This Brilliant Shoe Storage Hack Repurposes A Common Bedroom Item

Shoe racks are often too small to accommodate the amount of footwear you want to store on them, leading to an overflowing mess of shoes right by the front door. Though it's a bit unconventional, an old headboard might just be the entryway shoe storage idea that'll keep chaos in check. While many modern headboards are simply flat, some versions, such as waterbed and bookcase headboards, are designed with shelves or compartments to store items at the top of the bed. By making adjustments to one of these headboards and setting it by your front door or in your closet, you'll create functional storage that can hold more shoes than your rack.

Since this common thrift store find doubles as a smart shoe storage solution, you can complete your project on a budget by searching for a used headboard or upcycling one you already have. This unique DIY is versatile and can be completed in different ways, depending on the headboard you're working with, the amount and size of your shoes, and where you want to keep your storage solution. 

For example, if you have a lot of boots and high heels, try looking for a headboard with taller shelves or deep cabinets to fit these shoes. With larger collections, bigger headboards can help you keep all your footwear together and organized, while smaller headboards will add organization to more limited spaces. 

For folks with tons of shoes that are always falling everywhere, wooden waterbed headboards are a great choice, and you can even install extra shelves to give you room for more footwear. In the space between the legs of the headboard that go on either side of the bed, screw in an additional board of wood to add another shelf. 

With headboards that have a flat bottom piece, you can take this off and move it up to act as another shelf. Alternatively, cutting off a portion of the legs will give you a shorter shoe rack with an open bottom, allowing you to place footwear on the floor beneath it. This works well with cabinet headboards, giving you a hidden spot for shoes inside as well as underneath. When cutting parts of a wooden headboard, you'll need to sand it smooth.

If you are searching for a way to keep footwear organized in small spaces, smaller headboards are perfect and could even double as a little bench. With wooden headboards that have a flat top with compartments below, completely removing the legs or bottom portion lets you craft a bench with cubby storage to neatly hold your shoes. Once you've cut to adjust the size or added shelves to your headboard, consider painting or staining it to match your decor.