I know this is not the style you are looking for, but you might find something similar

Thank you!

Ha! Yes, this would be ideal, and what we did pre-kids. We can hopefully get back to some version of that once everyone is old enough to get up and down the stairs without supervision. Right now though, we have our hands full with kids coming up and down so having an assortment of seasonally/weather appropriate options right by the door works for us. And yes, I say this with a straight face even though I note in the photo the most prominent pile of shoes belongs to my husband. I tried to shame him into taking more upstairs by giving him his own basket (a different play on ownership, right?). That didn't work. i am trying to figure out if I can find a happy place somewhere on the clutter/functionality spectrum. Maybe baskets are best until we hit the next season of parenthood?

Does the dresser need to stay? I've got a similar space in my house and installed two Ikea Hemnes shoe cabinets. We keep shoes in most of the drawers, but some are used for gloves and hats.

Seems like any cabinet with doors will work for this purpose

Kimberly, thank you! Have your Hemnes shoe cabinets held up well? I've looked at those and thought they looked like a practical and nicely scaled solution, but then I worried the tip out mechanism might be defeated within a couple weeks by my crazy toddler. If they have held up for you though, maybe we should try it. Similar to the gorgeous custom option suggested above, but less expensive if we find we can go back to the "one shoe in, one shoe out" philosophy in a few years.

Thank you, Beverly! Sometimes you miss the obvious, right? I am going to go look at cabinet options that might fit the space now.

Everyone has the same problem, but at least they are taking their shoes off at the door!

I agree that you wouldn't want to block the light from the door. You have the perfect jog in the wall to create a unit that doesn't go to the door. Maybe it could be 48" - 60" wide and painted the same color as the upper walls so that it blends in.

Looks like you have a beautiful home, so I would have something custom built on site to mimic the details. It will then look as though it's been there all along.

I love the first inspiration pic with the shelf for art and your bag and hat. Hope this helps.

What are you storing in the dresser now? Is it possible to just use the bottom 2 drawers?

What is in the cabinet under the stairs? Can something be put in there?

You have "space" on the right side of your photo. It's hiding in the wall stud cavities. If you open 2 or 3 cavities, install pegs within, install framed doors, you will have hanging space for shoes.

Something similar to this looks good, can get them in black

Denise, I LOVE these ideas! We don't have the budget for custom built-ins at this point, but fun to dream!

Rebecca, I like your thinking and it would be a great idea, except that this is my grandmother's antique dresser and the drawers are hard to pull out. Right now, it serves as a sideboard (top drawers for keys etc) for the small parlor we made our dining room which it faces. We tried to put the dresser on the opposite wall (in the parlor) but it looked to squished with our table. I'll try to find a photo.

Tatts-- so, so appreciate your thinking on alternative solutions. so helpful to get those perspectives. I assume you mean to the right-- there are two doors facing the dresser that you can't see at this angle. One to the basement and one to the mini-coat closet. The coat closet has venting coming up through the bottom, which limits the useable floor space, but we have our less used winter boots on the backside of the vent and a tote with all the winter hats, scarves, mittens in front of it (there is not enough floor space for a basket, but the tote works because it bends). We have some shelves up top that has stroller accoutrements (rain cover, blankets, kid carrier, etc). In sum, it is not an under-utilized space, but I am open to re-arrangement that might make more sense if you have one. Thanks for weighing in!

Chiflipper-- I am intrigued by your idea, but trying to figure out to which area you are referring? The two doors I explained above? The wall behind the dresser is plaster on brick (party wall with neighbor). I'd love to hear if you think there might be some other dead space I could reclaim. I did it with a recessed medicine cabinet in our bath and it is so much less obtrusive! Many thanks!

Thank you, Irene!

I think we need a photo from the chair toward the door, so we can see the other side of the entry. we're kind of projecting about that space right now...

I really appreciate everyone's creative problem-solving! I am not home right now, but just found a couple photos on my phone that might be helpful. The first photo is approximately the view from the blue gentleman's chair into the front parlor/now dining room (this was taken when we had most things moved out during kitchen reno last Fall, but hopefully gives you an idea). The coat closet is the 3-panel door closest to the front parlor, which was added on by the previous owners when they added a fireplace (you can see the fireplace in the second photo below). The basement door is the five-panel door next to it. The front door is to the left of this photo (you can see the light coming through it across the floor).

This second photo is the only one I could find of the brief time we put the dresser sideboard in the dining room (it stores placemats, napkins and specialty plates that are helpful to have near the dining table) before deciding it looked too cramped on that wall and moving it to the other side, which is where it sits now, near the entry, as pictured in the original post. Surrounded by shoes...oh, and the occasional hula hoop now that I look closely... Sigh.

Can you use a shoe rack on the floor of the mini coat closet that has the floor vent?

https://www.wayfair.com/Honey-Can-Do-2-Tier-Shoe-Rack-HCD2691.html

This is a 2-tier wood rack from Wayfair. Maybe you can find one the right width for your closet.

Oh, boy, now you really have me airing my dirty laundry! Attaching a photo of the vent inside the closet with my husband's boot to give you sized perspective. The closet measures a little over 19" wide, which is okay for coats (we still have to store some upstairs) but I'm not sure how I could incorporate a shoe rack around the floor vent that would efficiently store shoes without putting it above the vent, where they would get lost in/dirty up the coats. Ideas? Or give up and go back to the original entry area? Thank you so much for all the brainstorming!

I misunderstood what you meant by vent. I thought it was just a floor register ...

Yes, the Hemnes have held up well! I've had them for five years and have a 6 year old. We keep some ceramic dishes for keys on top, and my husband's size 13s fit just fine. For $100 a cabinet I highly recommend them!

Thank you so much for coming back to weigh in, Kimberly! This is so helpful to know! And I was worried more about heels and boots and didn't even think about my own husband's size 13s, so I appreciate you pointing that out! That certainly would have been a head-to-desk moment!

What about a wire rack for the inside of the closet door?

https://www.wayfair.com/Whitmor-Inc-12-Tier-Overdoor-Shoe-Organizer-YES1804.html

or this compartment shoe organizer may work better to keep dirt from getting on your coats.

https://www.wayfair.com/Whitmor-Inc-26-Compartment-Overdoor-Shoe-Organizer-YES1785.html

Thanks, Rebecca! This is a good idea. I'll have to measure to see if it could fit the narrow closet, but perhaps even if these particular models won't fit, I can find some that do. Thanks again!

Kerndls---We have the two of the four drawer versions. For my husband, we can fit usually two pairs in one drawer, if we're talking about sneakers or dress shoes. his bulkier steel toed shoes fit, but only three shoes would fit in one drawer (so divide a pair, or pair them with something like flip flops). For my own, I have two pairs of sneakers in one plus my sunscreen I like for running in one drawer (keeps other hands off my stuff!). My other drawer is mostly flats or flip flops as I keep my dress shoes in my closet. Kids shoes just pile up in there. I use another drawer for my gloves and hats and one for kid gloves and hats. My husband can't keep his hands on a pair of gloves or a hat long enough for them both to get back to the house, so he doesn't get a drawer for that stuff!! In the summer I put that stuff in the basement, and the drawers are full of sunscreen bottles, sun hats, and the like. So, they get opened daily, bunches of times, and get manhandled in terms of shoving stuff in. I changed the knobs to match our kitchen, but otherwise have done nothing to them aside from dust the top every so not often.

"every so not often"- lol! This is so helpful, Kimberly! Thank you! And we may be married to the same guy between their size 13s and inability to hold onto gloves-- it drives me bonkers! This is all so helpful to know! Thank you so much!

Yikes! That's some vent! Is there any way to reroute where it comes through the floor so that it hugs the wall on the left (and toward the back)?

Ha, Tatts, we are on the same page. My husband is close to just ripping it out. "Do we really need heat there?" Your sage alternative comes at a critical time. ;)

Advice: DONT BE LIKE ME!
I swear I have spent the last 20 years trying to get my kids to cooperate with my system for keeping shoes at the front door -- I've had baskets, cubbies (with and with doors), shelves, drawers, etc.

The only benefit any of these options provided is they gave ME a place to put everyone's shoes when they bugged ME too much. I've scolded, cajoled, confiscated, joshed, and hollered -- and STILL I'm created with a jumble of shoes EVERY time I come through the front door :-(

I realized the kids wouldn't use any system that required them to bend over and pick up their shoes (sheesh!) but they WOULD slip out of their shoes directly on top of the area rug in front of the shelf/basket/cubby, etc.

Maybe you can train your kids to put their shoes in a handy cupboard or on shelves -- but my advice is to put a long, sturdy bench against the wall in your entry, put a washable runner _under_ the bench, and ask the kids to keep their shoes ON the runner. It may become a jumble, but it will be a contained jumble -- that's better than most alternatives in my world.


Ps -- a shelf even barely raised off the floor at all could foil the scheme -- that's still a "second" motion to take off or put on.