Shoe storage is a constant issue at our house. There are seven of us, and we have the tiniest entryway imaginable with a funny bend into the kitchen. While all of these are neat solutions, I don't think that we have the space for any of them.

Shoe storage is such a problem for us as well. There's only two of us, but I have a lot of shoes :) We just take them off as soon as we get in the door, then find the appropriate spot for them - if they're wet, we put them in the bathroom. If they just need to be put away, we take them to the closet.

We tried that method, but training 5 kids under 8 to do so proved to be...well, impossible:)

My daughter and her family are disciplined enough to do the same thing as Pi. I'm not nearly so. I've placed 3 Ikea shoe racks in the entryway and it works for me, much as dislike the shoes being out in the open. It narrows the entryway considerably but it works.
But....oooooooooooo...how I love the built-in in photo #1!!!

I am big believer in taking off shoes at the door. It really does keep the amount of dirt down in the rest of the house.

I love these solutions that tuck the shoe storage INTO the wall, and probably wouldn't be that hard to do if you planned it during a renovation. Very smart!

i think a shoe hole would be awesome! Since we're doing a butt load of remodeling anyway, I think I may try this.

For those that cannot do something like these what about using wall space by hanging or floating a kitchen cabinet on the wall. If you could do two it would look like a built-in credenza and they are only 12" deep and give you a surface on top for a tray to place keys and some thing decortive and the shoes could go inside cabinet. This would not take up too much hallway space.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S99869807

I keep all of my shoes in my dressing room. I have them in their original boxes. I have over 150 pair.

I just bought an Expedit bookcase from IKEA for this exact purpose. I laid it on its side under the front window, put in one of the inserts for my running shoes and decorated the top so that my husband can't use it as another flat surface for junk. Hopefully it will help!!

We built a low (about hip height) bookcase with room for shoe storage for the entryway. You can throw mail and keys in a bowl on top and it keeps shoes from being tossed every which way.

I'm hoping I can find space between the studs in my foyer for shoe shelves.

That's a beautiful staircase - I love how the step is extended into a seat.

"We tried that method, but training 5 kids under 8 to do so proved to be...well, impossible"

You're not giving your kids enough credit.
Children are smarter than you think, they can be taught to do almost anything with consistant guidance and discipline from a caring parent.

We take off our shoes when coming in from the garage, and we leave them on the rug inside the door, lined up against the wall. It's not the front foyer, usually only guests come in that way -- and the few regular guests we have over tend to walk thru to the kitchen and leave their shoes on the rug, too, without us asking! The garage entry is only about 36 inches square, opening into the kitchen and our breakfast table, so there is no place for a rack or cupboard. But one wall of the entry is actually our broom closet, and I'm now thinking a cubby might be cut into that from the side, forfeiting some of the floor space in the closet... Might just work!

bepsf: Please re-read your previous statement regarding the amount of credit I give my children, and try to understand how I might take offense. I'm well aware of my childrens' abilities, thankyouverymuch, and as far as they're being "smarter than I think"? Well, since I'm of the opinion that they are all brilliant already...

But perhaps I did not phrase my initial comment correctly. My statement that it is "impossible" to train the kiddos to take care of their shoes was an exaggeration (which is why it was followed by a smiley-face). My kids are ages 4, 4, 6, 8 and 2 months. The mobile ones are in and out of the house all day long. That screen door opens every 5 minutes on average around here. While I probably COULD train them all to put their kicks away in their closets (which are all upstairs) every time they took them off, it'd certainly be a struggle to enforce - and I have more pressing things to do than monitor the entryway all day long. In the end it isn't a very efficient or reasonable solution to our "pile 'o shoes" anyway, so I think I'll save all that kid-badgering energy up for something REALLY important. Like flushing the toilet.

I like the ideas presented here, especially the built-in shoe slots. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, we just don't have the room in our entry. This is an exciting challenge! If we come up with anything super-cool, I'll try to remember to send pics over to ohdeedoh!

Oh no! Second paragraph, last sentence should read "Like reminding them to flush the toilet" or something. The way it reads now...

I'm not such a good editor when my feathers are ruffled.

tmoore - With enough patience and determination, you could teach your kids to take off their shoes and put them away. I hate to do it but I agree with bepsf - if your children didn't learn when you tried to teach them, it was you being lazy not their ability to learn.

My being "lazy"? Totally out of line, ChrisGal. Shame on you. If you'd like to resort to name-calling here on AT, I'm sure I could come up with a few for you, darlin'.

Well, i think i should buy more shoes...

Ok, everyone, tmoore has stated that she has a 2 month old so she probably is not getting enough sleep so let´s give her a break since this website is probably the only adult interaction she is getting.

tmoor, I´ve been there and sturggle with only two kids so I can only imagine the level of chaos and work that is involved in running a house with five! Please, don´t take general statements made here too personally.

Everyone, TRUCE, please!

Phew!

We also have a separate entrance for ourselves and for our guests. We have a repurposed IKEA Billy book case with glass doors lined with fabric that holds most of our shoes that only needs rotation about twice a year due to seasons. The kids are not always good about putting their shoes away in the book case but I did get as far as training them to step out of their shoes before setting foot in the house.

In our main entrance, I try to entice our guests to take off their filthy shoes by offering them comfy guest slippers. I discovered that Austrians do this while I lived there. Guest kids are ordered to remove their shoes , Adults are offered the slippers and I try not to freak out too much if Italian fashion-concious do not want to break up their outfit.

Yes, we are in Italy now, where there is a great paradox between shiny floors and footwear.

Ciao!

L

http://lapsushumanus.blogspot.com

I'm going to chime in and say that the comments have been pretty condescending to tmoore, and I myself definitely do not read them as "general statements." Seeing as how they weren't even directed at me, I can probably guess that they pissed of the addressee pretty badly. To call somebody a "lazy" parent or imply that they're not giving their OWN kids "enough credit" is pretty messed up, especially when coming from people who probably don't have to deal with the challenges of raising 5 pretty young kids who are right now out of school.

In reference to the bench/stair built in, it looks incredible, but we have wayyyyy too many shoes (and no stairs, either) to make that work. One day, though...

tmoore - Sorry but "shaming" me doesn't make me take back what I said. Everything I said is true. If kids don't behave, it's the parents fault for not wanting to get off their a** and do something about.

Wow ChrisGal, spoken truely like someone who doesn't have children and/or isn't awake to the realities of parenting non-angelic kids.

Welcome to the real world, where not every child listens and OBEYS.

I keep trying to train my dog to leave his shoes at the door, but he DOESN'T. Time for the cattle prod.

For you, ChrisGal:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/3/19/

d4kk1tt3n - Whether or not I personally have children doesn't mean I've had zero experience with children. I actually have lots since I am the eldest of the cousins in my family and got stuck babysitting every day each summer for half my life it seems. When given enough attention and patience and discipline, children learn - when the parent slacks, so does the child.

Even if over a year later, I just saw this and I'm distraught over ChrisGal's comments..

If she -ever- is blessed with kids, let her come back here and re-read her st-pid comments.