Building a closet/pantry?

[Photog]

I am in the process of house-hunting in the DC Metro area, and am quickly realizing that I'm too picky and need to take what I can get for my price range. One of the prospects I've seen lacks a pantry in the kitchen, which I'd consider essential, but I was wondering how feesable it is to build a pantry (either DIY or hire someone)? What things do I need to consider? If there's space, can I just frame-in a pantry, dry wall it, add doors and voila?

Is a pantry a better value-add than a breakfast nook? (Meaning if I build the pantry, I lose space from the eat-in area.)

Thanks in advance! Susan

[Roger Taylor]

You have many choices. We recently bought a ready-to-assemble storage cabinet from Lowe's, 24" by 18 deep by 6 ft high - check out model ST24MP, item no. 214988. Prefinished, with doors, and pretty decent looking, for $118, much cheaper than you could have built. I would not recommend diminishing a breakfast area - that will look cheap, temporary, and kill part of an essential room. Find a house with a spare corner, think outside the box and even consider a 45-degree door in an unused corner, that would be hand built. It might be good to look at prospective houses with a handy notebook of dimensions of various suppliers of cabinets. Good luck.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

If there is space it is easy enough to build or to buy a nice pre=made cabinet. Space is the hard part.

Can't help you there. It is a matter or priorities, but there will always be exceptions as to who likes what. .

[G Henslee]

Get the house, then we'll discuss your options.