Peg rail shelves – literally a row of pegs with a shelf above – embrace the Shaker-style aesthetic and provide useful and space-efficient storage in a cloakroom or hallway. Sara Walker reviews the oak peg rail shelf from Coventry-based home furnishings and accessories company uBaaHaus.
“I’m a big fan of efficient, multi-tasking storage and this neat little rails are right up my street. If you’re short for space, incorporating rails and a shelf together makes the area work as hard as possible. This handmade example from uBaaHaus is available in 4 to 10 peg sizes, in lengths ranging from 44cm to 110cm, so will suit a range of homes.
“I really liked the sturdy construction of this little shelf, which is available in a choice of hard wax or raw finish. I went for the hard wax option, as I felt it was a shame to cover that nice oak finish by painting it! I reviewed the 6 peg size, which measures 66cm long by 9cm wide by 8.8cm high.
“Our utility room is used as a bit of a dog ‘n’ boots free-for-all all, and we have two large hooks just inside the back door. These have always been a source of mild irritation as we generally have three or four coats on each peg, not to mention dog leads and hats. Removing these two large hooks and replacing them with the peg shelf worked really well, as now we have three times the number of hooks and can organise everything more neatly.
At just 9cm wide, the top shelf is small and of limited use. I’m finding it useful for putting down things like sunglasses and gloves, though! It would work really well in a bathroom for storing towels and bathgels, or in a kitchen for things like aprons and spice jars.
“The shelf arrived promptly and was well packaged in cardboard without the use of any plastic wrapping except parcel tape, which I liked. It came complete with fixings (two rawl plugs and two screws), and was surprisingly simple to install. I say ‘surprisingly’ because the hanging method was two small holes on the back of the shelf. I know from experience that these can be very fiddly to line up, but fortunately the uBaaHaus team have produced an installation guide which includes a game-changing tip!
Instead of trying to measure from the centre of one hole to the centre of the other (very difficult to measure a void!), just measure from the inside of one hole to the outside of the other. Simple but brilliant! It worked first time and the whole installation took under 15 minutes, which included me wandering off to brew up in the middle.
“Prices start at £37 for a raw finish 4 peg option, and go up to £84 for the 10 peg option in a wax finish. My 6 pegger with its wax coat weighed in at £53. For a handmade unit like this, well made and sturdy in solid oak, I think this is a great price point. uBaaHaus are clearly passionate about their products and I think this shows in the quality of the item.
“I’m really pleased with my little shelf and slightly annoyed I didn’t do something similar years ago! The flexibility of sizing means these rails are great for even tiny spaces, and will help you gain a bit more storage without sacrificing style.”
The oak peg rail shelf starts at £37 and is available from from uBaaHaus. Main image (c) uBaaHaus 2024
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