DIY Shoe Storage

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Today I’m sharing my new DIY Shoe Storage. However, before we get to that, a little background information is required.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

This post is sponsored by Lowe’s Home Improvement.

I love my house. However, given that it’s 100 years old and was once a Bed and Breakfast, it comes with “unique” features. One of those is a super awkward space between my bedroom and my closet.

DIY Shoe Storage:

When this house was built, these rooms were not connected. This space used to be a closet that could be accessed only from what is now my bedroom. When the house was converted to a B&B, the closet space for these rooms was turned into a bathroom and this space was opened up to create a “suite” of sorts to allow for families or multiple individuals to stay in one room. Hope that makes sense.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

Now that my house is back to being a single-family home, that place is a super awkward space with too many doors, weird carpet (because there is no hardwood floor underneath it), and unfinished molding.

What makes this space even stranger is that behind this wall are pipes and electrical wires that my dad and I ran up from the basement to supply the attic with additional electricity and water. (If you’re an original IBC reader, you might remember that project from years ago.) Consequently, this wall isn’t sealed in because I always wanted to have access to the wiring and pipes should I ever decide to continue remodeling the attic. Because of this, this area has just been a mess, eyesore, and completely wasted space.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

As I’ve mentioned a few times (most recently here), I don’t intend to make this my forever home. With that in mind, I came to a few realizations. First, redoing the attic probably won’t happen, so it’s time to seal up that wall. If the next owner wants to reopen it, it won’t be a problem. Secondly, I always thought about removing the doors and molding and just opening up this space into a mini-hallway of sorts. However, that’s a big project and not really something I want to invest time or money in. Given all of that, I decided to make this space work as is while also tackling another problem: shoe storage.

It’s not that I have lots of shoes lying around, but I find that when things have a place, organizing my home is much easier. Having a dedicated space to store my shoes would make putting them away a simple task.

How to DIY Shoe Storage:

To tackle this project, I teamed up with my friends at Lowe’s Home Improvement. I knew they would have a system to help. After taking some measurements, I ventured to my local Lowe’s.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

When I saw the Rubbermaid FastTrack system in store, I knew it was the perfect solution. (I should also mention I originally thought about doing a DIY built-in shelving system, but with the existing moldings, some weird angles, and not wanting to make accessing that wall a complete nightmare, a built-in didn’t make sense.) Also, if you’ll recall, I used a similar system in my clothes closet, so I thought this would tie in nicely.

Based on the measurements I’d taken, I gathered all of the pieces I’d need. The Rubbermaid FastTrack system offers a variety of shelves, brackets, drawers, and accessories to make the system work for whatever space you’re organizing – even an awkward closet like mine. The shelves come in 8-feet sections. Since I knew I needed 2-feet sections, I asked an associate for help. He kindly cut the sections to the length I needed.

While at Lowe’s, I also picked up a couple pieces of molding and painting supplies.

Once I got home, I tackled a bit of prep work before installing the closet system.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

The first thing I did was to add crown molding. I had some pieces left from my bedroom/closet makeover that worked perfectly. (The crown molding also happens to be from Lowe’s. You can find that here.) The molding gave the space a finished look by covering up spots where the access wall didn’t line up well. I also added two pieces of cove molding to seal the sides of the wall. Again, while I have no need to access the pipes and wires behind it, this method will make it easier for someone who does.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

Once the molding was in place, everything got a quick coat of paint. I used the same colors I used in my bedroom. (Also, I should mention that heart hanging down on a cord is for a pull-chain light. It’s just an exposed lightbulb. That’s getting replaced later this week.)

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

When the paint was dry, I was ready to install the system. This took only 15 minutes. The system is held in place with this rail across the top. I attached that to the wall with anchor screws. With that up, two parallel bars are added for attaching the shelves.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

With the bars in place, I added brackets. While I used the same shelves, I used two different sets of brackets. One set was designed to create a flat shelf, the other set created an angled shelf for shoes.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

With the brackets spaced out accordingly, I added in the shelves and my DIY Custom Shoe Storage system was complete and ready for my shoes.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

I picked up two large baskets from Lowe’s as well to store things like flip flops and out-of-season shoes. The baskets fit perfectly at the top and bottom of the system.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

Then, I just filled my DIY shoe storage with my shoes and a few other accessories, and my project was complete.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage:

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

Wasted, ugly, awkward space no more! It’s now functional, pretty, and organized. Finally!

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

I think I’m going to add one more angled shelf, but I didn’t purchase enough brackets. I have a few more shoes I need to squeeze in, so this will give me enough storage with room to grow.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

However, in the meantime, I’m totally loving this little area with room for my cologne and decorative touches. This goes to show that organization and storage can be pretty, too.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

And that’s what I love about a system like this. It’s versatile, and it grows with you as your needs change (or your shoe collection expands.)

DIY Custom Shoe Storage - how to organize your shoes in an unused space.

DIY Custom Shoe Storage | Inspired by Charm

This weird space has stared at me for years. so I’m thrilled to cross it off my list. I had always assumed this would be a nightmare project, but it was much easier than I anticipated. Who knew organizing could be so easy and rewarding!?

What do you think of my weird space turned DIY Custom Shoe Storage?

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26 Comments

  1. What a fabulous idea Micheal. I cleaned out a small closet we have just off the kitchen, and plan to set it up exactly like yours for our shoes. I love this idea. Thanks for sharing.