A Pegboard Wall DIY That Would Make Julia Child Proud

Updated January 17, 2024.

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A pegboard is possibly one of the most functional pieces a kitchen could have. It’s beyond just a magnetic knife strip, a pot rack, a utensil crock—it’s all of these things and more. Home cooks have been employing this modular (before modular was en vogue) system for decades, and that’s because it works. Seeing all you have on hand in a kitchen is crucial for successful cooking, and it makes life that much easier when you need to reach for a small saucepan or quickly have to grab a whisk.

Of course, the grandmother of all pegboards was Julia Child, who favored practicality above most things. Her iconic kitchen—with its saturated blue pegboard walls and a litany of well-used tools and copper pots—have served as inspiration for countless cooks to come, so much so that it’s actually memorialized in several different museums.

You don’t have to go to a museum to enjoy the ease of a pegboard wall, though. You can simply (and we mean it when we say simply) install one in your own home, and get to hanging all manner of kitchen tools at eye level and within reach. Inspired by how Charles and Ray Eames brought panache to the humble coat hanger, I gussied up a pegboard organizer with inexpensive wood balls available in any local craft shop. Combine the utilitarian nature of the pegboard with Eames Hang-It-All inspired hooks, and you’ve got a kitchen organization system that’s truly timeless (both in its function and its design).

Interested in how you can replicate this for yourself? Follow along, we’ve got all the details.

What you’ll need:

• A sheet of pegboard, cut to your desired finish dimensions
• 6-8 peg hooks (or as many as you’d like!)
• 6-8 unfinished 1 1/2-inch wood balls (if you modify the number of peg hooks, modify this quantity accordingly)
• One piece of 1" by 2" lumber (a 1x2) that is at least twice the length of the desired width of your finished pegboard
• One piece of 1" by 2" lumber (a 1x2) that is at least twice the length of the desired height of your finished pegboard
• A handsaw (optional; you may be able to have the 1x2s cut to size at your local hardware or home improvement store.)
• One tube of 5-minute instant mix epoxy
• Wood screws
• Paint

• A paintbrush
• Painter’s Pyramids
• An electric drill
• Blue tape
• A pencil
• A measuring tape
  
  Note: In an effort to keep this project as accessible as possible, the steps below are aimed at beginners with a limited array of tools. If you’re an experienced DIY-er, you may wish to substitute wood glue for wood screws, and more elegant joinery for the butt joint; particularly if you have access to clamps and a miter box or more advanced saw.

How to make the pegboard:

Measure and cut your 1x2’s to create a frame on which to mount your pegboard.

Measure the height of your pegboard. Using a straight edge (like your other 1x2) and a pencil, make a cutting line at the midpoint of both 1x2's that will result in the four lengths you need to frame the pegboard.

On a surface suitable for cutting, use the hand saw to cut along your pencil mark.

Place your pegboard face down on your working surface. Align the outside edge of each 1x2 with the outside edge of the pegboard. These will form the vertical and outside components of your frame, designed to conceal the seam of the butt joint when the pegboard is viewed from the side.

A few tips for using a handsaw: The piece of wood you’re cutting should be elevated, for ease of use and to avoid cutting into your working surface. You can use scrap wood to elevate the 1x2 or cut it on the edge of a table or countertop. (If you use the table/countertop method, you can even put a trash bin under the cut line to catch saw dust.) With either method, just be sure the wood is resting solidly and remains stable on your working surface. In the absence of a clamp, press down firmly with the palm of your hand to keep the wood steady while you cut. Check out this site for more tips on how to use a handsaw.

Now, attach your pegboard to the face of the frame.

In order to attach the pegboard to the face of the frame, flip everything so that it’s right side up. Because the components aren’t yet attached, this means recreating the frame on your working surface, using the pegboard as a template to be sure your 1x2s are placed and spaced appropriately.

Using your electric drill, put a wood screw through the top right of the pegboard, as close to the corner as you can while still hitting the piece of 1x2 that spans the width. Repeat on the top left side to secure the piece. Do the same thing along the bottom of the peg board, to secure the other width, and on both vertical 1x2's as well.

You should have eight screws inserted in total, two in each corner and two in each 1x2.

Paint your pegboard and frame.

Using painter’s pyramids, elevate the pegboard and frame on a surface suitable for painting. Paint the face of the pegboard and the sides of the frame. Let rest until completely dry.

I painted this pegboard unit the same color as the wall to achieve a discrete “built-in” look and contrast with the unfinished wood knobs. You can use any color you like. For example, to replicate the look of the Limited Edition Eames Hang-It-All, released by Herman Miller in 2010 to appeal to adults, you could paint the pegboard black and stain the wood balls in a walnut finish.

Attach French cleat and hang pegboard.

Follow the instructions on the French cleat packaging to install it on the back of the peg board, being sure to use a level. Secure the pegboard to the wall.

Drill holes in the wood balls.

Select a drill bit with a diameter just slightly larger than the head of a peg hook. Hold a wood ball alongside the drill bit, aligning the tip of the drill bit with the center of the ball. Wrap a piece of blue tape around the drill bit where it meets the outside edge of the ball. (This tape will serve as your guide for how deep to drill each hole, preventing you from drilling past the center, which risks cracking the ball.)

With the drill bit inserted into the drill, hold a wood ball in your non-dominant hand. Using your dominant hand, slowly drill into the ball until the drill bit is submerged up to the blue tape—very carefully!

If you have a table clamp at home, you can clamp the wood ball as an extra safety measure. If you take the hand-held approach, please use caution and stop when you reach the blue tape!

Repeat with the remainder of your wood balls.

Glue wood balls to peg hooks.

Mix the epoxy according to package instructions to activate the adhesive. Squeeze a bead of epoxy into the channel in the wood ball and slip it over the head of the peg hook. Wriggle the peg hook around to increase contact between the wood, epoxy and metal. Then, let rest to dry.

Repeat with the remainder of your peg hooks. If you plan to hang items that won’t slip easily over the circumference of the hook, you may want to leave a few wood balls unglued.

Insert peg hooks.

Insert hooks into the pegboard, arranging them to accommodate the size and shape of the items you’d like to hang. To replicate the look of Eames’s Hang-It-All, stagger the peg hooks.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a scheme mapped out in advance. The beauty of the peg hooks is that they can be rearranged as often as you like!

Extra Credit: add a shelf.

If you’re feeling ambitious, consider adding a display shelf to your pegboard. You can purchase inexpensive utility brackets from your local hardware or home improvement store. Simply cut a piece of wood to your desired size and rest it on top of the brackets. If you’re using the pegboard as a kitchen organizer, as I did, this is a great way to store and display your salt and pepper mills.

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A cheat code: If you’re short on time (or just feeling low on DIY moxie), purchase a pre-made pegboard panel to skip steps 1-3.

Just keep in mind that if you purchase a metal panel, you’ll need to use paint specially formulated to adhere to metal. You’ll also skip the French cleat and use the fasteners that come with the panel to attach it to the wall. The rest of the steps are the same! This cheat will cost a bit more, but save you roughly 30 to 45 minutes.

And lastly, the fun part! Here are some goodies to help style your finished pegboard:

Alex Kalita is the co-founder of Common Bond Design, an interior design studio in New York CIty.

This post contains products independently chosen (and loved) by our editors and writers. Food52 earns an affiliate commission on qualifying purchases of the products we link to.

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