Wire Shelving for a Kitchen Pantry: How to Build It Yourself

Make your pantry more organized with wire shelving.

Wire shelving serves as the basis for any dream kitchen pantry. The typical kitchen pantry consists of a large variety of items, including cleaning products, spices, dry goods and baking supplies. Traditional shelving has a specific size, which limits your storage options. With wiring shelving, you install supports that let you change the height of each shelf. Building your own kitchen pantry wire shelving requires both the wire shelves and the support braces.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Bolt cutters
• Wire shelves
• Support poles
• Drill
• 1-inch wood screws
• Screwdriver
• Metal support braces
• End brackets

Instructions

1. Cut the wire shelves and support poles to the size needed for your pantry with bolt cutters. Cut down on the metal and bend the metal back and forth until the metal pops loose. Cut each piece until it is the right size for your pantry.

2. Arrange the support poles against the wall. You need at least two support poles for each wire shelf. The support poles are long metal pieces with holes evenly spaced along the metal. Place one metal pole flat against the wall and drill a ¼-inch through the screw holes in the metal and into the wall. Drill a hole through each screw hole in each support pole.

3. Attach the support poles to the wall with 1-inch wood screws. Sink a wood screw through each screw hole in the pole and into the hole you made in the wall in the last step. Repeat this step until each metal piece sits firmly on the wall.

4. Place a metal support brace on the support pole. Line up the curved edges of the brace with the holes in the pole. Push the edges into the holes and push down until the brace slides into place. Repeat this step, attaching each brace to the poles.

5. Set the wire shelves on the support brackets. Slide an end bracket onto a shelf that touches the wall. The bracket slips over the ends of the shelf. Press the bracket flush against the wall and screw two 1-inch wood screws through the bracket and into the wall. Attach an end bracket to any ends that touch a wall.

Tips & Warnings

• To determine the number of shelves you need, measure the width and height of your kitchen pantry with a measuring tape. Decide on the number of shelves needed in the space and the length of the shelves. Remove ¾ inch from your width if the shelf end sits on a wall and 1½ inch if the shelf touches both end walls.

• The support braces should sit 3 feet apart or less.

• Add extra accessories for storing different items, including fabric bins, plastic boxes and wire drawers that snap onto the bottom of the shelves.