4969 IMG_4970 IMG_5424 IMG_5425 IMG_5429 IMG_5560 IMG_5561 IMG_5565 IMG_5566 IMG_5567 IMG_5568 IMG_5569 IMG_5570 IMG_5571 IMG_5572

What we’ve finished

  1. Repair plaster walls and ceiling
  2. Remove shutters
  3. Remove vinyl flooring
  4. Prep, prime, and paint walls, ceiling, and trim
  5. Install new floors

What’s left

  1. Strip all cabinetry
  2. Repair, prep, prime, and paint all cabinetry
  3. Replace wooden shelves with glass shelves
  4. Install lighting in cabinets
  5. Install new light fixture
  6. Decorate

(Please ignore the really tacky directors chair with all the cords and wires! We just set up our internet, and are looking at options for hiding all of the equipment.)

We painted the walls in this room Lazy Gray by Sherwin Williams, which is a shade lighter than the Morning Fog in the kitchen.  We opted to install engineered hardwoods in the butler’s pantry and the kitchen, and lucked out with a steal on these dark floors at Lumber Liquidators.

Many people have asked us why we wouldn’t just leave the cabinets as they are.  They certainly would fit into many homes as is, but rustic or shabby chic or whatever else you want to call it just isn’t our style at all, and wouldn’t go with the rest of the house.  So we plan to paint them in a high gloss color eventually. The glass knobs are original, so we will definitely be keeping those!

I’d also like to remove the wooden shelves and replace them with glass shelves so that the light shines all the way through the cabinets when we add lighting inside.  This will most likely be our bar area, so down the road I’d love to make it into a wet bar by adding a sink and wine fridge.

I still have plenty of shelf styling to do in here, but it will do for now. You can see more of my inspiration for the butler’s pantry here.

B&A1 B&A2

The figures…this room is 6′ 10″ x 8′ 8″ with 11′ ceilings. There is 1 window and 2 interior doors.

Be sure to check out these other Room by Room Recaps:

  1. Formal living room
  2. Den
  3. Den bathroom
  4. Dining room
  5. Gold Room
  6. Bear Room
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42 comments on “Room by Room Recap – Butler’s Pantry

  1. You have worked soooooo hard! I can see the beautiful progress… Good for you! The hard work is really paying off….!! (I am glad you kept the butler’s pantry! So fun to have…. and convenient too!! ) :)
    hugs x, Crystelle
    Crystelle Boutique

  2. I’ve always wanted a butler’s pantry; so glad you kept it. I noticed you have cooking with beer cookbooks. Beer is one of my favorite ingredients and I often use it when a recipe calls for water (which never added flavor to anything). Love those little glass knobs. You guys have come so far and done such a great job. As always, thanks for sharing.

  3. What a great re-do that spruced the area up but kept all the original character! It looks beautiful. (My grandmother had a “thing” for butler’s pantries, so I always thing of her when I hear the phrase. So thanks for the lovely memory, too.)

    PS: Stopping in from the Worthwhile Wednesday Hop.

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Ricki! And for the invite–I will definitely check it out! :)

  4. I’m so glad you kept the butler’s pantry! I realize that I’m probably in the minority for actually disliking great rooms (I really prefer being able to close the door to my kitchen to hide what a disaster it often is after I’ve been cooking), but besides that, losing all that storage space when your kitchen doesn’t have much, either, would have been a poor choice. The updates look great.

    (I’ve never commented before, but I’ve read all your posts. I love that you’re keeping the original character and so much of the detail of the house, while balancing modern needs. And I love foursquares! They’re much less common up in the Boston area where I live.)

    1. Thanks for following along and commenting, Lark! I’m with you on great rooms…they can be gorgeous, but they’re just not for me. I much prefer being able to close a door to hide our mess! ;)

  5. A Butler’s Pantry should be in every home! What a wonderful room for storing all the great kitchen wares we tend to accumulate! Because I own a residential cleaning business in the deep south, I have seen a few wonderful Butler’s pantries in the antebellum homes. Yours is beautiful. I love all of your nice touches like the glass knobs and those antique skeleton keys! Pinning to my Wake Up Wednesday board!

  6. Kudos to you guys for keeping the butler’s pantry and the historical character of the home! I love the way you’re keeping the traditional pieces in the home and still making it your own!

  7. Good job! That looks great. I can’t wait to see what you paint the cabinets. I could see a verity of bright fun colors that would work, or even the classics would be nice, but for some reason this room screams for something bright and playful to me at least.

    1. I’ve been leaning towards a navy, but then I think classic white would really pop. Who knows what we’ll choose!! :)

  8. Beautifully done. I had a butler’s pantry in an older home. This would have inspired me. Thanks so much for linking to What’d You Do This Weekend.

    Linda

  9. Wow, what a fabulous makeover! You kept just the right feeling to it all, but your butler’s pantry is amazing! I love your storage and you decorated it just great!
    FABBY

  10. I already love what you have done with the room and can’t wait to see it finished with the glass shelves and lights. It will be so beautiful. I’m so glad you are keeping the butler’s pantry. I would love to have one! Thanks for sharing at the Merry Monday Linky party.

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