Creative Ways to Display and Store Your Shoe Collection
If the shoe fits, then make sure you store it (and the other one!) carefully. Think accessible, ordered and eye-catching, too
If your answer to shoe storage is to kick them off and shove them under the bed, it’s time for an intervention! Even a humble trainer or simple pump deserves a proper home and you don’t need to be Imelda Marcos to set aside space for dedicated footwear storage. The benefits are huge. Your shoes stay in good condition and you can easily spot and access the pair you want to wear. Stack them in labelled boxes, colour coordinate them or hang them on open rails - it’s up to you. Here are a few ideas to put the high-five back into your high-heel collection.
Step on it
Ah yes, good old stairs! Perhaps the most underused storage space in the whole house. Instead of the classic under-stairs cupboard, this house has ingenious drawers that pull out from each stair tread. Perfect for keeping mucky old trainers hidden from view.
Ah yes, good old stairs! Perhaps the most underused storage space in the whole house. Instead of the classic under-stairs cupboard, this house has ingenious drawers that pull out from each stair tread. Perfect for keeping mucky old trainers hidden from view.
Box them neatly
Matching white boxes is the key to this simple-yet-sophisticated look. You can hide even the most battered brogue in a plain white box, making it look effortlessly chic at the same time. Do a Carrie Bradshaw and stick pictures of each pair on the outside of the box, too. It’s an old trick that will save you a lot of time when getting dressed.
Matching white boxes is the key to this simple-yet-sophisticated look. You can hide even the most battered brogue in a plain white box, making it look effortlessly chic at the same time. Do a Carrie Bradshaw and stick pictures of each pair on the outside of the box, too. It’s an old trick that will save you a lot of time when getting dressed.
Line them up
Pretty party shoes can add a splash of colour to a classic room. Here, they are lined up along the edge of a mezzanine space, visible from the bedroom below.
Pretty party shoes can add a splash of colour to a classic room. Here, they are lined up along the edge of a mezzanine space, visible from the bedroom below.
Reclaim an old cabinet
You can store your shoes just about anywhere, so it’s worth having a trawl around antiques shops and furniture markets for a storage unit that needs a new lease of life. This old unit has been mounted into a recess in a wall, so that it works like built-in furniture, but packs a punch on the vintage style front. Just add shoes!
You can store your shoes just about anywhere, so it’s worth having a trawl around antiques shops and furniture markets for a storage unit that needs a new lease of life. This old unit has been mounted into a recess in a wall, so that it works like built-in furniture, but packs a punch on the vintage style front. Just add shoes!
Get creative with your space
Be imaginative with your available space. Take a look around and see where you have dead space or underused corners that you can put to shoe-storage use. This long corridor leading down to a bathroom is a perfect place for a run of open storage.
Be imaginative with your available space. Take a look around and see where you have dead space or underused corners that you can put to shoe-storage use. This long corridor leading down to a bathroom is a perfect place for a run of open storage.
Colour coordinate
If you have a lot of shoes and have the space to display them all, like in this walk-in closet, make them look pretty. A little bit of effort spent arranging pairs into colour coordinated rows will add extra impact and help you to find the shoes you want quickly and easily.
If you have a lot of shoes and have the space to display them all, like in this walk-in closet, make them look pretty. A little bit of effort spent arranging pairs into colour coordinated rows will add extra impact and help you to find the shoes you want quickly and easily.
Go for an industrial vibe
Stainless-steel mesh storage baskets are a great way to store shoes in a hallway without having them completely on display. A win-win idea if your shoe collection is more trainer than designer…
Stainless-steel mesh storage baskets are a great way to store shoes in a hallway without having them completely on display. A win-win idea if your shoe collection is more trainer than designer…
Stack them high
If you have space for a cloakroom or want to make your hallway work harder, invest in some bespoke shelving for your family’s shoes. Box shelves are a classic look that allows everyone to find their footwear easily. A stress-free family is a family that doesn’t argue about where their shoes have disappeared to. Simple.
If you have space for a cloakroom or want to make your hallway work harder, invest in some bespoke shelving for your family’s shoes. Box shelves are a classic look that allows everyone to find their footwear easily. A stress-free family is a family that doesn’t argue about where their shoes have disappeared to. Simple.
Display them on a rotating rack
This snazzy little storage solution is perfect if you’re short on space, but big on shoes. It rotates to reveal individual spaces, just big enough to hold a pair of heels.
This snazzy little storage solution is perfect if you’re short on space, but big on shoes. It rotates to reveal individual spaces, just big enough to hold a pair of heels.
Let’s face it, we probably only wear two or three pairs of shoes on a regular basis; the rest are usually stowed away and worn only to weddings or big nights out. But while not in use, keep your favourite pairs where you can still see and enjoy them. Here, they are hung on a wall on simple rails.