Kitchen pegboards are awesome. They can hold and organize anything in the kitchen, from pots and pans to your iPad. Julia Child made them famous, and others followed suit — we showed you a pegboard in the kitchen of her editor, Judith Jones. Today we have some tips for creating and hanging your own pegboard, from Kate Payne of The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking.
Our new kitchen pretty much trumps all kitchens in my checkered past of rental kitchens. I can teach baking and preserving classes right out of my home now since the living room sidles up, open-aired and glorious, to the miles of countertop I've been blessed with in our new East Austin abode.With all this space and openness comes the counterweight downside: nearly nil cabinet space. Last weekend I conjured my inner Julia and Paul and hung a pegboard along the backsplash wall in our kitchen.
Now, here are Kate's five tips for hanging your own kitchen pegboard. Visit her blog, too, for even more detailed photos and instructions for this project.
5 Tips for Hanging a Kitchen Pegboard1. Renters, call your landlord!
Done properly, this pegboard is going to leave its mark on your wall (usually in the form of anchors that won't come out without punching them through). You don't want to compromise your deposit by charging forward without permission.2. Get the right hardware.
Buy screws that are at least 2" long and washers that are 1" wide. This will help distribute the weight of your pots and pans along the anchored framing.3. Find your studs!
They are usually spaced 16" or 24" apart, though I say "usually" very loosely here; my kitchen wall appears to break the mold with 48" between studs.4. Make space between the pegboards and the wall.
Use 1" x 2" x 8' framing pieces and cut these to the size of your pegboard, to create a small space between the pegboard and your wall. This ensures that the hooks will fit properly on the backside.5. Paint your pegboard, front and back.
Not only for aesthetics purposes, but also to seal the hardboard material. A kitchen pegboard is bound to experience water and oil drips, so a paint seal will ensure the material doesn't blister and break apart after a few months of use. Use a high- or semi-gloss finish enamel so you can clean your pegboard easily.
Read more & see full directions at Kate's blog: How To Hang a Pegboard at The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking
Kate Payne is the blogger and author behind the book, The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking (HarperCollins, April 2011). She lives in Austin, TX and hosts food/jar swaps and invites friends over often to watch and participate in canning adventures. She posts small-batch canning recipes, gluten-free baking projects, DIY cleaning ideas and other creative home improvisations to her blog, The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking.
More on Pegboards in the Kitchen:
• Can a Julia Child-Style Peg Board Work In My Kitchen?
• Place Your iPad Out Of Harm's Way With a Pegboard
• Judith Jones Makes an Omelet for One (to Share)
(Images: Kate Payne)
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Pegboards are awesome for organizing your cooking stuff.
Do yourself a favor, and skip the poorly designed metal pegboard hardware you find in most hardware stores. Half the time when you lift off a pot, etc, the peg comes out of the hole. Drives me crazy.
I use plastic locking hooks from pegslockinghooks. They lock in place but can be removed by pushing up on the latch. They come in different colors and are strong enough to hold my 12" cast iron skillet with no problem.
At first I thought I wouldn't have space for a pegboad in my kitchen, but I ended up working in a tall, skinny one-- I think it's 12" wide, and it extends floor to ceiling. I really like it because it has room for 4-5 skillets/pans, but doesn't take over an entire wall.
The metal hooks you get at hardware stores work fine--you just have to remember to pick up a pack of the little plastic strips that hold them in place. Most hook sets come with them and you can also buy more if you run out.
I love my pegboard!! Mine is made of hard plastic (they were meant for garages) so we didn't paint them. Otherwise this is all great advice.
One thing I would do that isn't mentioned here is frame the pegboard. It looks quite unfinished otherwise, and while that is fine in a workshop or a garage, it isn't good enough in actual living space.
You can use a bit of pegboard in every room! My favorites are in laundry rooms, kid's rooms and insides of closet doors.
Advice re: painting - I found that a normal paintbrush was hard to use. If I had too much paint loaded on the brush, it would fill in the holes and I'd be stuck painstakingly poking each of them out with a toothpick afterwards. For my second attempt I used a paint roller and it was much, much easier.
Not a fan but I can see how others find this useful. I don't like my appliances out.
I do like this idea for a craft room.
I've used every type of wall anchor from toggles to redheads, expanders to ramsets, and never once had to punch one through a wall to remove it.
Besides, drywall patches easily.
You can get all sorts of nifty items to hang from your pegboard at places that sell fixtures for stores. We have one locally with a storefront, or you can find them online. Pegboard comes in sizes -- the slightly larger and more widespread holes were needed for most of the items meant as store fixtures.
So far I've never bought pegboard new. It is often in stock at our building salvage stores (Restore, etc.)
I have an ugly tile backsplash in my apartment that I'm desperate to cover up. Is there any way I can cover it with pegboard? It would look so cute!
Does anyone know how I can accomplish this? Thanks!