project: pantry makeover under $100

I've been eyeing inspiration for our pantry makeover lately, and when I saw this image of Caitlin Wilson's gorgeous pantry, I knew I needed a shelving system that had pull-out drawers.

via Rue

I also knew I wanted it to be all white. 

via Lonny

Our pantry was a nasty beige color that made it look so dirty that I didn't even want to put our food in there. The layout was pretty much identical to every other pantry I've had, but this color really bothered me.

The beige mixed with the yellow shelves felt old and dated and it had a weird musty smell that freaked me out. It also had plastic stick on baseboards which are just... no.

The walls got a good scrubbing and two fresh coats of white paint. We painted our living room ceilings in Behr Ultra Pure White, and used the leftover paint we had in here.

I had been planning on using the Elfa system from The Container Store, but once I started pricing it out I looked for other options. I ended up finding the Algot system from Ikea for less than $100! The Elfa system was going to be at least triple that, and since I'm weighing everything I do in the house to how much we'll get back in resale value, I decided it wasn't worth it to spend the extra money when this system would work just as well.

It took Charlie and I about an hour to put together, and would have been easier if we had the recommend suspension rail on top for spacing. We purchased one, but when we got home we realized someone had opened the hardware box and taken out two of the pieces we needed to hang it! It was a Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend when we realized this, and you couldn't pay me to go to Ikea at that time.

We're almost finished, but still need to add new baseboards, paint the kitchen walls and trim white, and hang our new door and hardware. Our door is on backorder so we'll be doorless until late August, but I don't mind - It feels so good to walk by everyday and see the transformation.

We have a small guest bedroom closet that needs a major makeover, and I like this system so much I'll be purchasing another to use in there, too!

UPDATE: See our updated kitchen and pantry with it's new door in this post!