Why a pegboard?

I first considered using a pegboard in my kitchen when looking for a better way to store a sizeable collection of cookie cutters. I think it was Halliday Sutherland who wrote ‘we are all enthusiasts of one sort or another’, and my enthusiasm is for home-baking.

My collection started when my eldest son was very small. I’d make biscuits shaped like dinosaurs, rockets, trains, caterpillars…the list is goes on. I’m not sure at what point I started ‘collecting’ them, but over the past 13 years I’ve amassed over 200.

Two hundred is certainly too many to fit in a kitchen drawer, so I bought a set of plastic drawers online (for around £25-30) and moved the collection there. The drawers were rainbow coloured, I think because I was still trying to kid myself that these were for the children’s enjoyment, rather than my own. I sorted the cutters into drawers according to categories such as shapes (hearts, circles, rectangles etc.), occasion (Easter, Christmas, Hallowe’en, Birthdays) or theme (food and drink, animals etc). Each cutter was stored in an individual plastic bag in its drawers, to help prevent rust spreading if moisture built up between them.

This set of plastic drawers looked pretty garish in the kitchen, and took up a good deal of space. However, it was the only solution I had in my previous two homes. One was a two-bedroom flat with a tiny kitchen, the second was a Victorian galley-style kitchen with all wall space taken up with cupboards. Cupboards and drawers do not make ideal storage spaces for cookie cutters, as you must rummage around for a while to find a particular one, and risk bending others whilst rummaging. It can also take a while to find the cutter you need if the storage container is more than one or two cutters deep.

I had researched different storage solutions used by other home bakers. As with any internet rabbit-hole, the more I researched the more I realised what I thought was a niche interest or collection is not that unique. Others had the same dilemma and there were a variety of ways around it.

One collector used acrylic drawers. This wasn’t too dissimilar to what I had already but of much higher quality and, being colourless and labelled with printed stickers, they certainly looked more sophisticated.

Another used large, shallow plastic storage boxes: practical, but wholly unattractive. Someone else used very large, decorative glass jars (the kind you see on coffee shop counters storing cookies etc.): suitable for smaller collections or those with a large amount of shelving to store them on.

These all presented the same problem with having to rummage to find a particular cutter. Ideally, then, what I needed was something that was shallow and allowed me to store cutters in no more than one or two ‘layers’.

I came across one professional baker online who used a large pegboard to display her cutters, as well as hang some of her equipment (like rolling pins). This seemed like the perfect solution, in that it allowed me to keep the cutters easily accessible, without them encroaching on the storage space in the kitchen. It had the added benefit of also creating a striking display.

When we moved house, I was delighted that there was plenty of wall space in the kitchen for me to create this display. I am by no means a DIY expert, or even vaguely proficient, so I had a lot of guidance from online tutorials, and those adept at DIY that I’m lucky enough to call friends.

Step 1: Measure Up

I began by measuring the area of wall to cover with the pegboards. I shopped around online to find boards that would fit the space, or slightly bigger (thinking I would just cut this down).

Many online retailers and sellers have pre-drilled pegboards for sale in a variety of sizes. Pay particular attention to the distance between each peg hole, and the hole diameter. Make sure the distance between holes is sufficient for what you want to hang on your pegboard: for relatively small items such as cookie cutters, ranging from 2cm-8cm across, I went for 25mm gaps. I found this allowed me to fit the smaller cutters together nicely without wasting too much space.

The hole diameter will determine which size of dowel to buy; I went for 6mm holes, and bought a few hundred 30mm x 6mm wooden dowels thinking this would be a bit more than I needed. I was advised (by a DIY aficionado) to by 7mm dowels (just that bit bigger than the hole itself), as I’d need them to be hammered into place and the only way they would be secure is if they were slightly bigger. However, in reality I could only find dowels sold in 6mm, 8mm and 10mm sizes; I went back to the aficionado for advice again, and he said to go with the 6mm dowels and be prepared to use wood glue to secure them!

I had earmarked a large blank wall in the kitchen for my pegboard, but frustratingly couldn’t find anywhere to buy one in quite the right dimensions for the space. What’s more, my ideal large pegboard would in reality encroach on a recently-installed TV arm in the corner of the kitchen; my family were not impressed when I suggested we take the TV away to make space for an XL pegboard. So, I settled on two separate pegboards, one large and one small, to make the most of the available space.

I had to buy the different sizes of pegboard from different suppliers (as no one supplier sold both sizes!), which posed a couple of problems going forward. Firstly, I had planned to join together the two smaller boards to make a square display of 60cm x 60cm. However, the way the peg holes had been laser cut meant there was a margin left on the edge of each board; when they joined together, there was then a noticeable area of board with no peg holes. This was not a huge issue, as I could just arrange the cutters in such a way that they hung over this area.

Secondly, although both suppliers had sold the boards as having 6mm holes, 25mm apart, I found the dowels in one board were too loose. As the next size up would be too big (8mm), I took my friend’s advice and ultimately used wood glue to secure these loose dowels. The cost didn’t add greatly to the project, and in fact I was going to use wood glue to secure the frames anyway so had had to buy a small bottle. However, it was another process to add to the project.

I lastly had to measure the length of the frame, and order a length of picture moulding. I felt a frame was important here. Although a frameless pegboard can look chic and minimalist, and certainly more akin to the traditional garage/shed wall pegboards. However, I wanted my boards to have a proper finish, and a frame was the best way to achieve that.  

Step 2: Decide on colour scheme

When we moved into this house, the previous owners had helpfully left tins of paint, carefully labelled with each room/surface they had been used for, in case we had need of them for any touch ups. When I embarked on the pegboard project then, my husband suggested we paint the boards the same colour as the kitchen walls, to blend in as best as possible. However, I envisaged a contrasting colour to the wall behind so that the boards stood out a little. I didn’t want anything too bold, so I opted for a magnolia paint. I had to make sure the paint was washable and suitable for kitchens, so that it could be easily cleaned. Although the boards wouldn’t be hung anywhere near food preparation areas, being a kitchen the paint would have to withstand some level of moisture and be washable just for ease of care. I also bought a white, solvent-based primer to use, and an oak-finish varnish for the decorative mouldings.

Step 3: Sand

Before I did anything with the boards, I would have to sand them. I waited for a dry day (which took a few weekends’ postponement, as I tackled this project in January/February) and used a sanding machine, which meant it only took a few minutes.

Step 4: Prime

I then set the boards up on a small workbench outside, and applied a coat of solvent-based, white primer using a small roller. I used a roller, rather than a brush, to avoid paint gathering around the edge of the hole, or (more likely) get into the holes of the board; this would ensure the size of the holes wasn’t altered by any paint and the dowels would fit well.

Step 5: Paint

Once the primer had dried, I applied the paint (again, using a roller). Two coats did the trick. I left these outside to dry.

Step 6: Position the pegs

Now that the boards were ready, I had to determine where the dowels would go and fix these in place before painting them individually. For this, I moved the project inside, to a large table in the conservatory.

First, I laid a section of picture moulding at the edge of each board, and marked with a pencil how far this came into the board. This then showed me what space would be taken up by the frame, and what space I had to work with when it came to placing the cutters.

I set about placing each cookie cutter on the boards, loosely grouped according to theme/occasion, and marked where the pegs would need to be to hang each one. This turned out to be quite fiddly, as I would often knock a cutter or peg out of place when trying to position another cutter next to it. I was tempted to draw around each one in pencil, or more boldly in a sharpie, to make sure I didn’t forget where it was placed if it happened to be knocked during this process. I tried this with one cutter but found erasing the pencil line to be quite messy. If I had a beige or light-brown-coloured sharpie pen I would consider drawing round each cutter in future, but in all honesty, I think it might make the board look too crowded and also be quite messy. Outlining large tools is one thing, but cookie cutters are far smaller (some of them 1.5cm x 1cm), so getting accurate lines drawn around these wouldn’t be easy or neat.

Once every cutter was in place, I took reference photos so I could put them all in the right place fairly easily, without having to figure out how they all fitted together.

Step 5: Hammer and glue the pegs in

Now that I knew where each peg was to be placed, I put a very small pencil mark at each hole that needed a peg. I then removed the cutters from the board, and set about fixing each peg in place.

On the smaller boards, the dowels were a good fit and so these just needed hammering in place. I moved the boards to the floor, on top of a PVC mat usually used for children’s arts and crafts projects, and hammered each one in.

On the larger board, the dowels were loose. In these cases, I move the board to a warmer room in the house (the glue worked best above 10C, and the conservatory didn’t reach these heights in February!). I applied a fair amount of wood glue to the bottom of each peg, and put them in place. In some cases, I had to apply a bit more glue around the peg once it was in to make sure it was secured, then wipe off any excess so it looked neat.  The glue needed 20-30 minutes to set.

Step 6: Paint the pegs

The pegs then needed to be painted to match the board. I used a small brush to give each peg two coats of paint. I had to check carefully that I’d covered each one entirely, as I found I was rushing a bit towards the last few pegs of each board, and missing areas that weren’t visible from where I was sitting. I then made the point of walking around the boards as they lay on the floor, checking for any patches I’d missed.

Step 7: Make the frames

I then measured and cut lengths of the decorative picture moulding, to fit around each board. I used a mitre saw to cut the ends at 45’ angles, so that they met and formed a neat rectangle.

I used wood glue on these ends to secure each piece together. I positioned each corner on top of the board (to ensure it was flat) on the workbench. I then applied the glue and held the corner pieces together using G-clamps for 30 minutes, before moving on to the next corner. In this way, I glued each corner in turn.

Once each frame had been assembled, I sanded them by hand with sandpaper, applied two coats of oak-stain and left each to dry.

Step 8: Secure the frames

I then had to glue the frames to the boards, again using wood glue. I lay the boards down on the floor, applied the glue to the border space and lay the frames on top. I then weighted the frame down with books, and left it to set overnight. It should only have taken 30 minutes, but I wanted to give it as long as possible.

As one board was to be made by joining two smaller boards, once the frame was secured I flipped this over and applied a line of wood glue along the join between the two boards. Again, I left this overnight to set.

Step 9: Hang the boards and place the cutters

I screwed the boards into the kitchen walls using an electric drill, raw plugs, screws and a spirit level. I checked for wires behind the walls first, and employed the help of my husband in making sure the boards were level. I put the screws through empty holes on the peg board, for neatness.

Importantly, I hung the pegboards on interior walls, rather than exterior walls of the kitchen. This decision was made in the hope that it is less likely that damp will build up behind the boards over time. Irritatingly, I think the boards would have looked nice on the exterior walls we had available, but I think it was a wise decision to go with the more practical option.

Summary

Although it was a lot of work for someone who shies away from most types of DIY, I am very pleased with the pegboard displays in my kitchen. It is a decorative way to store and display these much-used kitchen utensils, which doesn’t take up any storage space in the kitchen.

Materials

400 6mm x 30mm wooden dowels, £12.00
2 x 60cm x 30cm pegboard with 6mm holes, 25mm apart: £35.90
1 x 60cm x 120cm pegboard with 6mm holes, 25mm apart: £27.95
2400mm pine cover moulding, £38.00
White solvent-based primer, 750ml, £10.00
Magnolia matt paint, 2.5L, £20.00
Satin Oak interior varnish, 750ml, £14.00
Wood glue, £6.50

Total: £164.35

Equipment

• Mitre saw
• Workbench
• 2 G-clamps
• Paint brush (small)
• Small roller and tray
• Sanding machine
• Sandpaper
• 4 screws
• Pencil
• Books (to weight the frame whilst the wood glue set)