5 Tips for Hanging a Kitchen Pegboard

Faith Durand
Faith DurandSenior Vice President of Content at AT Media
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.
published Feb 29, 2012
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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 Pegboard

1. 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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