Send help. My apartment is absolutely flooded – in heels. It’s a disaster of my own making. If I pass a pair of vintage Manolos at a fair price – and in my size – I take it as a sign. What’s a girl to do? Donate my children? Adopt fewer? Preposterous.
Especially when innovations like IKEA’s STÄLL shoe cabinet exist.
This ingenious little lifesaver features four compartments, each fitting two to three pairs depending on size and bulk, boasting a total capacity of eight to twelve pairs. Not exactly archival shoe storage, but enough to keep the daily rotation within arm’s reach.
And yet, from the outside, it’s minimalist and clean, hovering just above the floor on barely-there wooden legs, with a slim ledge up top for keys or any other decorative flourish. So inconspicuous, in fact, that guests won’t clock your habit at all.
At just under seven inches deep (narrower than most hardcovers) and under 38 inches wide, this slim storage unit slips almost anywhere, from entryways to awkward corridors you’ve never quite known what to do with. A near-perfect 4.7 stars across 648 reviews.
It’s especially brilliant as an entryway storage idea – not just because of its seven-inch-deep profile, which tucks neatly against the wall above the baseboard, but because the cut-out handles and metal lip make grabbing your most-reached-for pairs unseasonably seamless. Goodbye to the tragic pile of soles by the door.
‘This is the perfect size when you have no room – it’s very slim and sturdy,’ notes one reviewer. ‘Perfect for an entryway with no extra space. The space on top is ideal for keys and a mail drop area.’ Others say it was quite literally the only cabinet that fit their narrow hallways – which may be the most New York endorsement possible.
Suddenly, I no longer feel submerged. A cabinet by the door, another near the closet? This feels like the universe telling me the antique market is back on the agenda this weekend.
The STÄLL shoe cabinet is already impressively streamlined. But say you’re working with a truly microscopic NYC studio like mine – or you’re in the 10th percentile of entryway square footage – then the BISSA becomes your new best friend. With just two compartments, it still manages to hold up to eight pairs of shoes, leaving enough surface space on top for a vase, a candle, or a small trinket dish.
Hot on the scene is the STÄLL shoe cabinet’s second iteration, which keeps the same space-saving silhouette but trades glossy white for a warm oak veneer. This gives the design a softer, breezier effect – a natural fit for organically inspired interiors or homes with similarly toned flooring.
The most elegant shoe storage option in IKEA’s archive is, without a doubt, the GULLABERG. It offers two fewer compartments than the STÄLL, yet somehow still manages to store up to 14 pairs of shoes – and that’s before you factor in the slim drawers up top. At just under a foot deep, it’s slightly more substantial, but ideal for a bedroom setting.
Too many shoes and not enough space no longer have to be sworn enemies. But if you’re feeling newly converted to the art of discreet storage, why stop at the entryway? Take that same ultra-organized energy into the sleep space with one of these bedroom storage benches – a similarly foolproof way to corral your fashion finds.
