Tuck Shoes Out Of Sight With This Easily Customizable DIY Storage Solution
If you have a strict "no walking around the house in outside shoes" policy, you might have tried creating a neat way to store shoes by the entryway. Some folks will add a basket, shoe rack, or a bench with storage by the front door to organize their shoes, but the footwear doesn't always make it inside. Then you end up with a cluttered entryway for the entire day. And the shoes still look messy even if they make it into the storage baskets.
One of the best ways to store your shoes in plain sight is by DIYing a hidden drawer in the entryway. A hidden-drawer space keeps your shoes out of sight, and you don't have to worry about tripping over them when you get home. Of course, if you have younger kids, it will take some time for them to learn where their shoes go. TikTok user @the_ideadad installed a push-drawer slide underneath his entryway cabinet for this purpose. The drawer instantly slides out with a push, and fits up to six pairs of shoes. DIYing a customizable shoe drawer for your entryway does require a cabinet with an opening underneath to put the drawer, or you could always remove the base to create a space where the drawer will fit. A few materials you'll need are a measuring tape, a nail gun, a pencil, a saw, three or four wood boards, drawer slides from Home Depot, a drill, and screws.
Creating your customizable shoe drawer
Trevor @the_ideadad created a space underneath his entryway cabinet by raising it higher on the wall and removing the kick plate, to give him enough room to build the drawer and fit the shoes inside. You can build the drawer easily if you have a taller cabinet with a wide opening at the bottom. However, if the cabinet is closer to the floor, you'll need to turn it into a floating cabinet. To build the drawer, measure the width and depth of the cabinet space. Then, use the measurements to cut the drawer's sides and base, as the TikToker did. After the wood is cut to size, build the frame, attaching all the sides with a nail gun. Add the slide rails to allow the drawer to slide in and out. Finally, attach the connecting slide rails in the space underneath the cabinet and install the drawer. Fill the drawer with shoes, and you're done!
If there's enough space in your drawer to add a thin mat, it could help to keep the drawer clean. You can wash the mat if it gets dirty, instead of allowing your dirty shoes to stain the base. Further, a tight, enclosed space with shoes worn all day can sometimes cause a foul smell to emit when the drawer is opened, so adding activated charcoal bags or sprinkling baking soda will help absorb any odor. Or, leave a small gap between the drawer and cabinet for ventilation.