If you follow me on Twitter, you may have heard me banging on recently about my search for a new shoe storage solution. I’ve had my existing shoe shelves for almost exactly a year now, and it only took me a few weeks to discover that this kind of shoe storage was definitely the best solution for me: in fact, I’m not sure I’d have managed to complete last year’s Shoe Challenge without them – being able to actually see my shoes definitely beat rummaging through a ton of boxes and forgetting what I had because they were all stuffed into awkward corners or under the bed!
As much as I loved those shelves, though, they were a little too small to hold all of my collection, and they weren’t a great fit for the space, either, so when we got back from our holiday last month, I started searching for something better. I’d almost settled on buying one of Ikea’s Billy bookcases, when Shoeperman suggested that as the shelves sit in an alcove in the room anyway, it might be simpler – and cheaper – to just buy some wood and make our own shelves, so we could make them fit the space exactly.
This was a suggestion Shoeperman was to seriously regret making, because, of course, when I say “we could make them”, I obviously mean he could make them, because I’m as useless with DIY as I am with any other kind of crafting.
Trouper that he is, though, he rose to the challenge, and I think it was worth it. We bought some wood from a local timber merchant, painted the walls white, and here’s what we ended up with:
(Excuse the wonky camera angle! It’s me that’s off-balance, not the shelves, I promise!)
(Again, the room is so small I had to take this at a really odd angle to get them all in, which makes it look like the shelves are about to fall over! They’re not, though. Or at least, I hope not.)
This isn’t quite my full collection: my winter boots are all in storage in the attic right now, and I decided to leave the tatty old flats and flip-flops where they were, but the shelves still hold more than twice the amount of shoes I had on the old ones, and, well, there’s still room for more. Not that I’ll be taking advantage of that extra space, you understand. *whistles innocently*
With these shoe storage shelves, I decided to put my suede shoes on display as well as the leather ones, at least for the time being. Because the room is our office, the blinds have to be kept closed pretty much all the time, otherwise we can’t see our computer screens. That’s bad news for us, obviously, but it’s good news for the shoes, because there’s no direct sunlight to fade them. The other risk is dust, of course, but having risked some of my cheaper suede shoes on the shelves for most of last year, I didn’t find that to be an issue, so I’ve put all of the shoes out for now, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on them, and may put some them back in the closet if I think there’s a change of them getting damaged. For now, though, I just really wanted to see them all on display at the same time!
Huge thanks to Terry for taking the time to make these, and for doing such an amazing job of it!
They look awesome. I love the fact the shoes are arranged by colour, that’s exactly how I would arrange them.
WOW Amber! My jaw literally dropped, I NEED one of these! A SHOE ROOM! *swoon*
well done shoeperman! and by the looks of it there is enough space for new additions!!
OMG That is just shoe paradise 🙂 I love it, now I just need as much shoes as you to make my own shelves… But I’ll definitely display them as you do, it’s an alternative for a book case, don’t you think? And much more pretty 🙂
Oh dear, this is fantastic! A museum of beautiful-shoe-obsession 🙂 Great job! If I were you, I would be spending all my free-time from wearing them – sorting them by price/colour/size/price etc. etc. etc. 😀
I’m bookmarking this and showing P (my other half) and requesting this in our first bought home.
I loved. It’s so pretty it could be in your living room!! I wish my closet had space to make something like this.
Well, it’s on the wall of my office, which is even better, because that’s where I spend most of my time – I get to look at the pretty shoes while I work 🙂
I’m sitting in my office checking my walls right now to see if I could fit one of these and I have the perfect spot for it but is currently being occupied y my daughter’s play house 🙁
This looks so neat! The orange shoes with the little blue gems are very lovely.
Wow. And I see a lot of free space for more shoes! Good long-run thinking)
I’m in love with your collection..
I love your shoe storage! I can’t wait to have my shoe storage done at my house! 🙂
Fabulous! I loved the shelves! They look really nice, and no doubt much better than the “Billy solution”! And the shoes, just like a nice painting on the wall! The best part: there is definitely space for more!!!!
wow, this looks fantastic. It’s so much prettier than my shoe room.
I was thinking about storing my shoes on shelves like this but I was also worried about them getting dusty. I thought about having a glass door to protect them but it would cost a fortune.
Keep us up to date on how it’s going 🙂
I worried about that too, but I had them on a different set of shelves for about a year before doing this, and it honestly wasn’t an issue – you just have to make sure you dust them every so often!
Wow, that looks so impressive, I’m jealous :O
Wow! That looks just amazing – just like a shoe museum, or art gallery – so much better than a picture on the wall! I wish we had a place to make something like this! Good to have them in a place where you can look at them often.
I love it, looks amazing!!!
Wow, that’s so beautiful! I like that there is some colour-coding going on there too 🙂 I would love to have something like this, if only I had the room for it! It is a problem not being able to see all the shoes you own – I keep thinking I need new shoes because I forget the ones I already have!
Love it! We are currently looking for a new house to buy and I have told my husband I must have shoe shelves.
I am so jealous I’d fit in right between the suede court shoes and the green and gold sandals. It’s just exquisite. You could always do a simple sheet curtain over them if you found a major dust problem, but of course then, you couldn’t see them. They are like a work of art just as they are. I am in awe of your Louboutins. One day I aspire to own my own pair.
I use a similar shelving system but I got a storage tip from the April issue of…I want to say Elle? Maybe Allure. Anyway, it was a peak into one of the Kardashian sisters (I want to say Khloe?) shoe closet and she had them stored on shelves with one shoe’s toe towards you and one with the heel towards you so the two shoes kinda curve around each other. Not only does this save space it lets you compare heel height and width when choosing shoes.
Wow! I wouldn’t dare have a shoe shelving system tho…it would be a constant reminder to hubby at how many shoes I have and he does verily “hate the shoes”!! Besides…I’ve already filled our spare room with books, can’t take over another room…yet.
Jealous, it’s SOO pretty 😀
good job shoeperman!!!!
UPDATE – Have showed him indoors your shoe wall and have been granted permission to have one just like it! I may have skipped about a little….
Wow! Terry did a great job with the shelves!
This is actually one of my dreams, to have my shoes on display like this!
I’m so jealous of your shoe collection! I love how you put them in color order…
Love all those pics and the shoes in them. What a great idea! true inspiration!
Gorgeous! Also, I am seriously coveting your shoe collection.
I love it. What type of brackets are used to hold up the shelves? I can’t really tell from the photos, they look real small. I would probably hang some curtain panels on a sliding track on the ceiling to cover them up though. Like these..http://img.archiexpo.com/images_ae/photo-g/sliding-panel-blind-339739.jpg. Ikea also have them in all kinds of colors and patterns. I’m going to ask my boyfriend to help me build this in my small den.
OMG ! It’s such a dream shoe closet !
Lovely dear ! Certainly following you at twitter !
http://universeandyou.wordpress.com/
Xoxo from Japan
This is nice. I’ve got way too many shoes for this though. And what do you do for boots?? But, still a great inspring effort. Hope you don’t mind if I link you in my own blog.
Not at all! And boots count as “shoes” for the purpose of the challenge – “The Shoe and Boot Challenge” just didn’t sound right 🙂
INSPIRING even.
http://www.dawnlovesshoes.com
-Dawn