Shoe racks are an essential but often understated and overlooked part of the interiors of a home. Nobody likes coming home to a scattered mess of footwear right at the door or in the living area. A neat organiser for shoes helps give your home that touch of sophistication that immediately improves the overall look of your interiors.
Especially if you live in areas with heavy rainfall or high amount of dust, an outdoor shoe storage bench is a must-have to keep your indoors clean, neat and tidy.
Let’s take a look at clever shoe storage ideas for the inside and outside of your home to help get footwear in a neat, attractive order.
10 Shoe Rack Ideas for Modern Homes
It doesn’t matter whether your home is built with minimalist interiors or consists of mid-century-styled furniture – there are plenty of shoe shelf ideas to fit into every interior style. The best part is that all of the shoe rack ideas listed below are highly functional and add to the décor of your home as well.
1. Build It in to Get Ready Quickly
Has anyone ever prodded you to get ready “quickly”? Wardrobe built-in shoe organisers keep your entire attire in one place. The biggest benefit of these shoe rack ideas is that you can decide your outfit at a glance without having to go back and forth between a standalone shoe rack and your wardrobe – you don’t need to take everything out to see if the outfit comes together well.
For the ladies, the built-in shoe closet idea features a slit that functions as a heel lock to keep the dainty shoes in place. You can experiment with the height and width of the compartments to accommodate your boots, heels, flats, and trainers.
2. Turn Your Shoe Organiser into a Centrepiece
Do you own Vans? Limited edition Jordans? Jimmy Choos? Any pair of shoes that have value in your mind should be showcased to the world for the beauty they hold. Instead of going for the traditional shoe shelf ideas, try jazzing things up a little bit. Replace your centrepiece artwork with a stylised shoe rack that aptly showcases the display-worthy footwear you own.
You can go for the spiral wooden “staircase” look shoe rack ideas in the image or design your own, depending on the kind of space you wish to place it in. Let the glory of your Vans shine eternally.
3. Go for Portable Minimalism with This Shoe Rack Idea
If you have had your home done up in modish minimalist concepts, the same theme should reflect in your small entryway shoe storage ideas.
Consider turning your coat hanger into a shoe stand solution. This would allow you to quickly don that pair of outdoor footwear and head out to get groceries. This shoe stand is versatile enough to be placed on the porch to house your gumboots and rainwear. The best part about such shoe rack ideas is if you attach wheels to the base, you can redecorate your interior and semi-exterior any day.
4. Let There Be No Boundaries
Your shoes are just as much part of your attire as your suit or your pair of denim. Why house them separately? End this discrimination by creating a wardrobe that gives you enough undefined, unlabelled spaces to store your designer shoes.
The design is highly functional, featuring airy spaces big enough to house boxes, shoes, wallets, and belts like you would design a display unit for the living room. There is the added benefit of compartmentalised storage for your bath linen (or shoes – whatever you want to store there). Throw in some drawers for good measure to store your socks, stockings, leggings or gaiters for quick and unhindered access.
5. Use Valet Stands That Stand Out or Blend In
Valet stands aren’t dropping out of style anytime soon. Especially when they can be done up in a multitude of versatile interior materials like wood, steel, aluminium, PVC or any other sturdy thing. The advantage of valet stands is that they can be customised to house more shoes and a few other things if you wish.
Instead of a single rung/shelf to house your shoes, your valet stand can feature two or three. You can even raise the shelves up to half-height. The remaining can be redesigned and repurposed for keys, hats, rainwear, or coats. You can even cover it with a sliding shutter or build it into the wall for a more flush look.
6. Use Your Shoes to Splash Up Your Interior
If you are looking for a bold statement with the idea that is totally unheard of, you can use your designer shoes to elevate your interior theme.
Typically, the display units in your great room or your living room house open shelves for showpieces, candles, photo frames, etc. You can turn one of these shelves to house some of your most iconic pairs of shoes.
To take the matter further, such shoe rack ideas can be colour-coordinated to make a better impact in combination with your interiors. While this idea is completely outlandish, it can do wonders for your pair of Nike backward swoosh or the Black Koi.
7. Give Your Shoes a Home Above the Ground
Do you simply dislike cluttered floors or traditional shelving altogether? You may need shoe rack ideas that free the floor.
You can free the floors of your shoes (and free your shoes from the floor) by mounting them in the air. Try using a wall-mounted open shelf to house all your shoes. The open shelving lets you always see all your shoes in one place, it keeps them off the floor (and your floors clean), and it also doubles up as a display shelf for housing succulents to make the shelf look pretty.
8. Use a Pivot Shelf
One of the most brilliant solutions to saving shoe storage space and making it easier to extract shoes can be found in pivot shelves.
You can house your shoes vertically in pocket-like compartments that pivot at the base to open up. Since your shoes remain in a vertical orientation, these shelves aren’t very “thick” or wide. You get a lot of parallel storage this way. This is an excellent way to optimise your space usage with shelves that look neat and have high functionality.
If you want to add some colours, you can always get your kids to create artwork masterpieces and stick them on the shelf! Pivot shelves are faring excellently as go-to shoe rack ideas for compact homes today.
9. Add More Purpose with This Shoe Rack Idea
Think about it: to wear your shoes properly, what do you need? A seat.
Instead of doing the tightrope balancing act, turn your shoe rack into a seat. House all your regular-wear shoes on the shelves underneath and place a comfortable seat at the top to poise yourself as you don your footwear and tie the shoelaces. This idea is brilliant for eliminating twisted ankles in the house. To add depth to your shoe rack ideas, you can theme them according to the interior that flows in the house.
Boho shoe racks look best with dreamcatchers, wicker baskets, cushions with tassels and mandala artwork.
10. Realign Your Perspective
Think outside of the box. Most shoe shelves run horizontally and let your shoes rest on their soles. However, this can be a bit of a problem with heels – they have a habit of toppling over. Design a vertical shoe shelf with slats that you can use as notches to hang your heels up.
Ladies, these shoe rack ideas are for you.
For a better design, the slats need to be spaced at intervals that let the footpad rest against a solid surface. Your heels literally stay upright and in full display for you to easily locate both shoes of a pair in an instant.
There is no hassle of toppling over and mixing. It also keeps your heels away from the floor, preventing them from catching dirt from other shoes.
Advantages of Closet Shoe Storage Ideas
Shoe shelf ideas are an investment, not an expense. A well-thought shelving unit to house your shoes has multiple advantages for your family:
- Your shoes stay dust-free. If you live in an area that is dusty, your precious shoes need shelter from it. Opt for a closed shelf to save your shoes from collecting dust.
- Your floors stay clean. When your shoes are inside a shelf, the floors are free to exist. Especially if you have show-worthy flooring in the house, the shoes better stay out of the way.
- Add definition to interiors. A modern shoe rack can be a thing of great design. You can add shoe rack ideas to spaces in your home to accentuate other interior elements.
- No-mess home. Shoe shelves help your home stay mess-free to some extent. If you are a family or individual with a shoe-hoarding issue, shoe racks are a must-have for you.
Popular Materials for Shoe Cupboard Ideas
Materials that are sturdy and can stay stable as you lean on them are best suited for crafting shoe racks. Below is a list of the most popular materials used for building shoe racks.
- Wood: Wooden shoe racks are considered premium and transform the look of your interior by just existing. Most of your shoe rack ideas can be brought to life using wood as the base material.
- Metal: Stainless steel for an industrial interior, aluminium for a futuristic look, painted metals for adding colour – the versatility with metal shoe rack ideas is endless.
- Bamboo: For the more environmentally conscious choices, bamboo shoe rack ideas work best. The material is long-lasting, needs little maintenance and can be ethically sourced.
- Plastic: Not the first choice you would go for in terms of a shoe rack. However, if budget is a constraint, then plastic shoe organisers can work as a makeshift arrangement until you acquire something better.
Wrapping Up
There are endless DIY shoe storage ideas to add charm to your interiors. You can use them to hide your shoes, contribute to the design, or complement your footwear. Shoe shelves are versatile and can double up as a lot of things in addition to just helping you organise your shoes.
HomeLane has exciting and creative sapce saviing furniture ideas for every kind of home interior. If you are looking for efficient decor solutions, visit HomeLane.
FAQ
1. How deep should shoe racks be?
The average depth of a shoe rack is 13 inches. This is because this measurement supports a majority of shoe sizes for a family.
2. What are some shoe rack ideas for decoration?
There are multiple ways you can decorate your shoe rack. You can add cushions with colourful covers, place succulents on them, or allow your children to stick their artwork to it, play with colours and even get it carved if it is made of wood. The best way to decorate a shoe rack is to be minimal with decorations.
3. Why do you need a shoe rack?
A shoe rack is a necessary element for the home because it allows you to reduce the mess that shoes make when left on the floor. It keeps your shoes safe from the natural elements and improves their longevity. Shoe racks also help to add a new element of design to your interiors.
4. Which shoe rack ideas should you pick?
The style and material of the shoe rack you choose depend on how you plan to use it. If you want it to elevate your interior style, you can go for wooden or bamboo shoe racks. If you want it to be purely functional, you can select the pivot style. The metal racks are minimalist and are suitable for outdoors.
