Shoes by the Door

I love all the mudroom/ entryway ideas on Pinterest, in magazines, and in catalogs. Love them. However, our "entryway" consists of a 2.5 foot by 3.5 foot span of linoleum that ends with a small span of carpet and then you hit a wall (literally). There's no space for cute little cubbies or even a traditional shoe rack.  Thank goodness we don't live somewhere where we need snow boots any more because I'm not sure where they would go! Hooks for coats and such could work but they would have to be small since there's only about 5 inches of clearance behind the door.

I looked at a bunch of stores, but I couldn't find what I had in mind.  There were some cute ideas on Pinterest, so here's my inspiration:

Cute but only applicable to heels. E's shoes would not have a home. Deal-breaker. Source.

Looked like it might be a good idea. However, we didn't have the clearance behind the front door. Source.

I liked it, but 2 things: 1) The feet are a little creepy and 2) It does not look very sturdy (since we'll be putting more than just flip flops on it. Source.

So, I did what any normal person who didn't know how to solve my organization problem would do: I went to the Container Store. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything directly on point.  I wanted something that was made with wires (a la the 3rd pin above) but still looked classy. I was thinking of something like a generic shoe rack that you could just attach to the wall. How hard is that to find?

Just when I had almost given up, elfa came to my rescue.  If something can be attached to the elfa rails, then why can't it be attached to a wall (with the appropriate anchors obviously)? Thanks to my handy hubby, our shoes now are off the floor and out of the "death zone" as I like to call it because Erik literally would step out of his shoes RIGHT in front of the door and I would trip over them (and almost die) whenever I would come home after him.

I know I always include photos with my cats photo bombing, but isn't this one hilarious? She saw the open door and tried to make her escape! I think she actually made a little frustrated noise when I caught her at the threshold and shut the door. Foiled again! 

This photo also shows you the limited clearance we have behind the door.

This is the extent of our entry way. We have a photo canvas on order for behind the door so that space will be filled soon. Hooks for a coat would be too bulky (and unsightly) we think.  And yes, our door is covered in magnets... Our fridge is stainless steel and therefore not magnetized. We love our collection of magnets though and put them up behind the door. A little juvenile? Yes, but I'm not that bothered.

I think that the shoe racks turned out nicely and aren't super obtrusive. They are very sturdy thanks to Erik's handiness. I mean, I would LOVE to have one of those cubby hole benches with hooks above it and perhaps a mirror, but look at the space I had to work with. As Tim Gunn would say: Make it work!

In summary,
Cost: $14 (the shoe racks were on sale for $6.99/ piece)
Time: 15 minutes of husband time
Verdict: No more risking death coming home after Erik.