Hide the hallway mess with 3 of these

shoe storage hallway

With some well-placed IKEA STÄLL shoe cabinets, you can fit in so much more than shoes.

Ever wondered what to do with all the shoes and ancillary clutter that ends up in your hallway (shopping bags, dog leads, paperwork)?

Here’s a nifty solution! Why have just one shoe cabinet, when you can have three? And, therefore, stop a load of trips upstairs to find the right pair of shoes for your dog walk/ shopping trip that day?

I’ve just moved home from a cavernous Victorian house to a designer new build. The new house is fabulous, but doesn’t have all those cupboards I’d become used to, but not only that, no mantelpiece for the rogues’ gallery!

So, I’ve put the two together. I’ve used the bland expanse of useless wall and made a feature out of it, as well as essential storage space.

IKEA item used:

IKEA STALL shoe cabinet

STÄLL shoe cabinet with 4 compartments | IKEA.com

My IKEA STÄLL shoeless hallway storage cabinets


Related: IKEA shoe storage hacks: 9 ingenious ways to store so much more


I started with three STÄLL shoe cabinet, but didn’t use the legs. (Just omit attaching the leg frame, which is Step 13 – 21 in the assembly manual.) I’ve hung them on the wall to give the feeling  of more space.

Meanwhile, the ugly new radiator got a cover. I was keen to fit it with the shoe cupboards so they look like they’re meant to go together.

The radiator cover was made from a single piece of MDF. I cut out the hole in the middle and allowed for a vent gap at the top that emulated the handles of the shoe cupboards.

radiator cover

Next, I went to my local sheet metal dealer and bought an off cut of square mesh which I sprayed silver to match the handles. This is attached to the back of the cover with cable clips.

radiator cover with mesh vent

Related: Help! How to wall mount the STÄLL shoe cabinet?


It was tricky to work out how to attach it and still allow it to be removed for radiator maintenance. But I got there with some brackets which I could access from the top vent hole.

The main cut out bit (centre) is edged with an edging timber to hide my wobbly cutting. Around the top hole, I’ve used silver worktop edging to match the shoe cupboard handles.

Meanwhile, for the ‘mantelpiece’, I got the local timber merchants to cut a length of timber which I’ve sprayed and varnished.

shoe storage hallway with IKEA STALL shoe storage with 4 compartments

I already had four NISSEDAL Mirrors from my old house which I’ve mounted above the cabinets which fortunately fit in perfectly!

More views of my shoe storage hallway.

The puppy is optional.

~ by Josie Guinness