A freestanding pantry is great for holding food items and baking and cooking supplies in a kitchen, but it can be used in countless other ways throughout the home. This is ideal when the furnishing is no longer necessary for kitchen use. Try these alternate ways to use a freestanding pantry, and come up with creative new uses for this handy and visually appealing wood furnishing.
Set up Open Storage with Lined Baskets
If a freestanding pantry is no longer necessary, do something really creative and useful with it. Remove the doors, and cover the old hardware holes with strips of wood banding or trim. Create open storage in a utility room, bedroom or any location by adding pretty lined baskets. Also, consider trimming the shelves with lace. Buy baskets to fit the shelves, and use the freestanding pantry in a completely new way. It can be used to hold everything from lingerie to nuts and bolts.
Turn a Freestanding Pantry into a Linen Closet
Are you lacking a linen closet? This is a great alternate way to use a freestanding pantry. Place it at the end of a hall or in a bathroom that provides plenty of floor space. Use it to hold folded sheet sets and towels. This will free up space in existing bathroom closets. They can be used for storing bathroom supplies including makeup, shampoo and any other bathroom-related items.
Create a Craft Cabinet
Anyone that enjoys working on crafts would love a craft cabinet to organize and store their supplies. This is another fantastic alternate way to use a freestanding pantry. Outfit the freestanding pantry with plastic baskets and lidded organizes filled with everything from beads to clay. To make finding everything easier, label the shelves with stickers.
Use the Pantry in a Garden Shed
Another one of the best alternate ways to use a freestanding pantry is in a garden shed. This provides a better place to store items including seeds and handheld garden tools. Line the shelves with thin plastic cutting boards that have been trimmed to size. They are very easy to clean, and they will protect the shelving. This is a far better alternative to storing small items on the side supports and framework of a garden shed.
After finding an alternate use, the furnishing is no longer a freestanding pantry. Instead it becomes a freestanding storage unit that looks more like a built-in cabinet. Look for one online through Yahoo! Shopping, or visit a local home improvement store that sells individual pieces of cabinetry.