Can a Julia Child-Style Peg Board Work In My Kitchen? Good Questions

Faith Durand
Faith DurandSVP of Content
Faith is the SVP of Content at Apartment Therapy Media and former Editor-in-Chief of The Kitchn. She is the author of three cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winning The Kitchn Cookbook. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and two daughters.
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updated Jun 5, 2019
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Q: Last week, Mark Bittman of the New York Times blogged about photographer Pedro Guerrero’s experience shooting Julia Child’s kitchen. I fell in LOVE with her peg board wall — it would be the most amazing solution to my lack of cabinets.

But I need an honest opinion: Does this only work in theory (it works because it’s, well, Julia Child), and not in practice? I worry that it might look sloppy, and wonder if there’s a secret to making it successful.

Sent by Jo

Editor: Jo, we were struck by that piece too ( read it here), as well as this piece at The Kitchen Designer, where Marcy Goldman wonders if having everything out on display and near to hand speaks to Julia’s style as a cook. We think so, and there is something so appealing about the peg board approach. It may look more cluttered, yes — our mish mash of pots and pans would look not so professional and, well, French as Julia’s, but perhaps it would be more functional than hiding things away in drawers and cupboards?

Jo, we can’t tell you whether this will work for you, since we don’t have enough wall space at all for a peg board. But we can point you to this excellent peg board tutorial at CHOW and ask the readers: Do you have a peg board in your kitchen? How does it work for you?

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Related: Ten Kitchen Improvements for Renters

(Image: National Museum of American History)