We personally own two tall Xavier Pauchard metal cabinets that we use to store shoes and sweaters, so we instantly understood the appeal of these remarkably similar Metal Shoe Cabinet from The Container Store that reader Monica sent in: I live in a little house with no foyer and no coat closet (actually, hardly any closets, period!), so I'm always in search of storage ideas...
I lived in Eastern Europe for three years, and everyone there takes shoes off upon entering the house. They have all kinds of great solutions for storing shoes. When I came back to the US, I went looking for shoe cabinets, but couldn't find anything that wasn't bench-type, which I have no place to put without an actual entryway. Then I stumbled on this GREAT cabinet at the Container Store. It's only 6" deep, so it fits on the wall behind my front door — a place I never would have thought storage was possible! And even though it's a bit pricey, the construction is great — heavy-duty coated steel instead of MDF or particleboard. It was super easy to hang right out of the box, no assembly required.
The 4-Drawer Shoe Cabinet is $169 from The Container Store and is available in a white or platinum colored finish. In a narrow hallway, 2 or three of these mounted at thesame height could easily function as both shoe storage and a very narrow landing strip!
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Where are the holders for men with size 11 shoes? I made the mistake of purchasing a shoe wheel that I saw on this site early last year. Its good for women with small shoes.
This thing... who knows. Those shoes don't look average.
view SeanG's profile
I was thinking that would be great for people who own a ridiculous amount of shoes (me). Then there's people like my boyfriend, who only own 4 pairs and think I'm a weirdo . . .
view Zhahira's profile
SeanG, shoe holders are never made for men.
view kiljoywashere's profile
i try to get my electrician-man to leave his work boots in the garage. this will be facilitated when our garage is organized enough that he can park his car in there, taking his shoes off before entering, and i can use the house shoe rack!
view Joan in SB's profile
Great idea, insanely ugly. Also, totally totally impractical for men's shoes. The only thing I can find that fits a size 13 are over-the-door, cloth shoe racks.
view zaky's profile
Does it hold more than 8 pairs of shoes though? I think most ladies would need several of these. It may not be pretty and it may be totally disorganized, but the huge plastic bin I throw my shoes into takes up a lot less space and costs a lot less too.
view UWSretreat's profile
I use the Pauchard cabinets (links above) for mens shoes...each cubby holds two pairs comfortably (size 10). They are expensive, but great for keeping things tidy and using lots of vertical space.
view Aaron's profile
they look like old filing cabinets, the kind you'd see at the doctor's office.
Totally not worth it if you can only fit 8 pairs of shoes!
view sophisticatedsoul's profile
Yes, my boyfriend has large feet and this thing would never accommodate his shoes! Plus I have TONS of shoes. It looks like each fold down would hold about three pairs and possibly no boots. Doesn't make sense for my personal needs. I think it may even be counter-productive taking up more space than actually saving. My apartment would look like a high school locker room...
view dnice's profile
I have this shoe container in white, and love it! Here's a link to my blog post (with photos):
http://huntpeck.blogspot.com/2008/08/organizational-details.html
Yes, it holds 8 pairs of shoes (I have sneakers and hiking boots in it). It's sturdy, nice looking, and fits perfectly on a small wall of my bedroom. Can't recommend it enough.
-V
view Nesser's profile
How about the Ikea Sandnes cabinet? http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90111895
I had a local glass and mirror company (Cadillac Glass & Mirror in Santa Monica) cut mirror for the front, used longer screws for the pulls, and painted the top and sides silver.
We use this for all our bathroom storage--hairdryer, brushes, it's the perfect size to stack rolls of t.p.--and if you roll instead of fold, works great for extra linens.
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/051008loulouSMC/hallway
view Loulou's profile
Ikea not only offers the Sandnes mentioned above but also the Tronsnes- a plastic version that's only $29! and since each door is a seperate cabinet, the possibilities are endless.
And my husband's 14EEE fit!
view Lizliterarius's profile
You mention storing sweaters in your metal cabinet. Has anyone tried using a shallow shoe cabinet like this for sweaters? My room is totally out of storage space and I have a lot of bulky clothes. I have a corner where an Ikea Sandnes cabinet (or this Container Store version) would probably work perfectly, but I'm afraid the sweaters wouldn't stay in the drawers properly.
view Liana's profile