This Julia Child-Approved Kitchen Organizer Actually Changed My Life

I’ve long coveted the iconic pastel blue-green peg board wall that Julia Child’s had in her kitchen, the one that is now installed in the Smithsonian. But the idea of hanging a wooden peg board wall seems a bit antiquated to me, especially since I wasn’t sure if the pressed wood would survive in my kitchen. But when I stumbled upon the more modern Wall Control metal pegboard, I knew I had found my storage solution.

The Wall Control pegboard is made of galvanized steel and comes in an array of different colors. I have limited space in my kitchen, but I did have a totally blank wall above my stove, which I had yet to figure out what to do with. When our old rental apartment stove died, we splurged and got a new one, installing it in a slightly different place in the kitchen, and then rearranged a few things. I took down my hanging pot rack (which didn’t really hold a lot of pots) and prioritized the blank wall above the stove, specifically so I could hang the Wall Control pegboard above it.

Hanging the Wall Control pegboard was relatively easy, though it does require a stud finder and a power drill. Once up, the metal looked modern and sleek, especially compared to particle boards. The largest of its three hook sizes are great for hanging taller pots and nesting two skillets together on one hook. The medium-sized ones are great for single skillets, sauté pans, and smaller pots. And the small ones are on a second Wall Control pegboard that I use for hanging my hand utensils like whisks, spatulas and wooden spoons.

Since it’s made of steel, I can also add magnetic items to it. Any empty spots between the pots are immediately filled with magnetic spice jars or a magnet-backed thermometer. Being right above my stove, this makes the spices and thermometers super convenient for me as well. I could grab what I needed without walking across the kitchen to the pantry or rooting through my cluttered drawer. Of course, a hanging wall of hand utensils also thinned out that utensil drawer considerably. And pots were easy to spot and lift off, no more trying to reach for the back pot on my hanging rack, behind all the other pots.

Of course, the biggest problem I have now with the metal pegboard is the extra space it has created in my kitchen. This, of course, means I now have space for even more tools and equipment. Which is the best sort of problem to have.

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Irvin Lin is a writer, recipe developer and photographer based in San Francisco. His cookbook Marbled, Swirled and Layered was picked as one of the best baking cookbooks of 2016 by the New York Times. He writes the nationally recognized blog Eat the Love and his work has been featured in the Washington Post; O, The Oprah Magazine; Serious Eats; Simply Recipes; and more.