Shoes are big, clunky and can’t be folded, so unless you have a lot of spare storage space, they usually end up as trip hazards at the front or back door, or squashed at the bottom of the wardrobe.

So what’s the solution? Read on for some shoe storage ideas that don’t involve you face-planting on the hall floor thanks to a discarded welly.

1. Make the most of corner walls

If you have an unused corner near an entryway or at the bottom of the stairs, you could install small floating shelves to stack shoes vertically, getting them up off the floor and out of harm’s way. Leaving about 20cm height between shelves means you can potentially store ten or more pairs of adult shoes – small children’s shoes might even fit two or three pairs to a shelf. Another option is this clever modular shoe storage unit, which can be reconfigured to fit your space in a square, rectangular, or stepped shape.

2. Hang hooks at skirting-board level

A very quick and easy way to tidy up shoes that are getting dumped in an entryway is to install coat hooks at skirting board level somewhere near the door – or turn it into a wall feature as in the image below. If you’d rather keep your shoes out of sight then a shoe organiser designed to hang on the back of a door would be a better option for you, like this fabric one which holds 24 pairs. 

3. Find furniture that doubles as storage

A shoe ottoman, for example, allows you to keep the shoes you use most often close at hand in the living room or hallway, hidden away inside a footstool. It can be tricky to find these at a reasonable price, but if you have a staple gun and some spare fabric you could easily DIY or upcycle this from a standard ottoman. For extra storage capacity, this attractive and compact cabinet holds 18 pairs of shoes and doubles as a hallway console.

4. Go for a built-in solution

If you’re really having trouble keeping the shoes rounded up and neatly stored, then a custom storage solution might be the best option. Storage drawers with integrated shoe racks can be built in under the first few steps of your stairs – often an unused storage space anyway – and can take up to 30kg of weight. A built-in bench with a lift up seat will certainly help to keep shoes tidily stored and organised or, if you have space, then a mud room unit in hall or utility can incorporate enough shoe storage to accommodate the whole household.

More: How do I get my kitchen cupboards organised – and keep them that way?>