This picture pretty much describes what I went through to get this post finished.
For those of you that know me well, you know that "organization" is like a holy word for me. I'm a big fan of the everything-has-an-assigned-place mentality.
Sometimes I take it to an extreme and do things like organize all of our books by genre and size.
This isn't one of those psycho OCD times. Just take a look and you'll agree with me when I say something had to be done!
Welcome to our coat closet. It doesn't matter how careful you are about putting your shoes in... this is always the end result. A big pile of fabric and rubber. It's no bueno. Times ten.
So I took action! We had some particle board in our garage that the hubster saved from the throw-away pile when our neighbor's house was being built. This stuff was the answer to my problems!
But... first things first. We needed to do some measuring. The hubster is 6'3" (and 5/8, if you ask him), so this dude has got some big ole shoes. We picked his biggest pair of shoes, placed them side by side, and measured the length and width. We then used these measurements to figure out how big our shoe rack needed to be.
After a quick run-in with a table saw, we came home with these babies.
We used the screws we had leftover from building his workbench to put them all together.
When we finished one, we held our breath and put his shoes in. It was a perfect fit!
(My father's wise words: Measure twice, cut once. Works every time.)
So, we finished the other one as quick as we could!
Now, I know these are slightly reminiscent of the storage cubes you can buy at Walmart, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc. We considered that option, then decided to make our own. Here's why:
1. We both love building things, so this was a really fun way for us to share one of our common interests! For me, this is a much, much better date than going out to a fancy restaurant.
2. These won't break if they are slid across the floor.
3. These will last longer than a year.
4. The hubster's shoes are huge. Custom was the best way to do this if we wanted them to fit.
5. These can be upcycled from a shoe rack to lots of things, like: storage cubes with baskets, nightstands, toy bins, closet organizers, end tables, bookshelves, etc. We could probably even turn them into planter boxes if we ever decided we wanted them out of the house. But... after seeing how they turned out with the paint, I doubt that will happen. :)
Paint Color: Benjamin Moore: Red
Zooey was jealous for a while because I was paying more attention to the shoe rack than her while taking these pictures. She retaliated by attempting to get in as many of my pictures as possible.
These racks will even tidily fit 2 pair of his shoes if they're stacked on top of each other. Yes!
I'd eventually like to add 3 leather handles to each of these, one on the short side and two on the long side. I'm hoping to find some old leather handles or straps I can bolt on, kinda like this, but more rustic:
Taken from: http://www.essentialaudio.com.au/contents/media/cabinet_fender_leather_raised_handle_brown.png
The original plan was to put the racks in the closet to keep it organized. That's actually where they stayed for the month in between when we built them and when we painted them. The thought was, we could use them to keep our stuff organized, then when we had company over we could pull them out for guests to put their shoes on.
Problem is, when I brought them in and set them up for pictures, I decided I really liked them out where that glorious red color could be seen! So, we'll spend a couple weeks trying to find a good place for them out in the open that isn't a trip hazard. They'll probably end up back in the closet, but not before I admire them for a while first. :)
THIS. IS. AWESOME.
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