Ikea Hack: STRIPA Shoe Rack

Make a simple but elegant shoe rack from Ikea shelves. Shoes float out from the wall, and their own weight keeps them in the minimal looking rack.

I really like the J-Me metal shoe rack that works in the same way as this one, but I want a few of these and the J-Me ones cost 50 GBP each. Home made ones I've seen made with planks and shelf brackets all look a bit ugly, but using a few of these pre-shaped Ikea shelves is more aesthetically pleasing, uses fewer components, and costs about 8 GBP.

Stuff you will need:
Two Ikea Stripa shelves (About 4 pounds each)
Screws
Rawl plugs

Tools (not all shown)
Pencil
SD card (or something of a similar width)
Saw
Clamps

Hammer drill
Pokey thing (Bradawl or thin screwdriver, for marking the wall through holes in the shelves)

NOTE: This is completely new, i built it hours before posting this instructable. For all i know, the toes of my shoes might warp after they've been in this for a long time. I take responsibility for my own shoes, but certainly not yours ;)

Step 1: Cut Shelf

Each rack is made out of two Stripa shelves: The bottom one is left intact, the top one is cut to about 2/3 its normal depth and mounted upside down above the first.

I did this very quickly and dirtily, and it turned out well.

Mark a line to cut on the top shelf. I found an old SD card was just the right width. Clamp it, then cut that mofo!

Don't throw away the offcut, you'll be using it for something in a bit. See notes on the images if you're new to woodworking and need more details.

Step 2: Plane

Use a plane to smooth the rough edge down, then use it to chamfer the inside edge at various angles until it's nice and rounded. You want a smooth edge rather than a hard angle where the upper of your shoes will be pressed against it.

The front of the shelf you cut off just happens to match the size of gap you need between the shelves on the wall (At least, that's the case for my - UK - size 9 and 1/2 shoes). Make some spacer blocks out of it, as shown in the pictures.

Step 3: Fix to Wall

The shelves come pre-drilled and countersunk in two places, so all that remains is to fix them to the wall. If you're going to be putting heavy boots in these, it might be an idea to drill for a third screw in the middle of each.

I found it best to drill the wall and fix one end, then line it up to mark the other hole. Remember to always do it by eye - using a spirit level is precise, but, as I rediscovered while installing this, can lead to very wrong looking results if the floors in your house slope even a tiny bit.

Step 4: Enjoy Floaty Shoes

That's it. It can accommodate various sizes of toe, with small toed shoes fitting between the very back of the two shelves, and large toed boots fitting between the recessed parts that offer a wider opening.

The shelves come with small metal pins and holes pre-drilled for joining them together at the ends, so you could easily run more than one of these along a wall. As it is, I find one of these can take three pairs comfortably, or seven shoes if they're crammed a bit.

Edit: Put a second one up, added some noisy phone camera shots to show it. The edge of the lens makes them look different, but both racks have exactly the same spacing.

Comments

[chollar]

where can you buy the stripa boards

[Nachimir]

Unfortunately, it looks like Ikea have discontinued them. I wanted more but couldn't get them recently. Occasionally, they seem to pop up on ebay second hand.

[anglii]

anglii says:
RE what: steelydanphan says:
"Nice idea! I'll add one tweak to this. The shoes should be tilted down from the wall, with a drip pan/rug beneath to catch any melting snow".

Using the Strapa shelves by Ikea wouldn't allow for a downward angle of your shoes unless you cut an angle into the back of the shelves with a table saw. Make sure both shelves have the same angles cut but on opposite ends if you are turning the top shelf upside down. I would also drill some drain holes into the bottom shelf so that water doesn't pool on the shelves.

Wonder how these shelves and your shoes have held up over the years Nachimir.

[Nachimir]

Most of the shoes have been replaced, but the shoe racks are still there. They\'re in good condition, as I don't put wet shoes on them.

[anglii]

Thanks Nachimir,

What about the toes of the shoes that you store in the "Nachimir rack"? You were worried about them bending.

[Nachimir]

Pleased to report there's been no toe damage at all. Polished shoes keep their finish and soft ones don't seem to deform under their own weight.

[Whatnot]

You know ikea sells various kinds of shoeholders ready-made both the cheaper and expensive kinds, I don't see the point of this I'm sorry to say, but if people like to make this, and other responses seem to indicate they do, then it's still a good submission though.

[craig3]

Isn't that kind of the point of instructables though? Sure you COULD just buy one but where is the joy, the thrill, the love of making it yourself and the pride of showing off your work? Its a D.I.Y website after all, and the majority of the guides on here can be done by just buying the things straight out anyway, but that isnt fun

[Nachimir]

They don't sell ones like this though, and this was the kind I wanted.

[steelydanphan]

Nice idea! I'll add one tweak to this. The shoes should be tilted down from the wall, with a drip pan/rug beneath to catch any melting snow. I also have limited room. It'll be mounted just above a heat register so that'll speed the melt/dry process. Love it!

[X-Tremo]

Nice job men. I really like it :) But i guess my GF wont so her heels wont fit there :p

[SinAmos]

I kind of like, but I just this recently with a bar.

[cmmc]

I like it - makes it easier to clean if boots and shoes are already up off the floor - especially in our messy Canadian winters - wish Lifehacker had featured this back in October!

[claudiapatx]

This is really cool. I've been looking for a way to get my husbands shoes off the floor. This is perfect! Very unique idea. Great job! Now you need to make one that would work for woman's dress shoes!

[LinuxH4x0r]

Genius. Wouldn't work for me, but I really like the concept

[firegardeneve]

cool idea. But you'd have put similar kinds of shoes on each shelf because of the height restriction. For example, I couldn't make a shelf to put both sports shoes and ballet flats.. but i guess that's why you would have multiple shelves of different heights to accomodate that :) Im just jealous I didn't think o fthis before you did.

[Nachimir]

Heh, yes, I've put two up there now, one above the other with a decent gap between them. The lower one is for boots and chunky shoes, the upper one for shoes.

I kinda nicked the idea from j-me a long time ago :)
http://www.j-me.co.uk/products-buy/shoe-rack.php

it was only when I saw those ikea shelves that I realised I could make an aesthetically pleasing home made one.

[codongolev]

cool. it's like they're floating!!

[Thornburg]

I thought that too

[shooby]

Yep, this is pretty cool. I'd probably try to make it from pine clapboard or something, might be cheaper (I buy 3/4" x 6" x 10' pine boards for $10 US (damn city hardware store prices), so that's a good amount of shelving for 5 GBP. Im guessing those shelves are about 80cm long?

[pharmer1]

Very cool. I wish I had an Ikea in my home town. This is similar to the one I made:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Floating-Shoe-Rack/

[shooby]

Maybe they have some wood in your home town...

[ZeroTruths]

haha. That's kinda neat. Tho... wouldn't just be easier to put them on the ground? (Bah. Look at me. This is Instructables. It's not good if it's simple :P)

[Nachimir]

It would be, but at the moment I keep more than three pairs of shoes there. I'm going to have a couple of racks, one above the other. Plus, I like making shoes look like they're floating ;)

[Thornburg]

Looks clean, nice job and good work.