DIY Pantry Shelves and a Backsplash Install Complete the Laundry Room Makeover

Sep 16, 2023

By Caitlin Raux Gunther

Welcome to DIY Diary. Each entry covers a new home improvement project. In a two-part series, DIY enthusiast Laura Burkhalter shows you how to install DIY pantry shelves and a backsplash for a modern pantry.

Having successfully installed coastal cabinets and a concrete countertop, the DIY pantry shelves were the next step for Laura Burkhalter, mom of three and a home improvement expert based in Stuart, Florida, who shares tips and inspiration with her 141K-plus Instagram followers as @magnolias.modern.mama.

She went into the second phase of her modern pantry installation feeling confident—a little too confident. When it was time to build the DIY pantry shelves, Burkhalter admits, "I thought, it's just a tower with three square shelves—it can't be that difficult. But I ended up having to build it twice. Yup, I totally screwed up."

To cut costs, Burkhalter had opted for a cheaper type of plywood, but it ended up costing her time—and money—in the end. "There was too much wood grain to sand down and, overall, it just was not the look that I was going for in terms of a nice, clean finish." Set back but not defeated, Burkhalter decided to remove the shelves and start over. "I took them out into the yard and beat them with a hammer because I was so mad," she says, with a laugh.

On her second attempt, she used higher-quality plywood, which cost a bit more but ultimately saved her time, not to mention, a big headache. She also asked her hardware store to cut the plywood to size. Once installed, the tower shelves became easy, accessible storage for the family's dried goods and appliances, which was the goal of the project. "It drove me nuts that the majority of our countertop space was taken up by small appliances, like the coffee maker and the toaster."

When it came time to tackle the backsplash, Burkhalter was somewhat apprehensive about the tiling. To prepare, she crowdsourced advice from her DIY community. "They told me: You need to use a grout slope that has a sponge on the back, so you don't scratch the tile." Ultimately, she enjoyed the process and maybe even discovered a new passion. "I think tiling is my new obsession," she jokes.

The second pantry is now home to the family's coffee bar. "I store the mugs and coffee maker on the floating shelves. We make our coffee there every morning," Burkhalter says. "The only pain in the butt is that there's no refrigerator. We pour our coffee in the pantry and then we bring it out to put the cream in, but it's small potatoes," she adds. Burkhalter is considering removing the pantry door entirely, to marry it with the kitchen space. "We never close the door anyway," she says.

Just like that, her modern pantry has gone from auxiliary storage to an essential part of the kitchen. "This project was phase one in turning our builder-grade kitchen and laundry room into the spaces that I have dreamed of," Burkhalter says.

See how the DIY pantry shelves and ceramic tile backsplash come to life.

After falling short on her first attempt at the tower shelving, Burkhalter was extra careful the second time around. She splurged on higher-quality plywood and asked her hardware store to cut it to size. Then, she says, "I used my speed square to make sure that all of my angles were 90 degrees."

In Burkhalter's modern pantry, the floating shelves function as a time-saving storage solution. "I store things like paper towels and toilet paper there, so it's easily accessible. We no longer have to go to the garage," she says. When she was building the shelves, Burkhalter used extra hardware to create a gallery rail effect along the front and side of the shelves.

Tower shelves

Floating shelves

Cut a 16-inch-by-4-foot piece of sanded plywood into three pieces so that each piece is 16 inches by 16 inches. You’ll save yourself a good amount of time if you ask the hardware store to do this task for you. Burkhalter says.

Use wood glue and a brad nailer to secure the frame of your shelving first. Later, this will make it easier to add support with screws without having to worry about anything shifting. "A speed square is your best friend for this project," Burkhalter says. "It will ensure that your shelving is perfectly square as you secure it with your wood glue and brad nails."

Don't skip the wood glue—it will keep the shelves from going skew. Check that all the angles are right angles with a speed square.

Fill your nail holes with wood filler and the seams with painter's caulk before you paint.

Use 1-inch-by-2-inch pieces of wood to create a brace that you will secure to the studs in your wall.

A level is your best friend in any DIY project.

To make DIY pantry shelves, cut a 2-foot-by-4-foot piece of project plywood in half so that each piece is 12 inches by 4 feet. The home improvement store can do this for you too. Use a brad nailer to secure the plywood on top of the brace.

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A brad nailer is a lot quicker than having to hammer in nails one by one.

Instead of a basic flat shelf, Burkhalter made a little border with the 1-inch-by-2-inch strip pine board. The extra step gave the shelf an illusion of a thicker, more finished piece. She further elevated the look with extra hardware to create a gallery rail effect along the front and side of the floating shelves. "Gallery railing is a super popular design trend currently, but it can be super expensive to accomplish," Burkhalter says. "I found that this hardware gave me the same look of a gallery rail, but for a fraction of the cost. I glued the hardware to the edges of the shelves to create this look."

A miter saw makes cutting lumber for the trim a quick and easy process. Leftover cabinet hardware is the perfect final touch.

Start by priming the unfinished wood to ensure the paint application is smooth. Burkhalter used a Behr cabinet, door, and trim enamel paint with a satin finish to paint the tower shelves, but left the floating shelves natural.

Burkhalter tapped the DIY community when she started grouting. "I was just using a metal grout float," she says. "I shared my videos and asked: Am I doing this right?" Her fellow DIY’ers advised her to use a grout float with a sponge. "It made [grouting] a lot easier," she adds. "I bought premixed grout, and you literally just scoop it out and spread it on the tile, putting more pressure where the grout lines are. Then, you take a sponge and wipe off the excess." That's all there was to it!

Measure the space for your backsplash and determine which tiles need to be cut to fit the area. "I bought a tile scorer-cutter from my home improvement store," Burkhalter says. "It was really affordable and allowed me to cut all of my tile without having to use a tile saw."

Instead of dealing with messy mortar, Burkhalter relied on a peel-and-stick adhesive tile mat, like MusselBound, which she attached to the wall. She then attached the tiles to the mat.

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MusselBound allowed Burkhalter to easily install the tile to the wall, mess-free. No need to worry about spacers holding tile in place.

For Burkhalter, this project was all about efficiency. She used premixed grout to save time. The foam grout float made the process even easier, and it didn't scratch the tile. As soon as you apply the grout, remove the excess with a large damp sponge right away.

"Make sure to use a foam grout float to keep from scratching the tile; focus the grout into the grout lines," Burkhalter says. "A little goes a long way." Remove excess grout with a damp sponge immediately.

"There is no wasted space in this room now," Burkhalter says. "Adding the storage in this space has given me the opportunity to more intentionally organize."

The perfect mix of design and function: Extra cabinet hardware is used as gallery railing and a perfect spot to store extra paper goods.

In lieu of distracting darker hardware Burkhalter opted for gold knobs which give the space a sense of airiness, not sharp contrast.

The mirror reflects the light and makes the pantry feel larger.

Gold hardware pairs well with the dusty blue color of the cabinets.

The ultimate storage haven.