Bringing New Possibility to a Rental Bathroom with Pegboard Walls

For our most recent budget makeover, I was working with a double whammy on the walls: textured surfaces on the top half, and oddly-cut sections of beadboard paneling down below. Combined, everything looked bad and very slapped together, not to mention dingy and depressing. In order to inject some style, I needed an inexpensive solution that was also practical enough to work in a bathroom.

My solution? I replaced the awful beadboard with crisp white sheets of pegboard! And instead of stopping halfway, I extended it all the way to the ceiling on the main bathroom wall. I love the modern graphic element of the dots, and how color goes a along way against the backdrop of so much white. Just a little hint of wood warms everything up.

It’s not perfect mind you: there are still seams, so if that type of thing bothers you, know they will be there if you can’t come up with some clever concealment. But, I think it’s safe to say that it’s a dramatic step forward, and they are a really wonderful, quick solution for dreadful walls.

And then there’s this, of course:

Let’s talk about organization for a minute. Once the pegboard is installed, you can buy a variety of hooks and containers that work with the paneling to hold any number of things, which can be moved about the room as needed. It’s endlessly versatile and abundant storage.

At the top of my list of inspiration for the bathrooms walls was this snack bar in Poland, seen above on Trendland. Above all else, seeing it used in such a functional utilitarian space, like a cafe, convinced me it also could made sense in a bathroom.

If you like the idea, here’s what I did. One thing that’s not in the photos is the waterproofing. I liberally sprayed the pegboard with multiple coats of a matte sealer spray to repel water, making it more appropriate around the sink and shower.