Shoes Off!

In many cultures it is considered rude to walk in to someone’s house with one’s shoes on. A shoe rack is quite a good way of hinting that the rest of the home is a ‘shoe free zone’. If you enter a typical Swedish home you will often find a shoe rack by the front door. Some even have a built in shoe rack inside a unit where jackets and other outdoor accessories such as hats and gloves can be placed. These units are indeed very practical and will make an entrance look more organised. Units of this kind can be purchased in many well-known furniture stores, and come in different sizes, materials and colours.

If you have a house or a flat where the front door opens up to the kitchen or living groom, there may not be enough space for a large storage unit. Therefore, another idea is to place a thin, almost book-shelf-like unit, approximately 1800 mm high and 400 mm wide. Shoes could be placed at the bottom and gloves, hats etc. could be placed inside baskets on the other shelves.

However, there may not be enough space for this smaller solution either. Another example is to simply place a small shoe rack with a couple of levels behind or next to the door. In this case, get four to six hooks in a nice design and attach them above the shoe rack or perhaps on the back of the door. If you have incorporated one of these ideas for the purpose of making people take their shoes off when entering your home, but you are finding that not everyone gets the hint; why not design your own poster or frame a piece of paper saying ‘Park your Shoes’ or ‘No shoes after this point’ an so on. That way, using a witty solution, you will let your guests know the deal without having to tell them.