Making shelves in the pantry is not difficult, in some cases it is also faster than finding a purchase option. After all, in every house or apartment their own layout, and some of them do not imply a place for storage in principle. Then the hosts try to optimize to organize things a small area on the balcony, under the stairs, in the corridor, in the built-in drywall niche.
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Storage systems
Where and how to organize a pantry in an apartment: 13 practical tips
It is clear that in such conditions store furniture may not be suitable and an individual sketch will be needed. We will tell you in more detail how you can equip a utility room and what to prepare for work.
Preparatory stage: choose the location of the shelves and materials
Usually the shelves are attached to the wall separately or made of them stationary and mobile. storage shelving. This is equipment with side racks or walls. By location in space, they can be:
- Linear. Elements are located on one or two opposite walls. Suitable for little ones areas up to 2 m.
- Corner. More capacious designs in the form of the letter G, but in a small space may not fit.
- U-shaped. Ideal if you have a large or elongated and narrow closet at your disposal. But you need to consider whether there is free space in the middle so that you can easily enter and take something.
- With rounded edges. It is convenient to make such surfaces in cramped pantries. They save a little space and are less traumatic.
Less common storage systems with drawers and in the form of a constructor — when the compartments have different lengths, widths and are located not only horizontally. This is understandable: to make such furniture, you need more time and knowledge than for a simple design. There are also teams or modular open cabinets. They include different elements: shelves and containers that can be easily swapped, assembled, disassembled.
What material is suitable for making shelves: photo racks
If you plan to clean in the pantry preservation in three-liter jars, large appliances or other heavy things, choose wooden or metal details. They are stable, they can even be loaded with building materials. True, in this case it is recommended to install a stiffener. The alternative is plastic: it is lightweight, also withstands a serious load, does not require additional processing and does not mold, it is easy to wash.
To store bulk products in containers, vegetables, small items or collectibles, light dishes, clothes, books, you can use reinforced glass, MDF, plywood. If you will keep fragile items in the back room, attach bumpers to the compartments so as not to lose property due to awkward movement.
The best option for arranging a home closet is a tree (pine or larch is best). It looks aesthetically pleasing and is easier to use. Another plus is that most of the tools to work with it are usually at home or easier to find.
We have not listed all of what racks are made of. Often the choice of craftsmen falls on what is at hand. For example, wooden pallets, plastic boxes for vegetables and fruits, disassembled old furniture. From all this, convenient storage systems can also turn out. The main thing is to think over all the little things well: what you will clean in the closet, in what quantity and in what order.
If nothing comes to mind, check out the pictures we’ve compiled. In the photo — do-it-yourself options for shelves in the pantry. Perhaps among them you will find an idea for your apartment.
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a photo
List of required tools
For wooden structures and metal, you may need: building level, tape measure or ruler, jigsaw or hacksaw, hammer, drill or puncher, screwdrivers, screws, self-tapping screws, sandpaper, protective impregnation (stain, paint), racks, brackets, metal scissors (if a profile is used ), pencil for marking.
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Furniture
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What to consider when planning storage in the back room
As we have said, it is important to think about what exactly you want to keep in the closet and relate it to the area. If it is small, then it is better to equip roomy mezzanines, and put drawers or baskets below for items that you use less often than others. This option is not suitable for building materials.
When calculating the depth of the shelves, do not get carried away. Remember that you need to leave free space between them so that it is convenient for you to enter, take something, turn around, take out bulky items. It is desirable that the passage occupies at least 70 cm. In a room with a high ceiling and an upper tier directly below it, provide a place for a ladder or ladder.
Measure the longest containers you plan to store and make a few compartments just for them.
A few more tips for arranging shelving for a pantry in an apartment
- Straight shelves without intermediate supports are only suitable for small closets with a distance no more than 2 m from wall to wall. Otherwise, the board will sag.
- The width of the protrusions increases from top to bottom, the heaviest things need to be removed down. It has to do with safety and convenience.
- Use the rule: the larger the load, the thicker the material (this applies to wood, plywood), more fasteners and the smaller the gap between the support posts.
- The optimal mezzanine width for cans with blanks is 30 cm or more.
- Light equipment is preferably fixed against the wall, massive buildings are stable due to their weight.
- Take care of separate lighting for the pantry, do it before starting other work.
- Before installing storage systems, the utility room must be prepared: carry out a thorough cleaning, if possible, align the walls, re-paste them, paint or revet them.
- If necessary, cover the walls with antiseptic impregnation to protect against mold.
- If the room is open, paint its walls in bright colors that match the surrounding interior.
Considering all the tips and features of your room, draw a sketch of the future closet with design parameters and start creating it.
How to make shelves in the pantry with your own hands: step by step instructions
Manufacturing technology depends on what type of equipment you have in mind and what materials you will use. Consider first the option of attaching a frame made of aluminum or steel corners to the wall. The first material is lighter, the second is stronger and is suitable for structures with heavy loads.
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Storage systems
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Rack with fastening
- Start by marking. Transfer the dimensions of the parts in accordance with the drawing to the corners with a marker and mark the places for the holes for attaching the elements to each other and to the wall.
- Saw the blanks with a grinder or a hacksaw for metal, drill the marked holes. Next, bend the frames, fasten them together with bolts, screw them to the racks. Lean the resulting structure against the wall, mark the attachment points on it. Drill the wall at the marked points, insert dowels and attach the rack with self-tapping screws.
- The penultimate stage is the manufacture of shelves. Saw them with a jigsaw or a hacksaw according to the dimensions from the sketch, attach them to the corners and correct the errors. In order not to be mistaken, you can first use a cardboard template, according to which the part is adjusted. After all the parameters are verified, you need to remove the roughness on the sections. Use a file and abrasive paper for this. Then impregnate the wood with a stain or other protective solution, dry it, varnish it and dry it again.
- The final step is fixing the rack elements. According to this instruction, you can mount the corner, U-shaped and conventional linear storage system. Instead of metal parts, you can use a bar with a section of 50 * 50. The procedure will be the same.
DIY wall shelves
If your apartment has a very small closet and you plan to put not too heavy things into it, hang a few ordinary shelves no more than 1.5 m in length. For this you will need:
- Rectangular, iron brackets
- Wood, plywood, 2cm boards, or other shelving material
- Fasteners
- Electric jigsaw
- Screwdriver or perforator for fastening elements to each other
- Building level
- Pencil
First, mark the wall, make holes for the brackets and screw them to the surface with self-tapping screws. After that, cut out the details of a suitable size, sand them with sandpaper, paint with stain and varnish. Wait until they dry. If you use boards to make the structure, connect them together with bars located across. Attach the parts to each other with self-tapping screws. The distance between the tiers of whatnot should be approximately 50 cm.
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Furniture
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Storage shelving without fixing
Let’s consider the production process of a rack that does not need to be fixed on the wall.
In addition to the set of tools from the previous instructions, you will need a manual router. Prepare the beam for the side racks, chipboard or other floor material.
- On support bars of the same height (about 2 m), make grooves on one side. The width of the recesses is 20 mm, the gap between them is 12-13 cm.
- To fix the structure, put together the upper and lower stretchers, cover them with plywood sheets. These will be the bottom and top shelves.
- Cut or connect the rest of the elements and insert them into the grooves at a convenient level.
As a result, you will get an almost modular system. At any time, you can change the height of the ledges and fill the room with more bulky things, or vice versa, add details and organize the storage of accumulated little things.
To increase the stability of the rack, you can attach the back wall.
There are a lot of variations of racks — it will not work to describe all possible designs within the framework of the article, but the three listed are enough to equip almost any closet.
Do you have a small niche in your apartment? Watch this video. It tells in detail how to make shelves in a drywall pantry.
