How to Design a Boot Room
Looking to squeeze a space into your home to stash outdoor paraphernalia? Take a look at these design ideas
Boot rooms are essentially a buffer between the outside world and the interior of your home. As well as offering somewhere to leave outdoor shoes and coats, they can be a space to store anything you frequently take in and out of your home, keeping the rest of your space clean and tidy.
You don’t need to have a large home to find the space for one, either; as these photos show, they come in all shapes and sizes. Here’s how to plan yours.
You don’t need to have a large home to find the space for one, either; as these photos show, they come in all shapes and sizes. Here’s how to plan yours.
Try bespoke
Bespoke doesn’t always have to mean expensive, and when it comes to storage, having cupboards custom-made for your home can often be the cleverest option.
By having storage made to measure, you can maximise every last bit of floor and wall space, overcome any tricky corners, and get tailor-made cupboards that work for your household.
This scheme by AZL Interiors is a great example of how different-sized cubbyholes and cupboards can create space for specific items.
Bespoke doesn’t always have to mean expensive, and when it comes to storage, having cupboards custom-made for your home can often be the cleverest option.
By having storage made to measure, you can maximise every last bit of floor and wall space, overcome any tricky corners, and get tailor-made cupboards that work for your household.
This scheme by AZL Interiors is a great example of how different-sized cubbyholes and cupboards can create space for specific items.
Combine with seating
When you’re pulling shoes on and off, seating is obviously helpful. Shoe benches, like these by Woodstock Furniture, combine lots of storage with a useful perch and will help to upgrade a hallway to a boot room.
This corner seat makes the most of the space, especially when combined with the coat hooks above.
When you’re pulling shoes on and off, seating is obviously helpful. Shoe benches, like these by Woodstock Furniture, combine lots of storage with a useful perch and will help to upgrade a hallway to a boot room.
This corner seat makes the most of the space, especially when combined with the coat hooks above.
Utilise boot drawers
If you like to keep everything tidied away and your floor space free, boot drawers like these by Guild Anderson Furniture are a brilliant idea.
Double the height of a regular drawer, they can take several pairs of tall boots, then simply glide shut to sweep them out of view.
Speak to a local interior designer or carpenter to find out if this could be possible in your home.
If you like to keep everything tidied away and your floor space free, boot drawers like these by Guild Anderson Furniture are a brilliant idea.
Double the height of a regular drawer, they can take several pairs of tall boots, then simply glide shut to sweep them out of view.
Speak to a local interior designer or carpenter to find out if this could be possible in your home.
Choose mop-clean flooring
A boot room area will get a lot of wear, so tough, easy-clean flooring is key. In this design by Field Day Studio, a stone floor provides the perfect mop-clean surface for muddy boots and shoes.
If you don’t have a hard floor, a thick, natural-fibre doormat will offer an extra layer of protection and can be used to cover any type of flooring.
A boot tray is also a good investment, as you can stand any wet or muddy boots directly onto this as soon as you walk through the door, then leave them to dry.
A boot room area will get a lot of wear, so tough, easy-clean flooring is key. In this design by Field Day Studio, a stone floor provides the perfect mop-clean surface for muddy boots and shoes.
If you don’t have a hard floor, a thick, natural-fibre doormat will offer an extra layer of protection and can be used to cover any type of flooring.
A boot tray is also a good investment, as you can stand any wet or muddy boots directly onto this as soon as you walk through the door, then leave them to dry.
Use a tough paint finish
This boot room by A New Day - Interior Design Studio is a practical space for a couple who frequently take their dog for a muddy walk in nearby woods. The walls are painted in emulsion at the top, but gloss at the bottom, so they’re easy to wipe down; you can just see the dividing line if you look closely.
Choosing a similar paint finish will help your walls to look good for longer.
Take a look around the rest of this colourful home.
This boot room by A New Day - Interior Design Studio is a practical space for a couple who frequently take their dog for a muddy walk in nearby woods. The walls are painted in emulsion at the top, but gloss at the bottom, so they’re easy to wipe down; you can just see the dividing line if you look closely.
Choosing a similar paint finish will help your walls to look good for longer.
Take a look around the rest of this colourful home.
Turn up the heat
Boot rooms really come into their own in the winter months, when wet and muddy shoes need to be dried out. If you can incorporate heating into this area – either a radiator or an underfloor system – it will help to speed up the drying process and keep your shoes and clothes toasty warm.
In this design by John Young Furnishings of Keswick, a simple boot shelf has been built in front of a small radiator to dry out walking boots, while a plastic tray is ready to accommodate any muddy footwear.
Boot rooms really come into their own in the winter months, when wet and muddy shoes need to be dried out. If you can incorporate heating into this area – either a radiator or an underfloor system – it will help to speed up the drying process and keep your shoes and clothes toasty warm.
In this design by John Young Furnishings of Keswick, a simple boot shelf has been built in front of a small radiator to dry out walking boots, while a plastic tray is ready to accommodate any muddy footwear.
Tuck it into a cupboard
Boot rooms can be messy; with several family members shedding coats, shoes and scarves numerous times a day, it’s easy for this area to get into a tangle.
By tucking your boot room into a cupboard, as shown in this scheme by Ashdale Projects, you can avoid looking at the worst of the mess by simply closing the doors when it’s not in use.
An understairs cupboard could be requisitioned for this use, although ventilation should be considered if you’re going to use this area to store damp shoes and coats.
Tell us…
Is a boot room on your wish list? Let us know what you’d store in yours in the Comments.
Boot rooms can be messy; with several family members shedding coats, shoes and scarves numerous times a day, it’s easy for this area to get into a tangle.
By tucking your boot room into a cupboard, as shown in this scheme by Ashdale Projects, you can avoid looking at the worst of the mess by simply closing the doors when it’s not in use.
An understairs cupboard could be requisitioned for this use, although ventilation should be considered if you’re going to use this area to store damp shoes and coats.
Tell us…
Is a boot room on your wish list? Let us know what you’d store in yours in the Comments.
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At its most basic, a boot room can be a simple storage space by the door to tidy up shoes and coats. However, with a bit of thought and planning, it can also become a bespoke storage space that can help your household to run more smoothly, as with this example by Hughes Design & Build. The key to designing yours is to think about which elements of outdoor life you need to find space for indoors.
To help you work out what you need, write a list of everything you frequently take outdoors and bring back inside. For example, do you need space for muddy sports equipment and kit, or do you have a tangle of dog leads and damp umbrellas that are asking to be organised? Are you at the school bag stage of family life, or do you still need space for a muddy pram?
Once you have a wish list of the elements you’d like to include, you can start to plan your space.