My Narrow Entryway Didn’t Have Any Space for Shoe Storage Until I Found This Gem

My studio is tiny, and I have an enormous shoe collection, so you’d be right to assume that keeping them all organized and out of sight is difficult. At first I thought I could make do with a back-of-the-door shoe holder and a shoe rack at the bottom of my closet, but there was still overflow that I didn’t know what to do with. These shoes ended up in my narrow entryway, where they quickly overwhelmed the space, even when I lined them up against the wall.
I didn’t think an open shoe rack would be much better in the small space, so I decided to find a shoe cabinet that would wrangle the extra pairs and tidy everything up. Two problems came up in my search. First, the style usually didn’t look quite right (it leaned either too rustic or boho); I wanted something that looked simple and nearly blended into the wall. Another is that it had to be extremely skinny to keep the walkway clear. It took more effort than I initially thought, but I finally found that the Haotian Shoe Cabinet fit all of my requirements.

The Haotian shoe cabinet is one of the most minimalist, versatile ones I found. There aren’t any frills, which is exactly what I was looking for. I opted for the more affordable white finish, which offers two sections that flip open via a knob, but the black and grey colors also include a regular drawer toward the top. They’re also bigger: The white cabinet measures only a little over 7 inches deep (which isn’t very common) and about 30 inches wide and tall. Depending on the style of shoe, you can fit around six pairs in it altogether. Meanwhile, you can use top of this cabinet as a console table, making it the perfect place for anything from your keys to your mail and more.

Although the version I originally purchased is currently unavailable, this cabinet is almost identical and retails for $69.99.

Full transparency: This shoe cabinet isn’t perfect, but it’s a great space-saving option that has a style that could go with pretty much anything. The most trouble I had with it was in the assembly process. One piece would not fit into its assigned slot no matter how hard I tried. Admittedly, I’m about the least handy person that I know, but I noticed a few reviews reporting similar issues. Others say they had no problem at all with building it, though. In my case, I waited for my grandpa to visit with his tool kit, and he was able to improvise and fix the faulty screw/slot. 

I will say that the end result has been worth the slight trouble. The drawers stick slightly, but as long as I brace my other hand on the structure while I pull, it’s easy to open. The interior holds mostly sneakers along with one pair of ankle boots, and because it’s fully packed they don’t slide around when opening and closing the doors. 

My favorite part by far is that I would barely notice that it’s in my hallway if it didn’t have such a major decluttering effect. It sits almost flush against the wall — it would be completely flush if not for my apartment’s weird molding — and barely extends into the small hallway. The wide surface on top gives me a place for my keys, mail, and other frequently used items. Honestly, my entryway wasn’t even functional before I added this shoe cabinet to the mix, and that makes up for its minimal flaws.

Buy: Haotian Shoe Cabinet, $69.99