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DIY Wooden Shoe Rack – Wall Mounted

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Shoe storage has been a struggle of ours for years. Since we use the garage to store our shoes, there was always a mess before installing our DIY wooden shoe rack. However, our new DIY vertical shoe racks have simplified our lives. It saves time and keeps our shoes safe from damage.  Vertical shoe racks are the perfect solution for shoe organization in a small space.

 

DIY Wooden shoe display attached to the wall

DIY shoe rack

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How to Build a Wooden Shoe Rack

Building a custom shoe rack to organize and store shoes is an easy DIY.

I searched high and low for DIY shoe rack ideas for a storage solution, but nothing would work for all of our shoes.

Therefore I decided to build a custom vertical shoe shortage solution. 

➡️ Before you begin I recommend you watch this quick shoe rack how-to video.

Supplies and Tools

Compound saw

Wood glue 

1-inch staples or 1.25-inch trim screws or finish nails (fasteners)

Polycrylic finish

120 grit sandpaper

Wood filler

2.5-inch screws (for mounting to the wall)

Stud finder

Saw

Crown staple gun

Cordless drill

Speed square

Measuring tape

Putty knife

Small paintbrush

Tack cloth

Lumber (3 each 1″x4″x8′)

➡️ Before you begin I recommend you watch this quick shoe rack how-to video.

Wood Cuts

The length of the front and back boards will determine how many pairs of shoes your rack will store.

1x4x48 3 each pine (front and backs)

1x3x48 1 each pine

1x3x12 2 each pine (ends)

1×1.5×48 1 each pine (upper front) 

End Boards

You can customize the end boards to hold shoes according to their size. In other words, the smaller the shoe, the shorter the end boards.

For shoe size 9 and up, make the ends 12 inches

For shoe size 8 and below, make ends 10 inches

 

side view of hanging wood shoe rack

Shoe rack ends

 

Assembling the Wooden Shoe Rack

Note: Sand all the boards before assembling.

Sanding all the cut wood pieces with 120 sandpaper

Sanding wood pieces

Attach the bottom board to the ends with glue and fasteners—two in each attachment point.

Attaching the bottom to the end pieces with a stapler

Attaching the ends of the shoe rack

Wood Glue

Attach the bottom front board flush with the bottom front edge with glue, and two fasteners at each attach point. 

Applying wood glue to the face of the shoe rack

Apply glue to the face of the rack

 

Stapling the front face board with a crown stapler

Stapling the front bottom board 

Shoe Rack Back

Attach the top and bottom of the backboard to the ends with glue, and fasteners flush with the top and bottom edges. Two fasteners at each attach point to make the wooden shoe rack sturdy. 

Attaching the back board in the same manner as the front board

Attaching the backboard

This is the backside view of the rack. 

Back view of rack assembly

Building the backside

Align the top backboard to the top of the ends and attach it with staples.

Adding the top back board to the shoe rack using a stapler

Attaching the Upper backboard

Shoe Support Board

Attach the 1.5-inch front board 6 inches up from the bottom with glue and two fasteners at each attachment point. For the shorter rack, attach the board directly above the front bottom board.

Marking the upper front board location with a pencil on the shoe rack

Mark the front upper board location

Wood Filler

Using a putty knife fill all the fastener holes with wood filler. 

Filling the staple hole with wood filler

Adding wood filler to the shoe storage rack

After the wood filler dries, sand to remove any rough edges and excess wood filler. 

Prepare the wooden shoe rack for finish by removing all the dust with a tack cloth. 

Sealing Wooden Shoe Rack

Apply a finish coat as per the manufacturer’s directions. I choose a clear polycrylic, however, your shoe rack could be stained or painted if you perfer.

Brushing on polycrylic on the sanded wood racks

Apply polyacrylic

 

four finished shoe racks sitting on the board table before adding the a finish adding

Wall shoe storage organizers

 

To hang, locate the wall studs and make them with a piece of painter’s tape.

holding up a finished shoe rack to decide placement

Determining the height of the top rack

Predrill holes to hang shoe rack with 2.5-inch screws into the studs for wall-mounted racks.

Installing the wall mounted shoe storage racks with screws into the studs

Installing Vertical shoe rack

 

You can complete this easy and fast DIY project in one afternoon.  

Note: We built a storage hall tree with a shoe storage bench (you can read more about it in this earlier post) for putting on shoes but since the shoe cubbies are so small we needed to add more shoe storage. However, since our floor space was limited we had to the vertical space.

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I have been working on some easy, gorgeous fall decorating projects you will love, so if you don’t want to miss any inspiration, join The Fall Inspiration Newsletter and get it delivered to your inbox.

See you soon,

Kippi

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Steve Loney

Thursday 29th of February 2024

The cut list has a mistake. The side pieces should be listed as 1x4x12” not 1x3x12”. I made the cuts and when it didn’t look right, the picture bore it out. Once this correction was made I like the shoe rack very much.

Alexis

Sunday 14th of January 2024

I love your simple, functional and space saving shoe rack design. Thank you so much for sharing

Jackie

Monday 9th of October 2023

This is such a smart solution for shoe storage! I have been looking for something to get ours more organized. I may have to try & recreate this. We are having our cabinets refinished this week so maybe once that project is complete haha!

Coots

Thursday 11th of May 2023

Thanks for that! The solution I was looking for. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Leila

Saturday 14th of January 2023

Thank you!!! I was looking for something like this, i don't have a stamper strong as yours but I could do it with some nails and I love the final result not perfect as you did but I'm really proud.

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