Armoire turned Pantry DIY

Well I live in a small house, so you have to get creative with how you use your space.  My friend Julianne told me about her garage sale, and so I hopped on over and got this armoire for $10!

After getting it home, I decided to turn it into a pantry (of sorts) for my kitchen.  I love the concept of open-shelving, but when you don't have double-paned windows, dust is an enemy you are constantly fighting.  No one wants to walk in and see dust all over my food and dishes that they are about to use.  I love the way it turned out!

It had some really cute detailing on it already.  The hardest part was just sanding it down.

Put a few coats of paint on.  Sanded the edges for a more chippy look and to show off the fun details.  (Didn't even glaze this one, since some of the underlying black paint showed through and gave it a glazed look).

Brett (my handyman husband) took a drawer out of the lower half of the top segment, and created a second shelf there--I forgot to take a picture of that before and after).

And of course, I use the top to shelve some of my pretty platters, fruits, and vegetables.  It adds a nice touch and makes it look more like it belongs in the kitchen.

I hope that the next place I live will have a pantry.  If not, I have this!  If there is a pantry, I can use this in a bedroom or craft room for other storage options.  Really, it was a good buy!

Since I have been shopping at WinCo now, and buy more things from their bulk section, I invested in some heavy-duty, plastic canisters from Ikea.  At $3.99/piece for the larger size, the price really can't be beat.  They are perfect for storing pasta, dried beans, whole wheat flour, etc. in my new "pantry"!  The bottom 2 drawers hold tupperware, bibs, dish cloths, dish towels, etc.  I am thinking about using all of my glass baby food containers and turning them into spice jars.  Maybe Brett could install a few spice racks on the inside of the doors on top?   Then I can buy my spices in bulk too.

What do you think of my armoire-turned-pantry?  Have you done anything creative with a piece of furniture, and used it for purposes it wasn't necessarily intended for?