.pallet project [shoe rack]

I brought home a shipping pallet from work several several months ago with the intention of doing this project I found on Pinterest...

However, after I got it home I realized that the wall I wanted to hang it on wasn't flat, and the way I wanted to hang it wouldn't work.  I toyed around with putting it on the wall behind my bed, but couldn't shake the image of it falling on me in myyy sleep!  So this thing has just been hanging out with no purpose in my foyer.  [Sidenote: I live in a loft style apartment overlooking the downtown business district.  I have a large marble staircase that leads up to my apartment.  At the top of the marble staircase is a large foyer before you enter the actual apartment.  My apartment is the only one up here, so the foyer is mine to do with as I please.  I felt like you needed this visual as I describe this project.]  I've just had it on the floor leaned up against a wall.  I've tried adding frames to it like the above picture, but leaving it leaned against the wall.  In the end, I didn't like it.  

I'm in the middle of my Spring Cleaning prep && organization, so I told myself I HAAAD to find a use for this pallet or I was going to purge it.  Well, I found a purpose...

Now keep in mind this is still a work in progress.  I'm going to stain it to match the wood trim in the foyer.  My foyer is about 10ftx10ft, so I have plenty of room for this pallet.  This will also help my family keep their shoes out of the apartment, for a cleaner home.  I'm pretty pleased with the idea.  I'm using the pallet for something actually functional and not just for decor.  I've already declared 2014 as the year of the "purge".  I have toooo much stuff... So being able to use this for something actually useful fits right in with my purge plan.  I was able to throw away the ugly over the door shoe organizer that no one used because it was in another room out of sight.  I threw it away because I truly didn't have any other purpose for it.  After I came up with the idea for using the pallet as a shoe rack, I searched "pallet shoe rack" on Pinterest, && apparently lots of people have had the same idea!  It was fun looking through what other people have done with theirs.

I'll keep you updated on the project as I finish things up with it!

xo Emilee