Finally! Tadaaa! Here it is by popular demand, our hallway shoe cubby!
This is one of the first units I built all by myself. It’s out of MDF like most of our self builds and I primed and painted it white like all our other units. The fact that I did it all myself is proof that anyone can do it. I’m not a carpenter, I just like to make the things I need and want.
The unit it sitting in a nook just to the right after you enter our house so no sides were necessary. If you want to make it a freestanding unit you could easily add sides.
Like with all our other pieces we’ve built around the house I start off by measuring what I need to house. In this case I measured Martins shoes as his are the biggest in size. I then added a little bit to get better proportions and allow for wider winter shoes and boots to fit too.
I decided to go for two rows for low tops and the bottom row for high tops. There are two double height cubbies too. In the winter they house bags or taller boots and in the summer my bag and a basket with flip flops. Two of the cubbies have metal boxes, one for shoe shine and one for umbrellas, cat collars, lint removers etc.
The dimensions of the cubbies are:
Cubby width: 240mm (9 1/2")
Two top row of cubbies height: 155mm (6")
Bottom row of cubbies height: 230mm (9")
Depth of cubbies: 320mm (12 3/4")
Above you can see the side view. It’s a good idea to let the top and base stick out about 18mm (3/4") and to let the shelves stick out about 6 mm (1/4"). This allows for minor measuring mistakes. No one will see that it’s a tiny bit off. It’s so much more difficult to get the exact sides and shelves to fit, at least in our wonky house where there are no perfect angles.
Here you see the way it’s been assembled. I just started building from the bottom up, adding layer by layer. I cut each piece with a circular saw, planed the edges with an electrical plane and smoothed with a mouse sander. If you don’t already own a mouse, get one now! It’s my all time favourite tool. I’m on my second one as I’ve been using it all the time for all my projects, including sanding down the boat. It’s light weight and get into most corners and has a great gel grip.
If I were to build the unit today I would add another layer of MDF to the top to get a chunkier one. Martin added that in the drawings he helped me with. Actually I may add a layer this summer as it needs repainting anyway. When you paint MDF it’s a good idea to sand after the first layer of primer as MDF tends to "fray" a little after getting wet.
To attach the pieces to each other I use these wooden plugs and the marking tool you see above. No screws. You drill a hole in the piece you want to attach. Place the marking tool in the hole. Place the piece with the marking tool against where you want it. Tap the back of the piece so the tool leaves a tiny mark on the opposite piece. You then drill a hole where the tiny mark is.
After you’ve drilled the holes for one piece, two holes where enough per piece in this case, you glue the holes, the plug ends and the edges of the MDF. Tap together with a mallet or hammer and clamp until the glue has dried. You can see the principle in the drawing above the photo.
Good Luck!!
This one’s for Jean who asked to see the coat rack too. We found it in our basement when we moved in. It used to be a standard one found in many homes built in the 30’s and onwards. I love the industrial look of it. They have recently reissued them and in Sweden you used to able to get one at Designtorget. The metal boxes on top are old ones from IKEA, they are the larger of nesting sets. I use the smaller ones below in the cubbies.
I hope today will be better than yesterday, posting- and internet wise, although things started out a little rocky this morning with a power outage. I woke up at 4.30 and realised the alarm clock was out and so was everything else. We got our power back at 6.30 so hopefully it will be smooth sailing the rest of the day.
24 Comments
Thank you so much for that wonderfully detailed description!
Great how-to. Really love it.
It´s a pity I don´t have enough space in the entry of the apartment to manage something similar.
I am in love with all those cubs that are in Wille´s bedroom. I am thinking in making some in my own to put in my bedroom in order to organize jewerly (that is now in the wardrobe). But I have no idea where to start. Could you give some clues to make them and make them strong enough to be able to put a little caktus or so on?
Thanks very much for helping us.
Ibabe from Vitoria (Basque Country-Spain).
oh my gosh – we just ripped that coat rack thingy out because ours is gold and brown. I guess I could spray paint it sliver. I didn’t realize they were such treasures. 🙂
What a great post! Thank you so much for all the trouble of putting it together; you’ve made a terrific job!
I am very impressed with the details. It looks fab. Love the rack too! You can publish a book!
Thank you for the post, as well as for the view of the rack and of the adorable window. Now I’ve got to take some measurements and get to work!
Lindzi is absolutely right – you could (and should) publish a book with your wonderful storage ideas!
I’m interested in finding out in future posts how your “day job” inspires your home projects and vice versa. Or if something else entirely inspires your projects at both work and at home.
I agree with Lindzi and Jean. I love your blog and if you brought out a book I would definitely buy it.
I wish I had enough space in my tiny hall for a shoe cubby like yours. You have given me so many ideas for renovating my house though – thanks 🙂
Awesome how-to. I love this idea and may try to construct one myself.
Your blog is a pleasure to browse too. Wondeful projects everywhere you turn.
This tutorial is *fabulous*. I get so intimidated by projects like this, but you’ve actually given me enough info to consider doing it myself! And the visual inspiration, which is often lacking on DIY sites ;-).
Great set of instructions, thanks for sharing 🙂
Looks great! And it holds a lot of shoes. Goodie! 🙂
This is so inspiring, thank you!
this may sound stupid but is there another name for those wooden plugs? because i can’t find it anywhere.. thanks!
jenny, they do seem to be called wood plugs or possibly wood dowels. There’s another kind which is flat and those are called joinery biscuits. You can read more here:
http://www.squidoo.com/wooddowels
Not sure if anyone is that interested, but i achieved a similar, if nowhere near a polished an effort as the above using a couple of Ikea Expedit bookcases…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35014715@N06/3246726415/
How much did the shoe cubby come out to?
In the end with the additional top that we just added we used 1 1/2 sheets of MDF board + paint, wood glue and plugs. Total cost approx. USD 95.
What a great tip
Hi
Your website is great! I’ve learnt loads already.
I have a question regarding the shoe cubby. How did you build the base? From the diagram it looks as though there are only two pieces to it. Is it therefore attached to the skirting board?
Thanks
Yes, it rests on the skirting board.
A huuge Thank You for spreading the word about the guide pins!!!!
I just remodeled a table using wooden dowels, and I made sure to get those guide thingies first.
I’ve never made anything with dowels before, and it took 2 visits to different shops to find the guide pins, but it was worth it. It made it so much easier to drill corresponding holes. When I assembled the table afterwards, and everything fitted perfectly, I was both happily surprised and ridiculously proud.
I’m very new to working with wood, so I have to ask, what does MDF stand for?
Awesome tutorial btw, I love the drawn diagrams!
It’s Medium Density Fibreboard. Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard
I still don’t understand the base. Is it propped up at an angle?