Store your shoes the stylish way!

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Avid shoe collectors will surely agree with this anonymous quote “Cinderella is proof that new shoes can change your life”! And there is a sizeable population of shoe lovers out there who simply cannot resist buying that pair of shoes, sandals, sneakers, or stilettos that they just saw. It does not matter whether they are by Salvatore Ferragamo or from a street vendor; shoe lovers usually can’t resist the allure of lovely footwear.

But buying all the shoes your heart desires is one thing—finding places to store them is another! You need to come up with smart and chic storage solutions too, or else, your beautiful pairs will not only end up cluttering your home, but you will also have a hard time finding the pair you want for your office or a party. So here we will show how you can store and even display your fashionable collection of footwear with style!

Build a slide-out shelf unit with designated shoe storage

You could make the most of idle corners in your bedroom, living room and corridors and get a custom built slide out shelf made for storing your shoes. This slide out shelf will not take up a lot of space, but will certainly provide enough room for your shoes if built cleverly. 

When installing a slide-out shoe storage unit built, try and make the most of the vertical space available for maximum benefit.

Store them inside a hollow chair or window seat

Have a window seat which is lying unused, and has space underneath it? Well then, arrange a few of your shoes there and make the most of the space. Alternatively, you could also store them inside a hollow chair or chairs. 

 This country style window seat is by The Cotswold Company, supplier of furniture and accessories from Norwich. Check out the quaint wicker baskets stacked beneath the seat for storage.

Hang them as a display on your wall or ceiling

Another clever idea to store as well as display your shoe collection is to display them on the walls. Make use of the free vertical space, get some custom built floating shelves installed on a wall and display your shoes on them. 

If you have a sizeable collection of stilettos and have crown mouldings on any of your walls, hang your stilettos on them to be admired by one and all. You could even get a towel rod installed to hang your stilettos or other shoes, albeit with a hook. Some shoes also come with elastic straps which can be used to store sandals and shoes on the walls or ceiling.

Use a pallete to store trainers and soft shoes

Have a lot of soft shoes and trainers? Well, make use of a wooden pallete to store these. Wooden palletes have slits that would be perfect fit for your sneakers, trainers and other soft shoes. You could get the wooden palette painted to match the décor of the room, or simply choose to leave it as it is for a rustic feel. 

Just make sure that the slits are wide enough to store your soft shoes. Soft shoes and kids’ shoes can also be hung on coat hangers mounted on walls.

Make shoe hangers for your wardrobe

This is self explanatory. Get creative and make shoe hangers that can fit inside your wardrobe so that the next time, you do not have to waste your time matching your dress with the perfect shoes stashed away in another corner of the house. 

You can choose to make DIY shoe hangers by recycling some old metal hangers or buy a couple of clip hangers to hang your ballerinas, flip flops, boots and other shoes. Get a curtain pole attached at the bottom of the wardrobe and hang your shoes on these dainty hangers. You will be amazed at the space this simple measure saves in your wardrobe.

Display them on an old vintage ladder

Ever thought of using that old vintage ladder that is lying in your basement, but fell short of ideas? Well, now is the time to take that vintage ladder out and use it for shoe storage. It's perfect to hang those high heeled shoes that you had bought last season! 

Keep the vintage ladder in a noticeable corner of the hallway or living room, and let guests compliment both the elegance of the vintage ladder and your stiletto collection. If you do not have a vintage ladder but still like the idea, you could always visit your local flea market and search for one.

Use the nicest ones as decoration for your bookshelves

If you have some under-used bookshelves around your home, then display your most precious and nicest shoes on them. Alternate between books and shoes and see your shelf take on a completely new look, or go all out and devote an entire bookshelf to your collection. 

Go for some colour coordination on the bookshelf or opt for a single colour theme—there are no set rules! So give your imaginative side the upper hand, and merge fashion with intellectualism.

Use them to accessorise your staircase

The last tip on storing and displaying your shoe collection is for those who have stairs in their home. Keep a pair of shoes at the corner of each step of the staircase, thereby accessorising your stairs modishly. This way, you will also have your shoes ready to wear before you step out of the door. 

Make sure that they are neatly displayed on one side of the stairway, so that people don’t trip over them. Refrain from displaying your shoes on narrow stairs, as this would create difficulty in movement. Instead, you can turn the space under the staircase into an open shelving unit as shown above, and then flaunt your shoes there.

Now that you have got ideas on how to showcase and store your shoe collection, get started and wow your friends and family. For more inspiration, check out another ideabook - how to maximise space in a small living room!

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