Husband Uses New Shelves and LED Lights to Turn Pantry into Space-Age Storage Room for Under $250

Our first thought when we saw this pantry was "Wow, look how organized it is!" Though the storage setup isn't too shabby in this before photo, we can see where Proffitt and his wife would want to make a few small improvements. 

Rows of builder-grade wire shelves got the job done, but let's face it, they weren't much to look at. And then there was the issue of maximizing space. The wire shelves didn't curve and extend to the sides, which meant a lot of valuable storage space wasn't being used.

One major downside to this DIY adventure was having to remove all the fasteners from the wire shelves and patch the holes. And while we're sure Proffitt's wrist got tired after unscrewing what felt like a million screws, the end product was so worth it.

Ah, we finally see a bare wall! We're big fans of this soothing dark gray color that Proffitt went with. Instead of opening the pantry and finding a boring old white wall, you're greeted by a surprising pop of gray — which probably hides messes better than white paint, too.

Proffitt crafted his shelves from half-inch-thick Baltic birch plywood. He cut them into three 15-inch-wide shelves and three 12-inch-wide shelves to replace the old wire racks. The shelves aren't even in the pantry, but we can see everything start to come together.

Now that the shelves were ready to be installed, it was time to add some small supports along the wall for the shelves to sit on.

Then, Proffitt added large brackets in the middle so the shelves would be rock solid. By this point, the pantry is starting to look really good. The base is all there, and now all that's left is to put the shelves inside.

With all the shelves locked in, this pantry is finally ready to go. Time to restock it, right? Not so fast!

Remember how we talked about the wire shelves not curving? Well, Proffitt fixed that issue by adding some mini shelves behind the door for extra storage, per his wife's request. How genius!

Of course, you have to do the same on the other side! At this point, we're just itching to start organizing things in this dreamy, spacious pantry.

Proffitt added some trim to the front of the shelves to give it that really polished, professional look. Honestly, this masterful DIY project looks like it was done by an expert craftsman.

The pantry shelves truly looked complete once Proffitt finished the trim and slapped on a fresh coat of paint. Seeing what an expert job Proffitt did with the shelves, it shouldn't surprise you to know that he made the spice rack himself, too.

Here's what we've all been waiting for: the finished pantry! At last we get to see the revamped and reimagined pantry, and we have to say it looks mighty nice. We wouldn't mind having such a well-designed cupboard in our home.

Proffitt went above and beyond by installing automatic LED lights that he found on Amazon — the perfect addition for those late-night snackers who want to make sure they grab the right cereal box without having to turn on all the lights.