This simple to build homemade shoe rack fits perfectly into most bedroom closets. Made from inexpensive lumber it goes together quickly and will last for years.

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This DIY project comes to you courtesy of our teenage son.

For months (or longer) our oldest daughter has been asking for a shoe rack for her closet. After moving into her new room she was even more excited to get something to organize her new closet. She was out of town for a couple of days and her awesome brother decided to tackle the project as a surprise for her when she got back.

Homemade Shoe Rack

Here are the end results.

He made a nice shoe rack designed to fit perfectly in the closet. It is made to easily hold 18 pairs of shoes which is still barely enough space for our 20 something daughter!

He based his design off this little old shoe rack that I made years ago to put our muddy shoes on at the back door.

As you can see he really improved it! The vertical legs are made from 2 x 4’s ripped on the table saw to 1 1/2 inches.

Homemade Shoe Rack Materials Used

Homemade Shoe Rack Cut List:

Rip an eight foot 2×4 to create two 1-1/2 inch square pieces
Cut the 1-1/2 inch pieces into four 36 inch pieces and two 24 inch pieces
Rip pieces of 1 x 6-inch stock into 1-1/4 inch wide pieces
Cut the 1-1/4 inch pieces you will need twelve 40 inch pieces and four 18 inch pieces
You will also need 14 more 1-1/4 inch pieces that are 9 inches long for the supports

Putting it together

The horizontal cross members are made from 1×4’s ripped to 1-1/4 inches on the table saw. Use a router and a 1/8 inch round over bit to round over all the edges.

Assemble using 1-1/4 inch brad nails, a brad nailer and wood glue. It went together pretty quickly using the nailer once all the parts were cut. The biggest part of the job was all that routing. Don’t skip the wood glue! All the pieces should have wood glue applied to them before they are nailed. Without the glue, this project won’t hold together.

It’s was really fun to see him do this project. The design and nearly all the work were his own. The only thing I helped him with was the cutting on the table saw (table saws are pretty dangerous, I figure if the school shop teacher doesn’t trust 15-year-olds with a table saw, I shouldn’t either). It was a pretty great way for a bored 15-year old to spend a summer afternoon. I guess that woods class he took this year at school is really paying off!!

Of course, his sister hurried and put her new homemade shoe rack right in her closet! It looks great!

2018 Updated – I found this old post about this fun DIY homemade show rack and thought I’d freshen it up and bit and give you an update. The rack has now been in use for 5 years (it’s 2018) and is still going strong. It has held together well and I think that is because of the combination of the brad nails and the wood glue. If we had skipped the wood glue I’m sure it wouldn’t have held together as it has. Wood glue is amazing stuff!!