I've been in love with those cute benches with baskets underneath for shoe storage that are sold at Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn since I first got married. At our first house there was no place for one, not to mention the PRICE. eek. But when we moved to our current house there was this awkward space by the backdoor, which is also in my kitchen. When you come in the door you are immediately confronted with the side of the refrigerator. Very welcoming.
It's a small space, 12 inches to be exact, and it needs to have some shoe storage plus be welcoming and pretty. I drew up some plans for my husband to build a very shallow bench that I could use baskets with, but baskets this size were not easy to find. Then one day at Target I found this piece of furniture, I swear it was supposed to be used as a wine rack, but now when I look it up online it shows it for shoe storage. But really, when I did it I was being creative! ;)
It doesn't fit my husband's shoes, but he has a shoe obsession and when we moved in I nicely gave him the built in shoe rack in our closet. Our very small closet. The main thing is that the kids shoes are easily accessible and organized, and this works well for that! Plus my rainbow of flip-flops (well, more of a neutral rainbow!).
I attached some stick on velcro on top.
Than I made a cushion. It's basically an envelope closure pillow with a 2 inch edge added to it. I had no tutorial to follow so I just guessed as I went!! It turned out well, except some sturdier fabric would have been better. I used some 2 inch thick regular-density foam that I cut to the length and width of the unit. Then I added the stick on velcro to the back of the cushion!
This pillow came with my patio set and happened to match and fit so nicely! But now I have this green envelope closure pillow sitting there.
Looks comfy doesn't it??
Add a homemade memo board and you barely notice that big bad refrigerator! :)
Okay so this one was taken today with bad lighting, different pictures on the memo board, and the new green pillow. But I thought you could use a bigger view :)
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You did a wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!! :)
ReplyDeleteThat looks great! Good job!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one with the learning curve regarding blogger. Have a great day!
Love this idea! I wish I had a place to put one in my house! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHeidi, this is so darling. I love the cushion on top. My shoe basket needs help...so thanks for the inspiration. I might actually find shoes with this (instead of losing them in the black hole of my current basket)
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