These Silly (and Smart!) Finds Created Instant Storage on My Kitchen Wall

I’ve been renting in Brooklyn for 12 years and, as such, I’ve worked through every kind of no-drilling wall hook that money can buy, in pretty much every apartment I’ve ever lived in. But I’ve learned over the past few years that, while I will always need extra storage in my small spaces, cute wall storage is hard to come by. 

That’s why I was excited when I found Umbra’s extremely adorable Buddy PIN-POINT Wall Hooks for $25 in a fun blue, green, and purple. I knew they’d be perfect in my kitchen, which had two busted wall hooks, long past their usefulness, that were holding up a few aprons and oven mitts. The transformation? Adorably functional wall storage.

The Umbra Buddy PIN-POINT Wall Hooks are a set of three wall hooks for $25 that are shaped like people climbing the walls. Yes, really. It’s Umbra’s popular Buddy character arranged in slightly different climbing positions, and they each come in a fun blue, green, and purple. Two hooks — the blue and purple Buddy — are mirror opposites of one another with an arm extended off the wall to hook on whatever you want to hang. The green Buddy’s arms are flushed against the wall and the back of the legs are where you hang your items. Each hook is about 7 inches by 3.2 inches by 2.8 inches, according to the Umbra website. 

You can arrange the hooks in any form you want — or even in separate rooms of the house. (I decided to hang mine all together, and staggered them so it looked like they were racing and the green Buddy was losing.) You can either install the hooks by going full drilling with a stud or you can simply use the company’s PIN-POINT system to install the hooks without drilling (perfect for renters like me). The hooks can hold a maximum of five pounds, so they’re good for stuff like hats, headphones, a dog’s leash, or, in my case, my aprons.

I consider myself essentially allergic to home projects and power tools — I don’t have a crafty bone in my body — but even I was able to get these PIN-POINT Wall Hooks on the wall within 15 minutes without asking anyone for help. Umbra provided a paper measuring tape, and all of the tools I would need to install besides a hammer, a stud-finder (if I were to use it), and a pencil. I decided to use the PIN-POINT system because I didn’t want to drill in my wall, so after measuring out how I wanted to hang my wall hooks and popping the pin points in, all it took was a little bit of hammering and, voila! I instantly had a cuter way to hang my aprons and oven mitts.

I love that I’m able to stagger my wall storage and that, when empty, the wall hooks are extra cute and decor pieces in and of themselves. All in all, these fun, colorful gems bring a pop of color to my otherwise boring kitchen while making smart storage space for the things I grab off the wall every day. 

Buy: Umbra Buddy Pinpoint Wall Hooks, Set of 3, $25