For ages, we’d been using a baker’s rack in the pantry. It was a reasonable solution in many ways – it fit nearly perfectly and was readily available.

The trouble was that it had a couple inches of clearance on either side, which meant that things would occasionally fall off either side. The whole structure, while it wouldn’t fall over, would shake enough sometimes to dislodge items.

I decided to make built-in shelves. I added shelf supports on either side of the pantry, far longer than the shelves themselves. The reason for this was that the walls didn’t have enough studs to make them the right length, and it looked better to have boards across the whole wall rather than just a portion. (It also provided a handy area to add hooks for things like brooms, a step ladder, and so on).

I added crosspieces to span the width between the two sides to support the middle of each shelf. To attach them to the sides, I used pocket screws (they have good shear strength). I also attached a support on the back of the shelves to support the back.

I used a high gloss acrylic enamel to paint everything, thinking that it would be easy to clean and hardy. Over the years, that has proved to be true.

Since the shelves were plywood, I used a roundover bit on the edge, and filled all the small voids with woodfiller before painting.