Go navy! Before you take that as picking a side in the Army/Navy rivalry, know I’m neutral—my dad served in the Army. That said, this post isn’t about football or feuds; it’s about the basement. We’re jumping back to the chaos of this shelf and the small overhaul that followed.
For nearly two years this shelf became a catchall for paint cans and other paint-shaped items. It was anything but organized. Two boxes even contained items we never unpacked after moving—an embarrassing but honest snapshot of how clutter can accumulate over time.
I started the cleanup by clearing everything off the shelves. That simple step gave me space to dust and to separate what belonged there—actual paint cans—from what didn’t, like empty or packing boxes that needed to be broken down and recycled.
About 30 minutes later the shelf already looked much better. Removing the clutter made it possible to focus the area on its intended purpose: storing paint, stains, and primers in an accessible way.
The non-paint materials—grout, polymeric sand, and the like—were moved to other shelves under the workbench, leaving this zone dedicated to paint and related liquids. The left side of the shelf now holds mostly quarts and tester cans left over from various photo shoots and DIY projects.
One quick organizing trick: I created a simple tiered display by placing a scrap 2×6 under one row of cans so the back row sits slightly higher. This makes it easier to read labels and see colors at a glance. The same approach works well for spray paints, which we have in nearly every color thanks to various projects.
We once used a much more involved system in our previous basement that included repackaging and labeling every leftover paint can. It worked well for a while but proved hard to maintain as new paint was purchased. This time I aimed for a simpler, sustainable approach: a dedicated shelf just for paint, easily accessible and low-maintenance.
With the shelf resembling an organized paint station, I wanted to use some of the leftover paint. But before painting, I decided to dress up the pegboard above the work surface with a simple trim frame made from scrap wood and a small amount of new material—about $10 worth if you don’t have leftovers on hand.
Framing the pegboard gives it a more finished look and helps the organized tools appear intentional—almost like a practical piece of wall art. I only framed three sides because one edge rests directly on the work surface and a yardstick overlaps that edge, so a full frame wasn’t necessary.
The two framed pegboards look more polished already. The smaller board is still a work in progress—right now it’s holding a pen—but I’ll fill it in as the tool collection grows and usage patterns emerge.
For paint I chose a leftover quart of Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore. It’s a deep, muted navy we used in a past project and still love. Before painting, I removed the tools and arranged them on the workbench to visualize how they’d hang. That helped me decide that a solid, dark background would be best rather than a patterned approach.
I applied paint with a small foam roller, keeping coats thin so paint wouldn’t clog the pegboard holes. A couple of spots had previously applied paint in them, but they were still functional and could be unclogged with a peg if needed.
After two coats, both boards had an even, rich navy finish. Lighting in the workroom can make colors appear different in photos, but in person the boards match and the finish looks intentional and tidy.
Once everything was dry, the tools went back up and the space felt instantly more cared for. For roughly $15 in trim plus the cost of a quart of paint if you don’t already have leftovers, you can transform a utilitarian corner into something that looks finished and functions well.
Seeing the refreshed pegboard and organized paint shelf made the basement feel more like ours than like a holdover from the previous owner. Next up I’m considering staining some of the wood in the room to introduce deeper contrast and pull the space together. We’ll see how that goes—I’ll report back when it happens.
If you’re planning a basement or garage refresh, consider dedicating a shelf to paint storage, using a tiered display for visibility, framing pegboards for a polished look, and applying paint thinly to preserve peg functionality. What projects are you tackling in your workspace? Are pegboards part of your organization plan? If you’ve got an overflowing stash of paint, a little sorting and a focused shelf can go a long way toward reclaiming order.
