Mud Room Shoe Storage

As I write this, I realize that I am not being completely honest. The truth is – I don’t have a mudroom. I have a tiny back entry room (the size of a closet) with a couple of closet doors off of it, that leads into the game room. The game room holds something my husband adores (a pool table) and something I adore (a huge side by size stainless freezer and matching refrigerator). It also holds a wooden rack of about 40-odd pairs of little girls shoes of every description, from Primigi mary janes to sparkly ballet slippers to rain boots to Lelli Kelly’s. There is a also a big basket under the pool table where I keep 20 or so pairs of my own casual shoes, from ballet slippers to wedges to sandals. Shoe-obsession issues aside, my biggest problem in that area is to how to keep the shoes looking neat while keeping them accessible. I need gorgeous, practical shoe storage. So I am considering these options? Any thoughts?

1. Sarah Shoe Storage Tower, $599, Ballard: If I were single, or if my husband’s protests could somehow be silenced (hmmmm?) I would go for something like this. Several of these lined up against a wall in a cool apartment would be all the adornment I would need. Sigh.

2. Hanging shoe storage bags, $24, Hautelook: Hautelook has a great closet/storage sale right now, and I found these cute animal-print hanging shoe bags, but we’d have to make room in a closet for them, and I don’t think the girls would be able to reach the top ones anyway.

3. Shoe Storage Bench, $129.95: One of these would be great, if it held about five times as many shoes. Love that the shoes would be out of sight, though!

4. Lilly Pulitzer “Rousseau” ottoman, $999, Horchow: Glamorous, and completely discreet, but it only holds about 16 pairs of shoes – fewer if they are high.

5. Custom Shoe Cabinet: A custom option might be on the only solution. That way I can get it in the finish, style, and specifications I want. This company seems like a good first place to start.

Right now I am thinking the best option would be to go to an antique store/market, find a vintage piece, and have my husband build out the inside so that it would hold all the shoes I want. Wonder why I didn’t think of it sooner!