Nursery DIY: How to make a peg rail
Interiors expert, and mum-to-be, Ellie Tennant shares an easy craft project for your baby’s bedroom
"I’m a huge fan of Shaker-style peg rails. They’re simple, but so useful – especially in a nursery. Pegs are the perfect place to store bags, clothes, and decorative accessories, keeping the floor beneath clear and turning wall storage into a good-looking display. Ready-made peg rails can be pricey, but it’s surprisingly straight-forward and cheap to make your own, plus, if you Do It Yourself, you can make a bespoke length that fits your wall space perfectly."
WHAT YOU NEED:
* A tape measure and a pencil
* A pine wood plank – ideally around 7cm wide and 2cm deep, cut to the correct length for your wall space. Shop at a local timber merchant and expect to pay around £4.40 for a 3m length
* Screw-in hardwood Shaker pegs. You can find these on eBay from around £8 for 10. Work out in advance what spacing you want between your pegs on the plank (6 inches works well) so you can count how many pegs you will need to buy for your chosen length
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* Paint that is suitable for wood, paintbrush, plastic bin bags
* Drill, masonry drill bits, wood drill bits
* Screws, screwdriver and rawl plugs
* Wood filler
* Spirit level
METHOD:
1: Place your pine wood plank length on flat, plastic bin bags on a floor or table, and paint the top and sides in a paint of your choice. (It’s better to use plastic bin bags than newspaper, as newspaper can stick to the painted wood). You might need to give it several coats to get your desired finish and depth of colour. Ensure you let each coat dry thoroughly before re-coating – follow instructions on your tin of paint.
2: When the paint is completely dry and you are happy with the finish, use your tape measure and pencil to mark (with small dots) where you want your pegs to go. Find the exact centre of the plank length first and position your first dot there, then work outwards in each direction for a balanced result. Ensure you position each dot in the exact middle of the wooden plank widthways, too, and space your dots evenly. A six inch gap between each dot works well.
3: Screw in your pegs carefully where you made your dots, ensuring they are upright and straight.
4: Use a drill and a wood drill bit to drill a hole near each end of the plank (position the holes halfway between two pegs). Hold the peg rail on the wall in the correct position and check it is level with a spirit level. You might need another person to help at this stage.
6: Once it is in the correct position and completely straight, push a pencil or a screw through each drilled hole to mark the wall beneath with a small dot. Put the peg rail down temporarily and use your drill and a masonry drill bit to drill two holes on the dots you’ve marked on the wall.
7: Push a rawl plug into each wall hole. Now, position and hold your peg rail again on the wall and use a screwdriver and two screws to fix the rail in place firmly.
8: Once you’ve tightened the screws, put a tiny amount of wood filler (with your finger) over the screwheads. Once the filler is dry, dab a little paint on the filler to disguise it, so the fixings are invisible and blend in perfectly.
9. Have fun styling your new peg rail! Try hanging fairy lights, bunting, garlands or storage bags – just remember to keep safety in mind and ensure your child can’t reach anything you hang up.
Ellie Tennant’s homemade nursery peg rail, above: Walls, painted in Bone White matt emulsion, £38 per 2.5L, Fired Earth; Pine wooden plank, £4.40, Blanchford; hardwood screw-in Shaker pegs, from selection eBay; Pine wooden plank painted in Shirting intelligent eggshell, £27 per 1L, Little Greene; Music cloud mobile, £17, Ferm Living; Tote bag, stylist’s own; Heimess wooden teething rattle ring, £6.95, Natural Baby Shower.