Project Pegboard: Fake It Til' I Make It!!

This is a picture of a small project that my boyfriend and I worked on recently for the new apartment. For most, this isn't an unusual site in a crafty, heavy-cooking house-wifey kitchen. But alas, I am none of those things. I would love to think of myself as a heavy cooker (well, I prefer "curvy"), but the real truth is I am in love with the IDEA of being a cook. Having a fulltime job, trying to stay in shape with gym time, staying in touch with friends and work associates, etc. all factor into my lack of energy at 8 o'clock at night. Too tired to lift the heavy cast iron skillet... But, when I do have the time and the creative juices are flowing, there's no stopping me, not even three trips to three different stores for ingredients.

Thus, this project (we'll refer to it as 'Project Pegboard') was to help inspire me to do just that - cook more. After all, of what use is it to hang your shiny and heavy and regularly used cooking tools if they are just for artistic purpose? Eventually every single item hanging on that pegboard is going to get dusty and/or greasy and will need to be washed regularly anyway. So why not put them to use?

Well now I'm rambling, justifying my project to myself. I promise that I WILL cook more and utilize Project Pegboard for its most important purpose - INSPIRATION.

A great friend, who happens to be the Queen of Crafts and DIY small projects and previous roommate of mine, and I shared an apartment with a huge bare wall in our kitchen except for the one electrical outlet for the fridge. We had discussed utilizing that wall to hang a pegboard for our pots and pans (so Martha Stewart-esque, her idol...). She even had an article from the now defunct Domino magazine (RIP...) that had great instructions on how to create your own. It didn't seem complicated at all, but we never did act on the idea. Watching Julie and Julia helped to remind me of that kitchen project inaction...

Fast forward to a couple months ago, when I was studying the empty space in my new kitchen between the gigantic fridge and the wall. Just over four feet, I thought perhaps I could use it for a small bistro table and chairs, or maybe shelving for more storage space. Instead, I realized that most importantly, I needed more counter space. I had a great kitchen cart that fit perfectly in the space, but just above the cart was a huge naked wall. I remembered my roommate's and my previous idea to hang pots and pans.

Thanks to this fad called the internet, I found a simple DIY article in Chowhound for this Project Pegboard. And within a few days, my boyfriend and I were able to find the materials: leftover and perfectly measured and cut pegboard, and wood spacers at HomeDepot (in the wood scraps section), hooks, spraypaint, screws and anchors at Osh. With some loose measurements and with the help of the geometric pegboard holes, we were able to drill the holes and hang the sturdy pegboard within one or two lazy Sunday afternoons. Success!!


And thanks to an awesome gift from my boyfriend to this wannabee chef, I have beautiful shiny new stainless steel pots and pans to display! Let's hope that I don't burn the bottom of them too badly, since they are now celebrities...

Hope your Project Pegboard rocks like mine!!!