How Do You Make Your Own Shoe Storage?

The quickest way to make your own shoe storage is to start with a simple frame and adapt it: a low bench with an open shelf underneath, a stack of cut timber boards on battens, or a set of crates fixed together. Each takes an afternoon, needs only basic tools, and can be sized precisely to the wall you have. The decision that matters is not which design looks best online, it is how your household comes through the door and how many pairs need to live there permanently.

What follows are several approaches, from ten minute fixes to a proper built piece, with the measurements that make each one work. We have also flagged where making your own genuinely beats buying, and where it does not.

Start by Counting and Sorting

Before any cutting, tip every pair of shoes in the house into one pile. Split them into three groups: worn weekly, worn seasonally, and worn rarely. Only the first group needs to be by the door. The second can go under a bed or on a top shelf, and the third often should not be in the house at all.

Most households discover the daily group is between eight and fourteen pairs. That number, not the total, sets the size of what you build. Overbuilding is the usual mistake, because a large unit in a small hall simply becomes a dumping ground.

The Simplest Build: Battens and Boards

If you want capacity with almost no joinery, fix timber battens to the wall in horizontal pairs and rest cut boards on them. Use 44mm by 20mm softwood battens screwed into studs or masonry, set level, with the front batten slightly lower than the back one so each shelf tilts back a few degrees and shoes stay put.

Space the shelves 18cm apart for shoes and trainers, and leave one gap of 32cm at the base for ankle boots. Boards of 18mm plywood cut to 25cm deep are plenty. Sand the front edges, oil the timber, and you have an open rack that costs very little and can be extended upwards whenever you need more room.

The advantage of this method is that it wastes no depth on a carcass. The disadvantage is that everything is on show, so it suits a utility area or a wide hall rather than a formal entrance. If a visible rack is not for you, the closed alternatives in our wooden shoe storage cabinets UK sale range achieve a similar capacity behind doors.

The Most Useful Build: A Shoe Bench

If you make only one thing, make a bench. Being able to sit while putting shoes on transforms a hallway, particularly for children and anyone who finds bending awkward.

Build a simple open frame: two side panels at 45cm high and 33cm deep, joined by a base panel about 4cm off the floor and a top panel that overhangs by 2cm at the front and sides. Add one shelf halfway up so you get two rows of storage. Use 18mm plywood or planed softwood, glue and screw the joints, and fit a 6mm back panel to hold everything square.

A seat height of 45cm suits most adults. Go to 40cm if children are the main users. Keep the depth at 33cm so an adult can sit comfortably without perching. Finish the top with hardwax oil, or upholster a thin foam pad in wipeable fabric and staple it to a loose board that drops on top.

Two of these built at 80cm wide will sit either side of a front door and handle a family’s daily footwear. It is the same logic behind the pieces in our shoe racks and bench UK collection, where seating and storage are combined in one footprint.

Repurposing What You Already Have

Some of the most effective shoe storage is not built from scratch. A few approaches that work:

• Wooden crates: stack them on their sides, screw them together through adjoining walls and fix the top one to the wall for stability. Each crate holds two or three pairs.
• An old blanket box: line the base with a boot tray and it becomes closed storage with a seat on top, much like the modern blanket box UK pieces we sell for exactly this dual purpose.
• A bookcase turned sideways: laid on its back, the shelves become vertical dividers that keep pairs separated. Add a top board so it can be sat on.
• Under stairs voids: a shallow rack on castors that rolls out from the triangle beside the bottom step uses space no cabinet can reach.

Making Vertical Space Work

Floor area is usually the constraint in British halls, so build upwards. A tall narrow tower 40cm wide and 180cm high, with shelves at 18cm spacing, holds around fourteen pairs in a footprint smaller than a kitchen bin. It must be fixed to the wall with brackets, without exception.

Another option is to store shoes on a wall mounted board of angled pegs, which suits flats and heels well. Two dowels set 10cm apart at a slight upward angle will hold a pair by the heel, and a column of these takes almost no depth at all.

Details That Separate Good From Frustrating

Include a drip tray on the lowest level. A simple metal or plastic boot tray keeps grit and rain off the timber and can be lifted out and rinsed. Without it, the base of a homemade unit stains within a season.

Leave the back open or drill vents. Damp shoes in an unventilated box smell quickly and the smell transfers to the timber. Airflow is free and solves it.

Round over sharp edges. Hallways are places where people knock into things while carrying bags. A quick pass with sandpaper on every exposed corner reduces both bruises and chipped paint.

Fix anything tall to the wall. This is not optional in a home with children, and it also stops a loaded rack rocking when someone leans on it to pull a boot off.

When Making Your Own Is Not the Right Call

Homemade storage is excellent for odd sizes, under stairs voids and open racks in utility spaces. It is less compelling when you want a slim closed cabinet with soft closing fronts, a gloss lacquer finish or a tilting mechanism, because those rely on manufactured components and machine precision that are difficult to match at home.

In those cases the sensible route is to build for the awkward space and buy for the visible one. A ready made cabinet handles the entrance, and your own build takes the overflow. Browse the wider modern hallway furniture UK sale range at Furniture in Fashion if you want the two to sit together comfortably.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the easiest shoe storage to make?

Wall fixed battens with loose boards resting on them. There is no carcass to build, no doors to hang, and the shelves can be repositioned in minutes.

How high should shelves be for shoe storage?

Around 18cm for shoes and trainers, 20cm for larger sizes with thick soles, and 32cm for ankle boots stored upright.

What timber should I use?

Birch plywood at 18mm is the most reliable all rounder for shelves and carcasses. Planed softwood suits battens and frames, and it takes paint well.

How do I stop homemade shoe storage from smelling?

Ventilate it, let wet shoes dry before they go in, and use a removable tray on the lowest level so grit and moisture can be cleared out easily.

Can I make shoe storage without power tools?

Yes, if you have your timber cut to size at the merchant. A hand screwdriver, a drill for pilot holes and a set square will handle the rest, though a cordless drill makes the job far quicker.