I am moving out of home within the next couple of months so I have been buying loads of goodies to fill my new home with - nobody wants to move empty handed! One of the main items I decided would be handy was a shoe rack. At home we keep our shoes under the stairs - in a flat this isn't a luxury and I don't fancy having them scattered around the house.

Shoe racks in my opinion are a very good invention! I hate the mess without one! I was incredibly shocked when for £4.99 I managed to buy a shoe rack from Argos! I did actually buy two to stack though because I have lots of pairs of shoes.

The rack is Argos Value and made from pine wood. The rack comes with all the bits to fit it together properly and is flat packed so easy to get home without needing a huge car. You can fit (according to the website) 6 pairs of shoes on the rack, but I find that I can fit 4/5 on each shelf depending on the shoe (flat pumps fit more than boots).

When it comes to assembling the product, it couldn't be easier! There is an instructions sheet inside the box with the shelves, legs and screws. The instructions are really easy to follow and all you need to do is screw the legs to each shelf, then use the little pegs they give you to secure the top legs to the shelf above. I shouldn't really have built it up yet but I wanted to make it so its ready to move in (its also currently holding all of my shoes in my bedroom in preparation).

In the catalogue it does say the shelfing is 'unfinished, ready to paint or varnish - or leave alone'. I did buy this with the intention of painting it so this is what I did. I brought standard dark brown paint as this is the wood I am having throughout the living room (I don't have a hal way) so obviously it needed to match. I used a standard paintbrush and covered the floor with newspaper then got to work.

The wood stained well and the paint dried quickly which I wasn't expecting! The shelving now looks gorgeous and you cannot tell it used to be another colour unless you saw me buy it (I have also drapped a table runner over the top so it looks prettier - Everything is crafted in my home!).

The shelving is very sturdy and when wet shoes are put on it, it doesn't seem to show signs of damp (but then I have no idea how long this would take to show). I think for the price they are excellent quality! I wouldn't have thought they would look as good for under a fiver, and they may not even last very long but for now they will do.

I do actually think the shelving could have other uses but at the moment mine is purely for shoes. I managed to fit two very low sided boxes underneath for flip flops too which I was pleased about!

It isn't the most appealing to look at, but with a bit of paint and creation you could make it something special like I have. In honesty for £4.99 you're never going to get the most beautiful shoe rack but then I'd say practicality comes before looks anyway.

I would recommend this product to anyone looking for a cheap shoe storing option! It could be easily built in about 5 minutes and doesn't cause any hassle. It has only been in my possesion for a couple of weeks but it is holding up well and hasn't shown any signs of breaking yet.

The dimentions of the shelving (if you only buy one of the 2 shelf racks):
Height: 34cm
Width: 70cm
Depth: 26cm