Budget Back Door Shoe Rack

by Mimi

Skill Level: Newbie
Time Needed: 4 hrs total (it's all about watching paint dry- so plan on letting things go overnight to ensure it's good and dry)

The need for this project popped up due to all the "man" sized shoes that accumulate at my back door in my kitchen.  And since I don't have a mud room yet (hint, hint), I need to keep this high traffic area clear from shoe debris.  In winter it seems that all people in my house try to keep most of their shoes in this area. But we have a small area and that is simply NOT possible. So my solution (which I think is being VERY generous) is that you can keep a pair of boots and one other pair of shoes in this area. 
One day while estate sale-ing with my co-conspirator Megan, we came across some wire magazine racks, 2 for $.50! Now these are not petite magazine racks they are about 21" long by 12"wide and about 5" depth (at the widest part).  Which is perfect for me because the smallest shoes that go in them are mine (sigh). Did I mention that my 9 yr old's foot is my size?

Let's jump in and get started.

Materials needed:

• wire magazine racks
• spray paint (I used hammered silver by Rustoleum)
• Wire brush or sand paper (meant for metal)
• paper towels or work cloth and water
• drill & drill bits
• screwdriver
• Level, pencil
• ClosetMaid 1770 Support Bracket Clips (wall mounting for drywall)
• 10x12 plastic tarp

Directions:

1. Start by taking the racks and seeing where you are going to position them on the wall. Take pencil and make marks where they will hang.
2. Use level and draw line from 1st hole to 2nd hole making sure that the line is indeed "level," by using your level to draw the line between the 2 holes. Make sure you have adequate space between the 2 racks for the shoes to fit.**ClosetMaid suggests 12 inches between brackets but on ours it is 7".
3. Next take wire brush (or your sandpaper) and gently scrape at any rusty areas.  We are not going to be too worried about the rust here just want good prep so the paint will adhere to the surface of the rusted out parts. **If these are brand new and you just want a different color, no sanding necessary just skip to step 5 (most of your paints have primer in them now anyway).
4. Take paper towel and dampen. Wipe the surface of all your pieces and let dry.
5. Lay racks on tarp.  I like to prop mine up a bit on pieces of old 2x4s so I can get around and see different angles while I’m spraying.
6. Spray the racks evenly.  At first the previous color of the rack will show through a bit.  Wait to semi-dry before 2nd coat.
7. While you are waiting drill your holes for your securing brackets and gently tap them into place.
8. Time for your 2nd and 3rd coats of spray paint. You want to ensure that your racks are well saturated with paint and that there is no drippage or unevenness. Let dry for a overnight and depending on the temperature.  (if it is cool out it will take much longer to dry)
9. Once dry, hang the racks on the support brackets and start cleaning up those shoes!

Noteworthy:

I noticed that during winter the shoe racks accumulated hats and mittens too.  Which is fine because I mainly just want to keep the back door area clean and tidy.
After I had finished this project I went and looked at reviews of the support brackets by ClosetMaid and there were some mixed reviews.  If you are concerned that your shoes or items are too heavy you can:
Remove the nail/tack out of the bracket and saw off the plastic back wall insert and use regular screw type "mollys" to anchor in the drywall.  
Mine have been fine and have been up since November so I will keep you posted though if anything changes.
Now go be Experimental DIY-ers!