DIY: Rental Approved Shoe Rack

Living in a rental can suck sometimes, especially when you cannot make things your own. The struggle is REAL with our current rental. L...


Living in a rental can suck sometimes, especially when you cannot make things your own. The struggle is REAL with our current rental. Lately, I have been feeling the urge to just bite the bullet and buy a home. I know my kids are ready and as of recently the mister has been feeling the strain. We completely have out grown our 1640 square foot home. We have a lack storage and currently our "hoard room" or "junk room" as my 5 year old daughter would say is spilling into the upstairs hall. I will admit, I am a furniture/home decor hoarder...I have a furniture addiction and I will address it and make it known...haha!....but anyways, doesn't everyone have that one room or closet that they throw "stuff" into? 

In our home, we take our shoes off and the one thing I absolutely cannot stand is when I see a pile of shoes gathered by the front door. Just seeing it makes me cringe. We used to have a hall tree that sat in our foyer, but we had a hard time keeping it organized, there weren't any shelves to put shoes on. It was literally a mess, so I decided to create a makshift shelf that requires NO holes in the wall. 


Materials: 
2-Cinder blocks
20-Bricks
5-OSB Shelves cut to size or use scrap wood or particle board shelves

Steps: 
1. Place cinder blocks on floor, either long ways or upright. This shelf is going in my foyer in between two walls (so the cinder blocks do not fall) and I placed the cinder blocks on each end of my shelf next to the wall. 
2. Place cut wood shelf on top of cinder blocks. 
3. Stack 2 bricks on each side of shelf. 
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until shelf is at desired height. 
5. On my last shelf, I used thicker and heavier scrap wood as my top so that I can place decorative items on it. 

Cost: 
Approximately $20.

Time:
Shopping and putting together- About an hour



My foyer in my rental is oddly shaped and very narrow, so the span of my shelf is pretty small measuring 36 inches wide. I know that the cinder blocks and brick takes up square footage, but...I need this. Unfortunately, I am unable to hang shelves in this area and I could not find a premade shelf that I liked and was already the size that I needed for this space..

I chose to go with OSB wood because it is super inexpensive and since my shelf span is small it won't and should not bow in the middle. After I put the shelf together, I draped (Stapled in place) a homemade console table skirt over it and called it a day. 


The end product is truly breath of fresh air and I love how the shoes are hidden.  My foyer feels so much cleaner, I love it.  

You Might Also Like

52 comments

  1. What a great idea for a shoe rack for rentals or even if you just don't want to mess up your wall.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is so simple and it effortlessly hides the shoes out of sight! Great idea :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, those shoes were getting on my nerves and it is much easier for the kids to organize. What you do not see is at the bottom is a box/basket of some sort that can be pulled out with the kids shoes...it makes our life so much easier!

      Delete
  3. I love this idea! 'Out of sight, out of mind!'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, my whole point! Thanks so much for stopping by Heather!

      Delete
  4. Wow great idea for a rental. And I love that you made it look cuter by hiding it behind a cute lil curtain.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is brilliant!! I would've never thought to use bricks as a means to create shelving for shoes, but it's perfect! Good luck on getting your new home soon!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Lately, I have been looking at homes...I am slowly trying to persuade the mister, I even got him to agree to go and look at some homes with me, so we will see.

      Delete
  6. Oh! What a great idea. I'm going to have to try this in our new home for all my shoes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should give it try, just remember, my makeshift shelf is in-between two walls. I would not put this out in the open with no support on the back and side. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  7. what a great solution! Yes, rental living can be frustrating and it wears on you quickly especially when you've got a family!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Justine! Yes, I am feeling the struggle...especially now...It has been a crazy ride living in our rental>>we only planned on living here for one year, we have been here for three.

      Delete
  8. Shoes can be so tough! This is a fantastic solution!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a great idea - so nice to have shoes organized!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Meg. It IS nice to have things organized.

      Delete
  10. I love DIY Projects! Great idea! Thank you for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Rentals can be so hard cause you are dying to make them your own but know you will never get the money back out of it! But this is a great idea and use of the space. And I love that you put the fabric over it and styled the top. You would never know it's the home to tons of shoes! Well done girl! xox

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so right Christine....I have done a lot to this place...and I know I will not see a return, it is a bummer...but someone has to do it. Thanks for your kind words!

      Delete
  12. That is such a great idea! I feel like I am always looking for complicated and permanent ideas for my home. But, the simplicity of this is perfection!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great idea! It is harder to do things when you are renting and who wants to spend a ton of money on a rental also! This is great because it is affordable and very useful! You could even paint the boards to create a nicer finish! I love how you placed the blanket in front of it to hide the shoes, I love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yep, you are right. I thought about painting but it would have been extra work. lol!

      Delete
  14. I'm so about this. Sadly the boyfriend would not be… Someday I will have a shoe shelf!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is funny...All girls need a shoe shelf>>>you got to tell him that!

      Delete
  15. Great idea for a rental! I really love this idea :D

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love how you created this! And yes, we remove our shoes in our home too. I never understood why people walk in their homes with their shoes on... it tracks in dirt and all the scum from the outside public! Eew.

    But back to your post, this is by far the easiest diy shoe rack I've seen. High five!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ashlyn and High Five right back at you. I totally feel you about the walking in your house with your shoes on.

      Delete
  17. What a smart idea!! Great use of space!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love this! It is inexpensive and easy to do. We take our shoes off at the door too. I think it can be use in a home someone is buying too if they do not want to mess up their wall.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great use of space! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Genius! Having workable storage solutions makes such a difference in homes! I dream about living in a small sq ft house -- so I'm always looking up ways to make the best use of space. I wonder if this would be easy to paint too?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It should be easy to paint or you can buy a sheet of plywood and have the home improvement store cut it and paint those...I am thinking with OSB, you will probably see all the little wood chip lining. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  21. I think I'm going to steal this idea for my garage. I really want some shelves in there, but don't want to invest in my rental home. These would be perfect for storing all our little holiday boxes and totes of outgrown clothes. And we have bricks laying around to save even more money. This is genius!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you can try, but I would use a stronger wood, just cinder blocks (since they are deeper, wider, and taller than brick) and put center support...just in case. Please do note that I have my shelf located in between 2 walls with back wall support. Good luck on your DIY...please do let me know how it turns out. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  22. This is such a creative idea. I love how you have hidden your shoes and love the way its hidden.

    ReplyDelete
  23. That's such a great idea! Rentals can be frustrating in that way!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I had a junk room that I just cleaned out not too long ago. I wonder how long it will stay clean lol. The shelf was a great idea to get rid of the clutter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I clean my junk room every other month and I can NEVER get it to stay clean...it drives me crazy, especially since I have to trek everything upstairs to where it is located.

      Delete
  25. Love how decluttered this looks and has a streamlined way of storing shoes. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Emily! I love the look and so far, no shoes have been spewing off of the shelf and onto the ground.

      Delete