The Pantry That Started It All
- Frances Smith Manzitto
- Apr 16
- 4 min read
A Mission to Get My House in Order
Y’all, I have a confession to make. I am a creative person. And if you know anything about creative people, you already know what’s coming. We love stuff. We collect stuff. We have big ideas about what to do with all the stuff, and then we just… get more stuff.
My house has been a reflection of that for a while now, and I have finally decided to do something about it.
Here’s a little backstory. We built our home, and we loved it. But about a year in, an opportunity came up to build in the neighborhood we had originally dreamed about when we first moved to the area. We started down that road, and then life did what life does. Obstacles showed up. Plans shifted. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, my husband and I had a real honest conversation about what we actually wanted. What we kept coming back to was this: we want to travel. That is our priority. More than a new address, more than a different zip code, we want to see the world. So, we made the decision to stay right where we are, and once we made it, we made it for good.
If this is home, it’s time to treat it like home.
So where did I start? The pantry.
I have hated that pantry since the day we moved in. I know “hate” is a strong word, but if you have ever had a pantry with wire shelves, you understand. Things tip over constantly. The shelves were not tall enough to store anything with any real height, so my KitchenAid mixer just sat on the counter taking up space because there was literally nowhere else to put it. And there was all this wasted space below the bottom shelf that turned into a catch-all for things I didn’t know what to do with. It was chaos. Functional chaos, but chaos.
We finally fixed it.
We used stock upper cabinets from Lowe’s for the base, mounted on 2x4 frames, and used a beautiful remnant piece of quartz for the countertop. Then we built wood shelves, stained them, and added an electrical outlet right inside the pantry, which sounds like a small thing until you realize how many times you need one in there.
But before we hung the wallpaper, I did something that has become really important to me when we work on our home. I took some time and wrote scriptures on the walls.
I want my home covered in the Word. Not just decorated with it — actually covered in it. I have done this before, but last time I used a red marker and had the hardest time covering it with paint. So this time I was smarter about it and used pencil. Matthew 6:11. Philippians 4:19. Joshua 24:15. Proverbs 3:9–10. Verses about provision and abundance and choosing to serve the Lord, right there hidden underneath everything, literally built into the walls of our home. Nobody will ever see them but God and I, and that is exactly the point.
Then came the wallpaper. Y’all, the wallpaper alone changed everything. And yes — it’s peel and stick. Easier than you think and it looks like a million dollars.
The result is a space that actually functions the way a pantry should. Everything has a place. Things are not tipping over. My KitchenAid finally has a real home right there on the quartz countertop where I can actually USE it. And I no longer dread opening that door.
This project had been on my list since the day we moved in, and finishing it felt like more than just a pantry upgrade. It felt like permission. Permission to stop waiting for someday, to stop holding back on a house we were already living in, and to start making it into the home we actually want.
This is just the beginning. I have a whole list, and I am going to bring you along for all of it. The organizing, the upgrading, the occasional moment where things do not go exactly as planned, and the satisfaction when they finally do.
Now, I will be honest with you — this project is not completely finished yet. We have decided to remove the door and open up the entry, and we are even thinking about adding an arched opening. I cannot wait to show you how that turns out. Check back for updated pictures once that part is done!
And if you are a Costco shopper, stay tuned. Our next project was made just for you.
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