DIY Minimalist Shoe Rack

This whole project came about because we have no room in our house, and shoes always seem to have nowhere to go. So the idea is to design a narrow, space saving, piece that can hold a bunch of shoes, and that looks good at the same time.

This is a basic project, using pine and some thin plywood. I began with measuring out how much space I wanted in between each pair of shoes and what angle to use.

To hold the shelves in... grooves made on the router.

So I first made a little jig to follow and then routed grooves on an angle, then a short horizontal line, and then a long groove in the back for the backing piece.

For the shelves I used some 1/4 inch plywood that I cut up on the table saw and using a cross cut sled. I cut up the main shelves as well as some smaller backing pieces to fit.

Once all the pieces were cut up, I first did a dry fit which revealed the back piece was a touch too wide, so after trimming that I was ready to assemble. I glued all the bigger shelves as well as the short back shelves and the larger backing and set everything up with some clamps for drying.

Next, gluing and nailing in the top and bottom piece to secure.

I always like when you add an architectural detail which is what I'm calling this top piece,which is simply a slightly larger 1/4 inch plywood piece to fit over the pine top and bottom. It adds a bit of dimension, however it's such a simple concept.

To cover the edge of the plywood on the shelves we cut up some thin strips of pine that were glued and stapled in place.

Finally some sanding to get everything nice and smooth, and for a finish I ended up using a whitewash on the entire piece and then shellac for some extra protection.

For a much better perspective, make sure to watch the video that goes over the various steps of the build.