So I finally finished outfitting the other half of my Instagram-inspired basement pegboard. I added a small makeshift shelf that I primed and painted, found a non-electrical music dock (yes, mysterious but brilliant), and hung a few kitchen items as wall art. Lots of you asked what we did with the cutting board we picked up a couple months ago from The Shops at Target collection, so here it is: America, the Pegboard-iful.
I liked the cutting board as sawdust-proof wall art because I’m a sucker for maps and graphic shapes, and it gives the pegboard some personality without getting in the way of work.
The blue-painted edge on the board happened to match my navy pegboard, which was a happy coincidence. Down the road I might switch the color to something more contrasting or add decorative tape to create a stronger focal point — or try a completely different treatment to keep it interesting.
I briefly considered painting the outline of Virginia on it to mark our home state, but since ours is a narrow coastal state, the shape would be pretty subtle. A larger inland state might offer a bolder graphic, so I held off for now.
One of the features I’m really enjoying up there is a new iPod/iPhone dock I found on Etsy. It was handmade and affordable, and I liked that it didn’t need power or charging. It’s essentially a carved plywood echo chamber that amplifies the phone’s speaker naturally, which is perfect for a workshop area where cords would be annoying.
I bought a custom listing that let me specify my phone case so the slot would fit precisely, and I chose the painted design and colors. It’s not a high-end speaker system, but it looks great, sounds surprisingly good for a passive dock, and requires no batteries or charging — ideal for a busy workspace.
To hold everything I cut a notch in a piece of scrap wood, painted it, and balanced it on a couple of pegboard hooks to make a simple shelf. It’s a quick, effective solution that keeps the dock and small items accessible while maximizing pegboard space.
On the shelf I also placed a small white elephant (leftover from a book project) and a Warhol-style soup can I use as a pen holder. The can currently holds a single pen, but it adds a fun pop of color and personality.
With these simple but functional additions, I’ve officially used all the pegboard space in the basement. These small organizational wins feel surprisingly satisfying — almost as rewarding as building a deck or renovating a room. When you spend a lot of time in a space and then actually know where everything is and enjoy how it looks, that’s a special kind of house-love. And yes, I still have a soft spot for pegboards.
Has anyone else hung anything unusual on a pegboard or wall lately? For this project I combined a cutting board, a chunk of scrap wood, a soup can, and a plastic elephant — not your typical gallery wall, but it works. What unexpected items have you used as wall decor or functional displays?