The hallway is an important part of any house and apartment. Here we take off our shoes and also take off our outerwear. Depending on the size of the room, in the hallway you can literally install one shelf, a small chest of drawers and hang several hooks. Or install a functional cabinet. And a good addition for it would be a suitable shoe shelf in the closet.
If the furniture was initially empty, you can expand its capabilities yourself. Therefore, a shoe shelf in a closet will be a good solution.
The only question is how to choose it correctly. There are many design options. But not every one is right for you. Let's figure it out.
Dressing room and pantry: the best way to organize closet storage
In a large house, you can allocate a separate room for storing things. A closet is the perfect place to store all the shoes you have on hand. Here you can provide special designs for arranging elements in sections. Organize the arrangement of casual and seasonal shoes and provide separate space for women's and men's styles.
Small apartment owners are less fortunate in this regard. But even in this case, do not despair. You can organize a dressing room instead of a closet. For this, a room measuring 1 x 1.5 m is sufficient. It is necessary to take into account the fact that the closet is an enclosed space, so you will have to equip a forced ventilation system and choose the right lighting. After this, you can place cabinets, bedside tables, shelves, and shoe hangers.
If for some reason it is not possible to convert a warehouse, you will have to look for alternatives. For example, in summer you can use a glazed balcony or loggia for this purpose. It is also worth thinking about the rational use of walls in the hallway or bedroom, equipping a special niche, and considering options for using pieces of furniture and the free space under them.
Making a shoe rack-bench
Step 1. From wooden boards in accordance with the diagram of the future shelf-bench, it is necessary to cut the shelf elements into appropriate sizes. In this case, you should get several parts - two supports, a seat and a crossbar for shoes, which will be attached under the seat between the two supports.
Future shelf elements are cut from boards
Step 2. Next, you need to make holes for the bolts from the edges of the seat. This is where the supports will be screwed.
Holes are made for the bolts
Step 3. Now you need to round the corners - this will make the shelf safer. You need to select some object that will allow you to draw a semicircle of the desired shape. Next, along the drawn line, you need to saw off the corners so that the corners of the seat are rounded.
A semicircle is drawn at the corner
Rounded corner
Step 4. All wooden parts of the shelf need to be sanded. The most convenient way to do this is with a grinding machine. The surface must be perfectly smooth.
Wood sanding
Step 5. Next, all the parts of the shelf need to be assembled together using screws or dowels - whichever is more convenient.
Assembly of parts
You can use both self-tapping screws and dowels
Shoe rack assembly process
The shelf is assembled
Step 6. Now the shelf needs to be cleaned of dust and coated with protective varnish, then let it dry. That's it, the product is ready for use.
The shelf is coated with protective varnish
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Storing shoes in cabinets and drawers
A practical way to store shoes in a small room is to keep them out of sight. A regular closet can do the trick. There are many devices that allow you to compactly store shoes and boots on shelves where there is enough space. You can buy special organizers or make shelves yourself. The last option requires minimal costs, since any improvised materials can be used for its manufacture. When choosing storage methods and materials for shelving, you should consider the temperature and humidity in your specific space.
Hanging shelves
A convenient option for storing shoes in the hallway is a hanging shelf. The design can be straight or angular. This option is more suitable for young families without children or owners of a small corridor. The main advantage of the design is significant space savings and the ability to adjust the height of the shelves at your discretion.
Modern folding shoe boxes have an attractive appearance. A variety of models allows you to choose the appropriate design for the interior of the room. Safe devices do not have sharp corners or very protruding parts, so they can be placed in apartments with small children or in narrow corridors.
Special shelves for shoes
Shoe shelves in the closet are available in various models. They differ in size, type of construction, and can be open or have doors. When choosing a suitable option, it is necessary to take into account the number of pairs that will be in permanent or temporary storage, and the stylistic orientation of the entire room. Special shelves can be of the following types:
- Stationary. They have the simplest design. Standard shelves do not have a movement mechanism. They are fixed in a certain place using special bolts. Horizontal slats can be fitted to any cabinet.
- Retractable. Convenient mobile design. On a fixed rail, the shelves are mounted on rollers, allowing movement. You can easily and silently obtain the required torque from depth. They have an original design.
- Folds up. The shelves are located at a convenient height, so you don't have to bend over to pick up your shoes. The models are equipped with a special mechanism that slowly and accurately hangs the shelves. In this case, the likelihood of falling and deformation of expensive shoes is minimized.
The closet can also be replaced with compact shoe racks. Just don’t hang them too high, otherwise you’ll end up with the same situation as on the mezzanine.
Railings and slats in the closet
An interesting and quite popular way to store things and shoes is the rail system. This solution saves space inside the cabinet and at the same time allows you to accommodate a fairly large volume of cabinet contents. Typically, rails are installed in compartments for outerwear and things on the shoulders, but shoes can also be stored on tubes, hanging them on special hangers or putting them on two adjacent tubes.
Shoe storage organizers
Many home accessories manufacturers make special organizers for storing shoes without boxes. They can be made of fabric, plastic or wood. Each pair of shoes, boots or shoes is placed in a separate organizer cell, which can be closed (if it is a fabric or plastic organizer) or covered (if it is wood). The organizer itself can be placed anywhere - under the bed or under the closet, in the corner of the room or in the hallway.
These organizers can be made by yourself. On the Internet you will find many videos and instructions for organizers of any size and design.
The advantage of organizers is that they are easy to use and help save space. The downside is that they are not very suitable for fall and winter footwear, as boots and boots are large and may not fit in the compartments. In addition, boxes quickly become dirty and sloppy and can ruin the appearance and interior of the room.
Some prefer compact storage of hanging shoes in the locker room - for this purpose, special organizers are used that are placed in the closet. Each pair is placed in its place. The method is suitable for storing frequently used pairs. Do not use it for long-term storage of seasonal pairs.
Shoe storage boxes
You can store shoes on shelves and drawers. To do this, you can buy a separate set of furniture. It can be arranged like a regular wardrobe in the hallway if there is free space. If there is little space, then the shelves can be placed directly on one of the doors of the apartment. Some people manage to build shelves in one of the load-bearing walls (wall-mounted shoe storage). In fact, shoe shelves can be placed anywhere and any way you want.
Another trend in modern interiors is systems for compact vertical shoe storage. They are made in the form of high shelves with slots into which shoes can be placed. This folding method saves a lot of space in the dressing room or closet. Using the same amount of space, you can store approximately twice as many pairs of shoes.
Wardrobe
If there are no problems with space, you can equip a dressing room. To do this you need to buy accessories. These can be regular splints that allow you to secure your shoes to your heels and they will be visible.
You can buy a metal mesh, attach it to the wall and hang your heels. Or clear plastic containers that can be placed on the floor or on shelves. You can see what's inside through the walls, so finding the right pair won't be difficult. In addition, the shoes in these containers will not be dusty or wrinkled, so they will retain their original appearance longer.
Horn shelves, consisting of a strip and U-shaped hooks, are sold in specialty stores. The shoes can be easily put on and taken off.
Suitable sizes
If you need a practical shoe rack, the design dimensions must meet certain requirements and standards.
Of course, the dimensions of the shelf directly depend on the parameters of the cabinet itself. Therefore, before you go to the online store, leaf through the catalog and buy the necessary components, do not forget to take measurements.
It is recommended to build on the following parameters:
- width not less than 600 mm;
- distance between shelves 150 mm;
- height for storing boots 400 mm;
- depth about 350 mm.
Dimensions of shoe shelves in a closet
With such parameters, when the optimal height of the shoe shelf, width and depth are selected, using the design will be as comfortable as possible.
How to store shoes compactly
How to store shoes if there is little space in the apartment?
The ideal option would be to create a walk-in closet to store shoes. For a dressing room, 1:1.5 area will be enough. This can be done instead of a closet, where you just need to install shelves, racks, cabinets, bedside tables.
But not everyone has such an opportunity. Then you will have to find other options. During the warm season, you can use the glass balcony to store shoes. Or think about how to efficiently use the walls of the hallway. To do this, you can equip a niche.
All kinds of organizers
Basically, organizers are convenient fabric products that fasten with a zipper. This functional element has reinforced cardboard walls to maintain its shape and a transparent top that allows you to see the internal contents. Thanks to this, you won’t have to waste time searching for the right shoes or boots.
There are floor-mounted and wall-mounted models. A hanging door organizer is perfect for small spaces. Such a compact product with roomy pockets can easily be placed on the door leaf in the hallway or in the dressing room. However, please note that you cannot put dirty shoes in organizers.
The photo shows a compact fabric organizer for storing shoes.
How to properly store shoes
There are no special rules for storing shoes. The main thing is that your shoes don’t get damaged while they’re gone. At the same time, remember about comfort and convenience - this should not interfere. Here are some tips for storing shoes properly.
Find a place where it is dry and there is no sunlight. It should also not accumulate a lot of dust. These factors have a significant impact on shoes and quickly lose their appearance and practicality - the material cracks, colors fade.
Such a place must have a stable temperature regime. A place that is too cold or too hot (less than 15 or more than 25 degrees) will ruin the appearance of the product.
Ensure constant air circulation. If indoor humidity is high, mold may develop.
Don't forget about the moths. They can ruin a pair of shoes in one season. To prevent this from happening, treat your pair with a protective agent. Special balls (which are found in boxes with shoes) and the oil of certain plants (for example, citrus) help against pests. If you do this correctly, your shoes or boots will not deteriorate even after several years of continuous storage.
Boxes
Seasonal shoes are most often stored in boxes on the lower section of wardrobes and dressing rooms. Store-bought cardboard packaging remains after purchasing another pair of shoes or sneakers. It’s better not to throw them away, but to put your favorite boots or shoes there until winter. Boxes are stacked in rows on spacious shelves under the cabinet wall. It is recommended to label the packages to make the shoes easier to find. You can also cut out identical windows through which the contents can be easily seen. Another interesting option is photographs of the filling of the boxes, pasted on the ends of the packages.
The pictures on the boxes correspond to the shoes inside. You can identify a pair of shoes by the photo on the box.
A box storage system is suitable if you have free space and large closets. If space is limited, clear plastic boxes are used. One container is enough to accommodate 8–10 pairs. Using homemade cardboard dividers, you can organize the contents so that boots or shoes do not damage each other.
