Kitchen groove.

Remember this? My kitchen counter and stove area? In my last post, I mentioned that I was considering adding a bit more vertical storage, and possibly a pegboard.

Well, over the past couple weekends, Steve and I have been tricking it out with a lot of vertical storage. Like, a lot a lot. Check it out!

We installed a pegboard! I won't lie: I am in love with the pegboard. It is just so groovy. I smile when I walk into my kitchen now. Plus, the function! Julia Child knew what's what. Now our most frequently used implements are in easy reach, and our cupboards and drawers are approximately five million times more manageable now that they are no longer stuffed to the gills with tools. Just opening the pots and pan cupboard used to make me panicky: No longer, people.

For anyone interested in hanging a pegboard in their own home, it was pretty simple. We used two of these Triton pegboards. They are nice and sturdy, much nicer than what we found at Home Depot (delivered free in 2 days with Amazon Prime). On a warm day, I used a roller to apply three coats of primer + paint in a semi-gloss olive green that is slightly darker than our wall. I thought the paint would glom up in the holes, but it really didn't. While I was doing that, Steve screwed two long strips of wood (about 3/4" thick and 1 3/4" wide) to the studs along that wall and used drywall anchors to secure the third. To work correctly, the pegboard has to "float" away from the wall so that there is room for the hooks to hang from the holes. Drilling into the studs or using good drywall anchors is necessary if you want the board to hold any significant weight (i.e., pots and pans).

We got an assorted set of hooks, which are really awesome and actually screw into the board (and thus are very sturdy and can hold a lot of weight). But many of the hooks turned out to be better suited for a garage or tool storage than kitchen storage. For our purposes, we really just wanted about 50 short and medium length hooks. Ah well, live and learn.

Once your pegboard is up, it's time to start arranging the hooks to hold your stuff! I see the current set-up as a "first draft." I'm sure I'll be moving things and perfecting the arrangement as time goes on.

I also did a little Ikea shopping and had Steve install two pot racks over our stove. Yay! Now I can display my copper bottomed pots! So much awesome here.

I did do a tiny bit of sewing in the past couple weeks, too. I whipped up some new kitchen curtains using some inexpensive Ikea fabric. They're nothing fancy. I was reminded that there is a reason I avoid sewing curtains: so boring!! My sewing machine doesn't have a setting that is fast enough to make these anything but tedious. But I'm glad now that they are done.

This is still very much a work in progress and I have ideas for more improvements and maybe some new artwork. So this isn't the "final reveal," just a progress report. On my list of accessories to look for on Etsy: a natural jute macrame plant holder, more 70s era Pyrex, and a more colorful kettle worthy of our groovy new kitchen.

Can you guess what Maggie's favorite new item is? The step stool, naturally! (Also necessary for me to reach things on the potrack and pegboard.) When I told Steve I got a step stool, he said, "Great! Maggie will enjoy climbing it and falling off!" Pretty much!

In other news, Joe recently said: "Mama, can you make me orange and yellow pants?"

To which I responded: "Aye aye, captain!"