Gain Extra Kitchen Cabinet Space With An Easy DIY For Pots And Pans Storage

Storing your pots and pans in your kitchen cabinets can be a very frustrating proposition. As a professional cabinetmaker, I know that frustration firsthand, both in cabinet construction and in my home. I installed roll-out shelves in the lower cabinets we use to store our pots and pans and, while better, it's still frustrating. Which cabinet does which pan go in? What if an easily distracted husband messes up that organization? Trouble becomes double.

Another fact is that pots and pans are basically "hollow" and don't store compactly. Some will nest together well, but you are storing a lot of "air" and taking up space that you could use for other things that stack and store more efficiently. So, what's the best approach to tackling cookware and bakeware storage? How about hanging your pots and pans on the wall. 

There are many ways to go about hanging your kitchenware on the wall, but a DIY pegboard panel may be the easiest and most versatile. (There are unexpected ways to use pegboard around your home.) Inexpensive and easy to make, you can customize the panel to suit your kitchen. The supplies you'll need are found at your local big box home center, and you can even have them cut the pegboard panel to size if you wish.

Before you head off to the store, bust out your tape measure and look at your kitchen. Is there wall space available for a pegboard panel to be mounted to the wall? If not one large panel, how about two smaller ones? When you figure out how large or small of a panel you need, get your pots and pans out of the cabinet and lay them on a table — arrange them to see if you'll have sufficient room for them. Perhaps you won't need as large of a panel as you were thinking. When you have your dimensions figured out, write them down. And now you can go to the home improvement store!

The typical pegboard is manufactured in either ⅛-inch or ¼-inch thick panels. You want the ¼-inch thickness, with ¼-inch holes. Available in large 48-inch x 96-inch sheets, but also depending on the store, in smaller more practically sized panels for this task. You can also find some of those smaller panels pre-painted white. If you need a specifically sized panel, ask the store folks to cut it for you. You'll have to buy the whole sheet, but pegboard is great — you'll find uses for the leftovers for sure. 

Next, buy the highest quality 2 x 2s they sell, sufficient to form a frame around the panel, some carpenter's glue, #8 x 1-inch and #8 x 2-inch sheetrock screws, (also known as drywall screws) and finishing washers. You can also pick up the peg hooks you will need at this time. Now it's time to head home and get to work.

Set up your working area with sufficient space to create the hanging panel. If your panel was cut to size for you at the store, start here by cutting the 2 x 2s to make the frame. (The frame provides space behind the pegboard panel so the peg hooks work properly.) You can cut the pieces to length with any saw you have handy. The frame should align with the perimeter of the panel but not go outside of it — it should fit right behind the panel. 

Cut two 2 x 2 pieces the length of the side of the panel. Temporarily set them in place on the pegboard, and measure between them to get the length of the cross pieces. Join the frame together at the corners, drilling through the side pieces and into the cross pieces. Use the long sheetrock screws to secure the frame pieces one to another. Place the pegboard on top of the frame to test its fit. The last construction step is to secure the panel to the frame with glue and screws. Pre-drill holes through the pegboard panel, but not the 2 x 2 below it. Then use the #8 x 1" screws outfitted with a finishing washer to join the panel to the frame.

Mount the completed panel to the wall using more of the #8 x 2" screws. Space them evenly around the frame being sure to get a few of them into wall studs and use the finishing washers here as well. Put up the peg hooks you bought and get ready to free up cabinet space.

The basic panel described above is a perfectly useful piece of DIY work, but you can always embellish it. If you want to paint the panel before you hang is, be sure to paint both sides of the pegboard. Only painting one side could cause it to distort. Another lovely touch would be to put a decorative molding around the panel. You could paint the molding or leave it natural wood, putting a "picture frame" around the pegboard. Your options are only limited by your imagination.

Speaking of the pegboard panels, in addition to the hardboard panels used here, there are plastic and metal pegboard panels available at big box stores as well. You could build a mounting frame for them just as described above. The plastic panels come in a few colors. I would not use them to hang heavy pots and pans, but if you make a panel to hang craft supplies or maybe light kitchen gear, the plastic panels would be perfect. 

Obviously, if you properly secure a metal panel to a mounting frame you can hang heavy-duty objects on a metal panel without a problem. I think of a shop or garage use for that sort of panel, but they would look great in a kitchen too. It would definitely hold your pots and pans without a problem –perhaps even cast iron.