Sneaker Heads Rejoice

If you don’t already know, some of us can be very fanatical about our shoe game. Many enjoy a nice pair of handcrafted leather shoes, other’s enjoy rocking 6-inch heels. In New York most of my friends grew up wearing Timberlands and Jordans. And just as trendy as the shoes are, so is the proper way display and store them.

This brings us to one of our favorite custom orders. The Sneaker Head inside me was excited to make this GIANT Sneaker storage box. The customer wanted to fit approximately 16 pairs of sneakers, and wanted the box to have a floating look (so you can’t see the legs).  I’ve seen similar themes on Pinterest and YouTube, and happily accepted the order. After all, we’ve been wanting to try something like this for quite a while. 

How We Did It

So here’s how we made ours. First, I sketched some renderings and took measurements.  Based on the shoe size of the recipient (this was a gift for our Recruiting Station Commanding Officer) we calculated the inside and outside dimensions.

Then, I decided on the hardware such as hinges, lift supports, drawer slides and wood/stock material to use. We opted to work with Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) as it would have a very smooth finish and would be relatively easy to work with.

Finishing Touches

MDF is nice and smooth, but you can’t get it wet. Doing so turns the box into wet cardboard. So yeah, we protected ours by applying a few coats of Oil-Based Primer and multiple coats of a water-based top coat.

We wanted to make the shelf and inside of the drawer to look like cardboard, so we merely clear-coated the inside with polyurethane. This will prevent damage to the box, should some wet sneakers be stored inside.

After putting the box together and making sure it was square, we began playing with some stencils and hand-painting the box. We had a few nights where we went to bed at 1-2am in order to meet the deadline.

Here’s a gallery showing some pictures of the finished product!

The final box measures 27″ wide, 27″ tall and 48″ long. This thing is HUGE! Don’t need something that big?

Smaller Version, Giant Sneaker Box Medium

We also created a smaller Sneaker Box, perfect for approximately 6 pairs of adult shoes, and twice as many kid sizes. Of course, the size of the sneakers will vary, but the box measurements are 24″ x 13″ by 15″ tall.

We are proud to say we’re now offering this unfinished box, as it makes the perfect fit for the #DIY lover. You can finish the box to your taste. If you want a completed box however, contact us and place an order for a completed box!

Here’s a YouTube video of the box opening and closing.

Want to make your own? Stay tuned, we’ll be making our plans available for purchase soon. Want to order a kit (an unfinished box you can put together yourself and paint), or order a completed box? Stay tuned! We’ll be making that available for you soon!

If you made or purchased this, what shoes or items would you store inside yours? Comment below or hit us up on social media!

Thanks for sharing, and as always,

Happy crafting!