Crafts
Fact-checked

At WiseGEEK, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

What Are the Best Tips for Making a DIY Shoe Rack?

Dan Cavallari
Dan Cavallari

Making a DIY shoe rack is a great way to save space without going to the store to buy a more expensive prefabricated unit. Before going out to buy the materials, the builder should first determine how large of a unit is needed as well as where it will be placed. Taking accurate measurements of the space will help prevent mistakes and will ensure ease of use in the storage space. Once measurements have been taken, the builder will need to determine what types of materials will be used to make the DIY shoe rack.

Wood is a commonly used material because it is easy to cut and otherwise manipulate, and it can be inexpensive depending on what type of wood is purchased. Metal can be used as well, though this tends to be more difficult to work with. Plastic can be used as well, but it is generally less durable than other materials. Some DIY shoe rack designs can be made from durable fabrics instead to save even more space or to accommodate different storage locations. The DIY shoe rack can, for example, be designed to hang from the back of a door or from the hanger rod in a closet.

Making a DIY shoe rack is a great way to save space without going to the store to buy a more expensive prefabricated unit.
Making a DIY shoe rack is a great way to save space without going to the store to buy a more expensive prefabricated unit.

It helps to think about how many pairs of shoes will be stored, as well as how bulky the shoes are. A person with smaller feet will generally be able to store more pairs of shoes in a set space because the shoes will usually be less bulky, but a person with larger feet will need to design a DIY shoe rack to accommodate larger shoes. The types of shoes being stored will also dictate the size of the rack and the materials that will be used; if, for example, boots will be stored on the rack, it may be useful to make the rack out of waterproof or water-resistant materials since boots tend to collect mud, snow, and other potentially damaging materials.

If the DIY shoe rack will be stored by the front door of the home, aesthetics will become more important. Consider other pieces of furniture near the doorway and try to design a DIY shoe rack that will fit aesthetically in the space. Wood is again a good choice because stained wood will usually fit with any given aesthetic, and it can be painted easily if the aesthetic of the space changes at any time.

Discussion Comments

StarJo

My sister gave me her homemade shoe rack when she moved away to college. My dad had made it for her, because she had so many shoes, and they had started to take over the house. However, she wouldn’t have room for the rack in her dorm.

The rack was made entirely of wood and extended from the floor to the ceiling. It had several evenly spaced shelves that could hold three pairs of shoes each. Every shelf was slightly tilted upward so that the shoes would not slide off onto the floor.

I still have the shoe rack, but now, it resides in my guest bedroom. I keep a sheet tacked to the top to serve as a curtain to hide the shoes, but it can easily be pulled aside when I need to retrieve a pair.

Perdido

My grandmother made one of those shoe racks that you hang on the back of a door. She used fabric and foam board, and it worked out great.

The foam board is inserted into small slits in the fabric. She used it for support under each section where a shoe is to be inserted. The fabric alone might not have been able to handle the weight of some of the heavier shoes.

Foam board can be cut to size with a box cutter, so she decided this would be better than using wood. My grandmother does not like saws, and she wanted to stick with something she could craft herself.

lighth0se33

@shell4life - That sounds sort of like what my husband made. He used two-pronged pegs, but he also included a shelf above each peg rack for extra shoes.

We both have a lot of shoes that we like to have easy access to by the door, so we really needed the extra shelves. I have a pair of lace-up sneakers, a pair of slip-on sneakers, sandals, slippers, and flip-flops that I wear often, and now I can keep them all in one place.

My husband also has a lot of shoes, and he had a bad habit of leaving them lying all over the floor in many rooms of the house. Now, he has no excuse for doing that. The shoe rack has made my life easier in this way, too!

shell4life

My husband and I had to make our own shoe rack after we got a puppy with a taste for leather and cloth. We needed to be able to put our shoes up high enough that he could not reach them.

My husband got some horseshoe shaped pegs with screws on the back from a hardware store. He screwed these into a piece of wood and spray-painted the whole rack black for uniformity.

We have two boards with three pegs on each one, and they are screwed into the wall behind our front door. This shoe rack can hold six pairs, and we can put our shoes there as soon as we come home, so the puppy has no chance to grab them as a snack.

ZsaZsa56

A friend of mine made this really cool DIY shoe rack out of old 20oz soda bottles. I am not sure exactly how it all worked but basically a bunch of the shoe bottles were strung together into a grid with the bottles angled upward. You could fit one shoe onto each bottle.

It was a really cool idea and it worked perfectly. She had some heels that she couldn't fit on the soda bottles but otherwise all her shoes were stored in a neat and organized way plus she got to turn the whole thing into a funky, green project.

truman12
I made a DIY shoe rack by simply searching the alleys around my home until I found something that worked. I finally did when I found an old two shelf bookcase that fit perfectly at the bottom of my closet.

It was a little dirty but I washed it with a hose and let in dry in the sun. Once it was dry I filled it with shoes and it worked perfectly. Best of all, it was completely free.

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • Making a DIY shoe rack is a great way to save space without going to the store to buy a more expensive prefabricated unit.
      By: doble.d
      Making a DIY shoe rack is a great way to save space without going to the store to buy a more expensive prefabricated unit.