Kitchen rebuild with new butler's pantry

[brookoli_]

This clever renovation turned a laundry into a butler's pantry that houses a fridge and frees up space in a small kitchen.

• The project
• Before and after
• More inspiration for your kitchen

The project

When we moved into our home we knew we needed to update the laundry and replace a few missing tiles. What we didn't know was that it would lead to us embarking on our own D.I.Y. journey, revamping the laundry into a butler's pantry and creating a whole new kitchen. 

The laundry was pretty big relative to the size of our small home and we felt like it was wasted space that would end up as a dumping ground. 

At the same time, the kitchen was dark and crowded and there was no logical place for the fridge, which was up against a wall, blocking our hallway and a lot of light. 

So we decided to scrap the laundry and knock a hole through the wall to extend it into a butler's pantry where the fridge could live.

First we literally drew our plan on the wall with a pen. 

We ripped the old plaster off the walls and demolished the pantry, which had been water damaged, so we could see where the studs were.

We used a jackhammer to break up and remove the tiles and we kept the ground damp with boiling water to help lift the glue and reduce the dust.

We got to work choosing colours and textures and ordered our Kaboodle timber benchtop.

We also picked up this glass-panel door from Bunnnings to let more light into the new butler's pantry.

We had to reframe a new doorway – make sure you get a professional to do this if you don't have the skills as it has to be structurally sound.

We plastered, sanded, patched and painted the whole space with Dulux Snowy Mountains Half. The colour is a great neutral white and doesn't change too much in different lights. 

And so a new butler's pantry was born, complete with coffee nook and space to tuck away the fridge. 

Before and after

More inspiration for your kitchen

Experienced Bunnings Workshop contributor Adam_W has put together this handy guide to planning a kitchen renovation. You can also check out our Top 10 most popular kitchen projects.

If you just need a quick kitchen refresh, check out our collection of 10 kitchens transformed with paint. You can begin transforming your own kitchen with our step-by-step video guides to painting kitchen cabinets and painting a tiled splashback.

Let us know if you need a hand with your kitchen project. We're here to help.

[Remarka6le]

This is a fantastic update @brookoli_ , so much more open and bright and you've created a space that you can access things like the fridge, sink or stove without interruption from someone else (a must for busy kitchens these days). I love the wooden beam going across the roof, warms up and brings the place together nicely. Well done! 

[renonewbie]

wow @brookoli_  I love the renovation and how much more spacious and open your kitchen looks. Also that pantry nock is fab. Can I ask how you did the timber strut across the ceiling? also we are thinking of having our stove top on an island/peninsula bench but are concerned about how to vent it out. We are close to doors and windows and I'm thinking of finding a ceiling mounted rangehood for ventilation. What did you guys end up doing?