Are your shoes in the way, but there's no place to put them?

There's never been a simple, elegant solution to the issue of shoe storage in my life.

Shoes are the destroyers of otherwise neat houses.  They're strangely-shaped objects that don't stack neatly, don't hang hang well on hangers and nearly always end up in a mismatched heap in a corner of the closet.

At least, when they're not making the entryway into a treacherous obstacle course.

That is why I love this staircase from Unicraft Joinery, in Hamilton, Victoria (Australia).

What I like about it is that it uses a normally overlooked space to store items that are usually in the way, while still keeping the shoes close to the doorway.

Of course, there are always the concerns about someone leaving the drawers open, but (in my experience) having shoes lying randomly on the floor is just as deadly!  I always pay attention to the ground at night when I'm climbing stairs.  It's the open areas that get me.

A solution might be to have small lights installed that go on whenever the drawer is open.  Could be easily done with LED lights, a switch and a battery.

In most houses, stairs are simply ways to get from one floor to the other. They often take up a lot of room and it's hard to use the space under them.  So, it's really nice to see ideas about how to get more utility out of a space-hogging item in a small house or apartment.

Flashy, beautifully-designed items like the iPhone might grab headlines, but there's nothing better than a design-solution that solves a real problem!

Now, if only we could install this in my small, shared apartment...!

Comments

[Nick Bakewell]

That's ingenious!

[Fancine Pickering]

It's fantastic. I was loving this site already but that's made my day.