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When bought and moved into our first home on the coast we new 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 DIY journey, revamping the laundry into a butlers 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 butlers 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 jack hammer 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 bench top
we also picked up this glass panel door from bunnnings to let more light into the butlers pantry
We had to reframe a new doorway (make sure you get a professional to do this if you don't have the skills yourself as it's important to make sure this is 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 to much in different lights.
and also a new butlers pantry was born complete with coffee nook and space to tuck away the fridge.
Hello @brookoli_
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's magnificent to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your kitchen/laundry transformation.
The reconfiguration of your kitchen into a galley-type arrangement has really streamlined the look of your kitchen. All the tall bulky cabinets have now gone into what was formerly your laundry area. Not only is your line of sight not impeded, but it gives the area a very minimalist feel.
But at the same time, all of its functionality is still there such as storage, a hidden area to wash in and a cosy coffee nook with all the appliances neatly tucked away. I love that you've opted for an open door to let the light in, it certainly has made a difference. Can you please tell us how you came up with this arrangement? I'm sure there were other variations, what was the deciding factor to go in this direction?
Any other information you can share about your kitchen/laundry transformation would be very much appreciated.
Eric
Thanks for your interest Eric! Storage was a big factor in the layout of the kitchen - it was a challenge because of the lack of wall space available and the big window we had. We were also working to a budget and doing the reconfiguration DIY so we had to think about what was possible without involving too many trades. At the end of the day, the fridge was the biggest factor and finding space to tuck it away in the butlers pantry was the best solution. We did a lot of rough sketches on paper before we decided on this.
Not featured in my post is the herb garden we are now creating down the side of our house. It used to be an overgrown area leading from the laundry but with the butlers pantry door there we wanted to be able to walk straight outside to pick fresh herbs. We picked up some pine sleepers from bunnings to build these - still a work in progress.
