DIY In-Wall Spice Rack

This in-wall spice rack makes use of the wasted space between the studs in our pantry, and it creates a beautiful & functional storage nook!

So far in this Florida house we’ve lived in for a little over two years, I’ve built my babes two pantries. The first was a huge improvement over the builder-grade original, where I took it from this wire-shelved waste of space:

To this shelved-up and well-organized pantry:

Then, just a few months ago, I upgraded Ol’ Shelfapalooza to the Ritz Carlton of Rice-A-Roni in an effort to elevate the pantry to the beauty of our kitchen remodel (and I did it for under $500!):

Those who read that post may have thought I was finished with the pantry, but I still had two tricks left up my sleeve: a new pantry door (which I’ll be sharing with you next), and a spice rack on the empty left wall.

Space limitations didn’t allow for a wall-mounted spice rack. Anything protruding into the room by more than an inch would prevent us from opening the left-side base cabinet drawers.

In-Wall Spice Rack VIDEO Tutorial

Watch our short and fun video below for an overview of our spice rack before you read the tutorial.

DIY In-Wall Spice Rack

Welp, when you can’t go out, you gotta go in.

And the best way in is with a hammer, right?

I’d already marked my studs, but I wanted to get a few good wacks before proceeding. After all, destruction is half the fun!

To make your job easier, I’d highly recommend keeping your in-wall intrusion between two studs. But my babes wanted a bigger rack (of course she did), so I was forced to cut through a stud (as you’ll soon see). I marked out my area with tape and then cut an exploratory hole to see what was what Behind the Drywall.

I found pretty much what I expected – a stud on the left, a stud in the middle to be cut and no stud on the right (I’d be fixing that). But what I didn’t expect (though I should have) was the diagonal 2×12 cutting through my proposed work area.

Normally, this would be cause for alarm and immediate relocation of the spice rack, but I knew that support was for a staircase that no longer existed. We moved it last fall as the first step of our kitchen remodel.

Satisfied all was well, I commenced cutting out the rest of the drywall.

The stud was not load-bearing, and I was able to cut through it with a combination of hand saw and multi-tool.

But in order to get it out of the wall, I had to cut through the 2×12 that was nailed into the stud from the other side. I did that with a circular saw and a reciprocating saw, making a bit of a mess in the process.

This piece came out without too much hassle.

And once I cut through that side of the 2×12…

…the stud came right out.

But this piece was more challenging. It was nailed to a stud far out of reach. I’m not smiling in the picture below, I’m pushing up with all the might my 51-year-old arms can muster. And I’m covered with sawdust.

Success!

I’m a spring chicken!

…Lots and lots of sawdust.

I snuck another stud in the wall and screwed the drywall to it.

After taking exact measurements of the wall opening, I ripped some 1x6s down to 3 3/4 inches wide. The wall opening was 4 inches deep, but the backing I’d be using was about an 1/8 inch thick, and I wanted to leave another 1/8 inch of space just in case.

I hand-sanded the boards to remove the mill shine and then I slapped on some pre-stain wood conditioner. This is an absolute must when staining pine unless you love the splotchy contrasty look.

After 15 minutes, I stained the boards with Minwax Special Walnut, the greatest stain that ever stained.

Beautiful, even color thanks to the pre-stain!

I assembled the frame with instant wood glue (basically glorified CA glue) and brad nails.

It’s more than enough to hold everything tight, but I took the extra step of securing it further with pocket screws. Not really needed in my opinion but certainly won’t hurt.

This backer board was a leftover skin panel from our kitchen build, and it was perfect for the spice rack. I didn’t want a wood back that I’d have to stain, as I think it would make everything too dark, and this saves me from having to paint brown backer board to white.

Perfect! Now time for some shelves! And don’t worry about the front edges that look like they’re unfinished – they’ll be covered up by the face frame trim soon.

I cut three shelves to 4 1/2 inches deep – that’s 3/4 inch deeper than the cabinet, but they’d be flush once the face frame was installed. We wanted one of the shelves to protrude in an arc – this will be the shelf that holds our big jar of olive oil.

To make the arc, I measured two points on either side at 4 1/2 inches, and then I used a pencil on a string to scribe an arc that hit those two points and the top edge of the board.

Then I cut the shape with a jigsaw. I forgot to press record, so I don’t have any footage of that. What can I say – I’m getting old!

I hand-sanded all of the shelves, and then I pre-stained and stained them.

I installed the shelves into the cabinet, making sure they were level and square.

I drilled pilot holes and then I secured each small shelf with two wood screws per side.

I installed the curved shelf in the same way, but I used three screws per side since it would be carrying a heavier load.

I miter cut the pieces for the face frame trim from 1×3 select pine, and after sanding and staining, I attached them to the spice rack with brads.

It was a perfect snug fit, but I reinforced the spice rack with a few brad nails into the studs. It’s more than secure and won’t be budging an inch, but if I wanted or needed to remove it, I could easily pry it out of its hole.

Handan was ooohing and ahhhhing during this process!

This big jar of olive oil feeds the smaller dispenser I use out in the kitchen. Yes, I know that clear glass can accelerate olive oil going bad, but this spice rack is dark 99% of the time, and even if it were constantly lit, that oil will be gone and refilled in a month or two at most.

And here it is!

It’s the most practical and beautiful use for this bare wall.

I love this in-wall spice rack, and it perfectly matches the pantry door I built.

What do you think?

Let us know in the comments!

Stay tuned for the pantry door – I think you’re going to love it!

Check out the custom pantry build!

Check out the kitchen remodel reveal!