Hilary Farr's Pantry Upgrade Is Just What Your Kitchen Needs For Extra Storage

At the heart of a well-designed kitchen lies a perfect balance — eye-catching aesthetics and effortless ease of everyday living. A well-designed kitchen must be attractive and have enough room to move, prep, cook, clean, and store food cookware, pots, pans, and kitchen appliances. A pantry takes some of the stress out of storage, allowing for floor-to-ceiling storage and easy access to items you would have to otherwise stack and cram into draws and cupboards. But like any other storage space, without organizational technique, your pantry can become a source of frustration and leave you stretching toward the back of a deep cabinet, scrambling for what you need in the dark. 

Luckily, HGTV's Hilary Farr has a simple and inexpensive organizational hack to make your pantry organization a breeze and easily access everything inside. The "Love It or List It" star has a wealth of experience creating spaces homeowners love, but on "Tough Love with Hilary Farr," she primarily transforms dysfunctional homes into serene sanctuaries. One major part of doing so is creating good organization and storage space. In Season 2, Episode 9 of the series, she reveals a kitchen renovation complete with a pantry organized with pull-out drawers. And despite what you might think, installing pull-out drawers in a pantry doesn't require huge expenses or calling a cabinetry professional. No need to break out the power tools or break the bank.

Hilary Farr's pull-out drawer pantry tip is a functional upgrade that allows you to organize items for easy viewing and access. With one pull of a drawer, you're able to see everything that's inside — no need to rummage around the back of a cabinet with a flashlight. For a permanent solution, you can choose to remove the shelves from your pantry and install permanent pull-out drawers. Building drawers made of plywood and installing drawer glides won't be an expensive endeavor, but it requires precise measurements and woodworking ability. Plus, you'll need to use heavy-duty drawer glides and reinforce any deep-set drawers to be able to stand up to heavy loads. The most expensive option is to have your pantry and pull-out drawers custom-built by carpenters. Depending on the cost of materials and labor, you can expect to pay around $2,000 for this project. 

Although the HGTV star's upgrade requires installing drawers, this project can be easily DIYed with a measuring tape and a reasonable budget. Unlike other upgrade options, you won't have to get professional help, install drawer glides, or use any nails, screws, or drills. These pull-out drawers come in various sizes, depths, and lengths. The slide rail comes with adhesive strips and can be stuck to the bottom of your pantry shelves, which makes this an effortless pantry storage hack.

Not only is clutter frustrating, but studies show that it drastically affects a person's sense of well-being. One study suggests that clutter affects not only your space's livability, but also your psychological health, productivity, and quality of life. Installing pull-out drawers is a great start for organizing your pantry, but there are many other organizational and design tips you can follow for a perfectly organized kitchen and a chic, expensive-looking pantry that's as stylish as it is functional. For example, another Hilary Farr-approved way to improve both organization and aesthetic appeal is utilizing a mixture of clear containers, storage baskets, bins, jars, and canisters. 

In a pantry, investing in different sizes, shapes, and materials of storage solutions like Farr does in her projects allows you to view and access things you need regularly in clear containers and hide other miscellaneous items in attractive wood or wicker baskets. Since your pantry likely contains baking items, snacks, spices, small appliances, and somewhat unattractive odds and ends, investing in attractive storage solutions in various shapes and sizes is a way to keep everything organized while also creating visual appeal. These upgrades aren't only space-saving and aesthetically pleasing, but inexpensive, too. By mixing and matching these organizational hacks, you'll make cabinet clutter in your pantry a thing of the past.