Pantry Mini-Makeover

I'm here to share a small, recent home project with you.  In our kitchen, we have pantry doors that open up to reveal pull-out drawers.  For a long time, I've pondered what to do inside the frame of the door, to either make it more functional, or prettier, or both.  Yes, while some people discover new cures for diseases, and others spend their time working with government intelligence agencies, I think of what material I should use to cover the inside of my cabinet door. Such a diverse world we live in....

First, I considered a wallpaper of sorts - I've seen this done with great success, but I feared that my taste would change, and I'd be stuck (pun intended) with wallpaper that is outdated.  And, besides, I like to change things up in my house more often than some newborns get their diaper changed, so whatever I decided to do, it'd need to be either easily removable, or adaptable. I've also considered narrow metal baskets, but there's really not enough space when the doors are closed.  A couple of weeks ago, I had a moment of decisiveness, and decided we would install cork (you will shortly see that "we" means my dear husband).  With cork, I could easily change up what greeted me each time I opened up the pantry.  Simple! I purchased one linear foot of cork at a local home hardware store.  Later that evening, my dear husband, seeing the cork laying on the counter, offered to help me "install" it.  Within minutes, he had glued the cork, filling out the frame of the door nicely.

Ah, that's better. Thanks, hubs!

This is now where I store my shopping list.  And it leaves plenty of room for small, handcrafted gifts from my sweet kids.  And a card I purchased on Etsy last year that I have no intention of giving away yet.  I have, by no means, attempted to create a stylish display here, but I can totally see myself obsessing about pretty, inspiring stuff to hang on this little board sometime when the mood strikes.  For now, I enjoy the small burst of friendly colour and the warm fuzzy feeling I get when I'm reminded of my kids each time I open this door.

Does anyone else have a special place to store a shopping list? Or are you one of those people who mutters 39 food items under their breath, by memory, while running through the grocery aisles?  Do tell - the rest of us are simply dying to know.

(For those of you super-clever readers who noticed the "before" picture and the "after" picture were not the same door, you busted me!  As I'm really new at this, I'm not good with taking proper "before" pictures yet, so the BEFORE picture was actually the other pantry door and was taken approximately 2 weeks AFTER the after picture.  Just keeping it real, people)