Adding Shoe Storage By The Door: a house log

We could not do all of this work in the laundry area and simply ignore our sloppy shoe situation. Since the side door into our laundry room is our most-used entrance, it is also the dumping ground for most of our footwear (since we try to keep shoes off in the house). Up until now, our “storage solution” has been a shallow woven basket from Bed Bath & Beyond about five years ago (that and a pile next to it – not pictured, because I do not want to ruin the illusion that we are not complete animals).

This system in fact worked fine at the old house since the basket stayed in the sunroom, where it sort of fit the casual feel of the room. Plus, when it overflowed it did not create a tripping hazard on our way out the door or to the washer since that was a much larger space.

But since we are now dealing with a 3’5″ wide room, we realized we needed something with a more “organized” vibe, like this low-cost-o shoe shelf for all shoes for cross country running that once lived in Clara’s closet at our first house (originally snagged at Target a while back).

It was not bad (especially if we had taken the time to notch out the back to fit around the baseboards). But it was not strong, either. Why? Well, we seem to have a mini Carrie Bradshaw on our hands thanks to Clara, so shoes frequently become playthings and end up looking more like this:

That is when we agreed that concealed storage was what we needed to be hunting for.

There are plenty of good options out there for shoe cabinets, it seems. Ikea even has a few distinct versions to choose from. But everything was too wide (we only have 24″ to work with) or too tall (we’d did not want it going higher than the window sill so it would look pleasant and streamlined since the built-ins we brought in lined up with the sill as well).

After a few other stores were a bust too, we contemplated using a plan from ana-white.com to custom build something (she has remarkable and fully free furniture walkthroughs for those not in the know). But before we went out and picked up a ton of lumber and worried about building something that could stand up to everyday slamming, Roberta saved the day with this comment about affordable and ready-made Ikea recycling bins that might simply do the trick:

Yup, she kindly introduced us to Retur, who we met in person on a recent trip to Ikea. We liked him so much that we came home with him and his twin brother (at $19 a piece).

It hadn’t come up in our search results because, as Roberta noted, they are technically “recycling bins” but are coincidentally designed simply like a shoe cabinet. Plus, their 23.5″ width made them a IDEAL fit for our 24″ space. That was sufficient for us to overlook that they:

1. were not bright white (they still read as white in the room, and we are not truly die-hard about all of our white tones matching perfectly anyway)
2. were plastic (wood might have been pleasant, but Sherry pointed out that something wipe-able, less precious, and virtually ding/scratch proof might be good for shoes anyway)

Another little detail that we did our best to overlook: between the two of them they only came with one screw to hang them. Yup, somebody must have been daydreaming about swedish meatballs on the Ikea assembly line or something.

But after digging out some of my own screws, they were a cinch to install (four screws/anchors per piece through pre-made holes in the back). We were in business in practically no time (for those who in fact want a time breakdown it was likely fifteen minutes total). And so far Clara has not so much as touched them once (I think the lack of knobs to pull on has her stumped for now).

The most remarkable part is that not only was the width ideal, but the height was nearly too good to be true. When the two stacked units were placed right on top of our baseboard the top was perfectly flush with the window sill. We still cannot believe it. And there was about a centimeter of breathing room on either side (so it looks pleasant and intentionally centered between the door and the sill).

So now that whole wall is nearly like one seamless shelf thanks to the window sill that visually connects the ones I built to our new shoe cabinets (which are all on the same exact level). And I should not fail to mention that although they are made for recyclables, they store shoes quite nicely too (including room for some frequently-used pairs to be stashed underneath).

In short, we are thrilled – and eternally grateful to Roberta The Perfectly Timed Commenter. The rooms feels sooooo much more organized without a mess of sandals and running shoes waiting to greet us. And the Returs are so danged narrow (they only stick out six inches beyond the door frame) that the room in fact feels more open than it did with the more invasive basket or stacked shelf options that we had going on before.

Eventually we are thinking that we might do something to gussy them up a bit more – perhaps paint them or cover the fronts/top with decorative paper (or even grasscloth wallpaper or colorful labels) but we want to wait for the rest of the room to come together before doing anything that could end up being “too busy” in the end. You know, since the whole space is only about as wide as a bathroom stall, as demonstrated by my monkey-toed self in this photo from a few weeks back (so not every item in the small space has to scream “look at me!”):

Speaking of the rest of the room, here is our nearly-totally-crossed-off laundry room list:

• Paint the odd brown quarter round near the baseboards glossy white
  
• Redo all the dinged up trim (also in semi-gloss white)
• Paint the walls
• Replace our dryer hose with a safer all-metal one
• Add adjustable built-in shelving in that nook next to the stacked washer & dryer
• Prime & paint the upper cabinetry
• Replace the hinges and knobs on those upper cabinets
• Hang the ironing board to obscure the giant metal fuse box
• Get a new light fixture <- we will be back to share our homemade clothespin chandelier tomorrow morning
• Add a window treatment (perhaps a homemade one?) <— might simply frost it when we convert the carport to a garage
• Add other functional storage near the door for shoes, Burger’s leash, etc
• Hang some art to keep it cheerful
  

Now it your turn. What is your go-to shoe storage solution? Did you repurpose something like a basket, bin, ottoman, or cabinet? Or do your kicks typically end up somewhere they are not supposed to? Does your baby throw them in all directions while screaming shoooooooooo, shoooooooooo!? It cannot simply be ours that does that…