Pantry angst

Suffering from pantry envy, and scratching my head and trying to think of how to make our two free-standing shelves pantry-worthy.  They sit at right angles to one another in what used to be our breakfast room.  When the family grew too much to use the room for a meal, we put the dining room table where it belongs---in the dining room. Sounds classy to eat in the dining room, but it's really not. Necessity warranted it since we only have one table.

Fast forward.  Gary bought two 6' white bookcases a couple of years ago to put in the breakfast room, which also has a small freezer, and a long table for crafts/sewing (hahahaha). I want the shelves to be more attractive, and have played with the idea of tension rods (with curtains) to cover up the stuff/cans/mugs/small appliances.  Plus, the backdoor is in that room, as is our bedroom door.  The outside door attracts all sorts of dog dirt, so a cover on the shelves might make them stay tidier.  And on top of the clutter, Romeo (the puppy) chewed the bottom of one of the bookshelves, so I need to touch up the paint so that it's not so much of an eyesore.  And now the shelves hold cookbooks, and everything I mentioned above.  I want it nice, though, and sometimes it seems too big a task.

Not an easy room to decorate.  Lots of stuff, nowhere else to put it, and surely there's an answer that's pretty and pleasing. I'd take a before picture, but it's that rotten!

(clickable pinterest photo)