Here at Retro Renovation, you know we love pegboard for its appropriateness, versatility, affordability, humility and utility in kitchens — but how about as a decorative feature in other rooms?
Pam spotted Facebook follower Dennis’ original 1954 pegboard room divider,and we love it! We asked if it originally had this colorful paint job, but Dennis says it previously was completely turquoise. He and his wife felt it was in need of a pick-me-up paint job, so they painted it with this bold, Mondrian color scheme. Looks great — and it would be super easy and affordable to make one of these yourself — for stairways, check your local building codes for safety advice.
Thanks, Dennis, for letting us share this!
Read some of our other our stories about pegboard:
Suzy says
this just got me to thinking of a possible use for pegboard in my home … I have DVD shelves that my granddaughters get into ALL of the time, they are 4′ W x 8′ H x 7″ deep – I think we could make pegboard sliding doors to cover over the shelves … hmmm – anyone have thoughts on that? The shelves are bolted to the wall
Dennis Gros says
On my home computer I have a couple photos I found online I could share. One of them shows a bathroom with pegboard sliding doors just below the mirror. The other shows a cabinet with a pegboard door. Also, in Atomic Ranch magazine I saw indoor shutters made of pegboard.
Suzy says
that would be great .. would love to the those pictures and any info on pegboard sliding doors
Dennis Gros says
On the Retro Renovation Facebook site I just posted two photos. Another fan posted another picture of pegboard doors in his bathroom.
Dennis Gros says
Hey, everyone. Thanks for the compliments. I’d like to give all the credit to my wife Carrie Jo. She does all the painting. I am just her support person- setting up and moving scaffolding, and ladders, and helping with cleanup. We also bounce ideas off each other.
Someone asked about doing this outside. The 2 X 4’s would do fine outside if you used outdoor paint. It would be even better if you used pressure-treated wood. But I don’t know about the pegboard outside. Maybe if you painted it well with outdoor paint. It seems to me that if water got to the pegboard it might swell and get mushy. I really don’t know for sure.
Also- we discovered this site shortly after we moved into this house five years ago, and it is such a good thing that we did. There were so many original features in this house. Some of them we liked and others we were not sure about. This site helped us appreciate all of our original features, including our pink bathtub!
Had we not discovered this site, we may have removed some of these original features, perhaps even this room divider. We are so glad we did not.
-Dennis
pam kueber says
Yay! Thank you, Dennis!!!
Judy H. says
That colorful pegboard is some kinda cute!
Laurie Louise says
Love it! I’m sure the turquoise was beautiful, but these shapes look like they were begging for a Mondrian treatment. Well done!
Jan says
Way cool! Thanks for sharing with us, Dennis!
Carrie says
I am not a big fan of peg board, except in the garage or workshop (too much cluttered wall for my taste.) But OH MAN. I love this!! A brilliant idea, and use of a relatively cheap material-turned art. Looks fabulous. Thank you for sharing. Cheers!
Tikimama says
This is super-cool and looks so easy! I, too, am trying to devise a way to use it it my house. Does anyone know if it would work outside in the elements if you painted it with exterior paint?
Pam and Kate, I don’t know if you check out the Houzz.com site, but just yesterday they featured pegboard for storage in kitchens, and I immediately thought, “That’s cool! But RetroRenovation is waaay ahead of you!” Lots of users on that site direct people over here when they see someone asking what they can possibly do to this “dated” blue bathroom, or “ugly” rock fireplace! (Not my words, of course!)
Wendy M. says
I love it! (I probably would have loved the turquoise, too!)
Did Dennis share any specifics about type of paint used, application technique, etc? I have a LOT of pegboard I plan to paint and want to do it right. It would be great to hear from someone with experience.
Carrie Jo Gros says
Thanks Wendy M.
I used simple interior acrylic house paint. I am addicted to picking up “oops” paint at the home improvement store so I have a variety of colors on hand. The green was something we had, but I picked out the orange special just for the room. (It matches a retro chair we have.)
Wendy M. says
Thanks for your prompt reply! Good to know about the paint. Did you use a brush or roller (and how did you control the amount so it didn’t fill the holes? That’s my biggest concern.) Sorry to ask so many questions…I just have several closets and a laundry room wall made of pegboard and I want to get it right the first time. 🙂
Carrie Jo Gros says
Ah yes, that is tricky. I used a brush for the orange and green then a roller for the blue (because I was also doing the walls). Honestly no matter what you use the trick is control. Limiting the amount of paint on your brush or roller and not applying too much pressure during application. This is my third time painting pegboard and I’ve found the harder I pushed on the roller the more holes filled in. Sounds like you are soon to be the peg board expert :). Happy painting!
Wendy M. says
Thanks so much for the advice!
Janice says
Wow! What a great feature! As soon as I saw it, I started running through my head where I might put something like this…after I convinced DH he had to build one, of course!
Steve H says
Wow! Is that ever cool! Such a clever idea and so adaptable.