Designing the ideal shoe storage bench - YouLookFab Forum

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Designing the ideal shoe storage bench

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Related to the topic of today’s post—how many pairs of shoes one has—is the question of how to store them. What are the features of your dream shoe storage bench? I want to build one for my mud room.

I’m thinking 48” wide, with a cushion on top, two tiers of cubbies, and an open shelf between the cubbies and the seat. With cubbies 5-6” tall and the shelf around 10”, all my shoes will fit*, but the bench is maybe 25” tall. The average kitchen chair is only 18. I’m tempted to take a tape measure with me today and go sit on coffee tables, half walls, garden enclosures, and other low surfaces. What does the hivemind say, and how high are the spots where you perch to put on shoes? What other features have you found valuable or annoying in shoe benches?

*except for tall boots, which will either hang from clips right next to the bench or stand on the closet floor with pool noodles in them.

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19 replies

Latest reply was from Stagiaire Fash

Anonymous

I think I'd want spaces for the tall boots on either end, and have the shelving be adjustable to accomodate different needs over time. I have a bookcase with adjustable shelves and it has holes at different levels, then these flat pins that the shelves lie on.

Irina

Veteran

So, you want to store all your shoes inside the bench? Off season, too?
I always wanted a shoe cabinet, in my dream it has doors to keep dust away. I keep a few pairs on a shoe rack by the door and frequently clean them. None of it is helping you. But if your climat require very limited use of tall boots, I would keep them in a box in a closet.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

When I opened a box labeled “shoes” the other night & saw that it was mostly sandals, I laughed because they’re so inappropriate this time of year. I don’t wear my boots in summer either, especially now that I’m somewhere with warmer summer than Berlin. But in transitional seasons, I think I’ll want to have all of the above on hand. Specialty things like water shoes and cleats can go elsewhere, but I don’t want to need to think about timing a seasonal swap.

I had a shoe cabinet in Berlin. I liked the way it looked and there was room for all our shoes. But we are lazy and rarely got our shoes into it. Either we flipped them off and left them in front of it, or we went into the living room to sit down to loosen the laces & take them off, and they stayed there (or maybe we threw them into the hallway). In Tampa we had a place to sit while we buckled our sandals, but that piece of furniture didn’t have adequate storage. I’m hoping that even lazy me can either lift a foot as I slip a shoe off, so it lands in its spot, or will lean over while on the bench to put them away.

I wear tall boots infrequently, can’t imagine owning more than 2-3 pairs at a time. The adjustable height shelves are an interesting idea. I’m not clear on how it could work for individual compartments.

Roberta

Veteran

I must have looked at a hundred different shoe cabinets when I was trying to find shoe storage for my collection a few years ago. It's a great idea to carry a measuring tape with you as you explore! I've attached two pictures of what I bought. It is not a bench that you can sit on to put your shoes on obviously, but since it's in my bedroom, I have a chair that I can sit on. It is 45 inches wide and 13 inches deep. A deep shelf is good for pointy toed boots or if you have bigger feet like me. I think you are right in aiming for 48 inches wide (or even more), giving you just a little extra room for shoes that have a wider sole. Note that I use a few shelves for sweaters!

My shelves are not adjustable, boo, but they are a reasonable height for almost every shoe I own. I have tall boots in a separate location because I only have a few pairs (one of those upside down racks), and I have calf high boots in my closet again because I "only" have eight pairs.

I like having doors on the cabinet, but the doors are slotted so there is ventilation. You really don't want a shoe cabinet to be airtight, obviously. Doors might be a headache if you want this to be easily accessible when you come in from outside. I would plan to line the shelves with something you can replace or clean easily if you're going to put wet or muddy shoes on it too.

I envy you having the skill to get exactly what you want out of this project!

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Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Roberta, very classy looking! How high are those shelves? Are they uniform height? Adjustable?

Roberta

Veteran

The shelves have 7 inches of clearance, which is just right for sneakers high and low, sandals, and ankle boots. Mid-calf boots do not fit. It wasn't that expensive, as I remember. $150? I got it at Wayfair or Birch Lane, one of those online home goods stores.

The shelves are not adjustable, but I wonder if I would have bothered making changes in any case. What fits perfectly one week would not work for the collection the next month.

Joy

Veteran

With most a pair of shoes will not fit together as a pair at the end of the bench. I mostly use a low teak shower seat next to the shoe bench to put on or remove shoes. Most of mine are on shelves in the walk-in closet. I also like hanging shoe bags and out of season shoes are in boxes in the closet above hanging clothes. Also dressy flats for special occasions are stored in boxes above hanging clothes for easy access.

April

Veteran

I am fortunate now to have a closet just for shoes but in houses past I have struggled mightily with this issue. The twirly stand-up shoe rack, the over-the-door pocketed bag, the IKEA over the clothes-rod canvas shelves, the stationary on-the-closet floor rack. And so on.

I do find that acknowledging one's lazy side is wise when planning for storage. No sense having a lovely system if your shoes end up all over the floor.

25 inches doesn't seem overly high to me, and I have short legs.

Kate

Veteran

I think you'll find that 25" is very high for a seat. It's a great idea to take your tape measure around and measure everything from chairs and sofas to toilet seats and tables to get a really good idea of the height of things, and then go from there.

Rather than spend the money and time to build your own, especially since, as you say, you might not be bothered to actually use it, I would explore purchasing something. Besides, do you actually have the tools you need to build your system, and then the place to store them?

There are excellent storage systems available everywhere from big box stores and IKEA to Wayfair and CB2 online. When it comes to IKEA, look at all their storage systems, not just those for shoe storage, since something meant for the basement or the kitchen might serve your purpose better. I have also bought a couple of pieces from Home Depot that I later customized with hairpin legs. The possibilities are endless.

Also, tall boots can be stored upright in handled canvas bags and hung on clothes hangers in the closet. Pool noodles or boot trees included.

Good luck!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

You have long legs so 25" might not be too high for you. Measuring is a great idea.

I don't have this type of storage system. I just have a couple of ordinary racks -- one in the hall closet and one in the bedroom. Plus, I change out seasonally and have a box for that. I like a seasonal changeout and do it with (some of) my clothing, too.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Kate, I could have purchased curtains, but am spending today sewing some for the bedroom—and the fabric wasn’t cheap! There are many frozen dinners available, but when someone bought me a microwave a week ago, I made him return it. Horses for courses…
I’ve looked at many benches, but not found any the right width. Besides, I’ve been dragging this board around since my college-aged son was a baby, and will finally use it in this bench!

Suz, how do you handle transitional seasons? It’s 60 today, but will be near freezing again in a couple days. Not sandal weather yet, but we might get a day of it soon.

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Irina

Veteran

What is this board?

I have some custom made furniture in our house - build in shelves in the library and a corner office desk. It is not cheap. Do you know people who make furniture?

Funny about frozen dinners, though. I never had one but use microwave often to reheat made by me food and melt things

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Irina, it’s just a little headboard for a kids’ bed at Ikea. I promise not to make you use the whimsical furniture.

SarahD8

Veteran

Here is our shoe storage system -- IKEA pax wardrobe with lots of shelves inside, and a little stool next to it to sit when putting shoes on if desired.

You can see that shoes do tend to accumulate outside the cabinet -- less due to pure laziness and more because I like to let them air out a bit before putting them away. Solution is a topic of ongoing consideration.

I think 25" would prove quite high for a seat. Very few people have 25" long shin bones, I'd wager. So, might it be possible to build a set of cubbies on one side and have the benchtop across just half of it? (Sort of like our setup but all integrated into one piece of furniture iykwim.) Not sure how wide the headboard you plan to use is though, and it sounds like you are committed to making use of it.

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Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Like Suz, we don't enclose our footwear in a cabinet or bench. Shoes are stored on open shoe racks in our walk in closets (mine does not have a door!)

We keep one pair of shoes downstairs by the door if we need to pop out quickly.

We don't sit to put on our shoes! Is that weird? Although there is a bench by the door.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Sarah, 25” is the height of the arm of the wingback chairs in my living room. I could lower it by 5” either by having all 3 levels be 5” or by just having 2 levels, one for flat sandals & oxfords, and one for ankle boots. I see that Roberta has about 6 pairs of shoes across each shelf in her cabinet, which is conveniently the same width as the bench im planning with flat sandals I could probably squeeze in a couple more pairs. That wouldn’t fit in all my shoes, but having appropriate-height spots for the boots I wear all the time probably outweighs having the 3” heeled sandals ready to go.

Angie, now I’m trying to remember if I’ve seen you wear shoes with laces. Even if shoes have zippers and laces, I tie & untie them every time I wear them.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

All my sneaker have laces! I wear fashion sneakers a LOT. Hi-tops right now.

April

Veteran

I find that unless you have a narrow foot *and* you love pointy-toed shoes, it's surprising how few pairs will fit side-by-side on a shelf.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

April, none of those are me! My shoes resemble those big grey bricks used for foundation walls.