This IKEA shoe storage hack turns even the smallest of nooks into usable storage space – it’ll banish shoe clutter once and for all

It offers that built-in look on a budget

Hallway with colourful floor tiles and a wooden cabinet underneath the stairs
(Image credit: Future PLC/David Giles)

Shoes are the biggest contributors to clutter in every home, and they tend to pile up in a messy heap in the most inconvenient spots. This is even worse when space is limited, and it can be a major source of stress for those who want to maintain a tidy hallway… or just want to stop having nightmares about shoes every day.

That’s why it’s well worth looking towards our Swedish space-saving saviours for handy IKEA shoe storage hacks, and I’ve found one that turns even the smallest of nooks into a useable space for a whopping 20 shoes. In fact, as soon as I spotted Ali from @shemadehome turn a tiny space in her hallway into the ultimate shoe storage area, I knew she was onto a winner.

Not only is this IKEA shoe storage hack extremely practical, but Ali managed to create that built-in look on an incredible budget of under £85. This is how she did it.

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Like many looking for shoe storage ideas for small spaces, Ali was inspired to bring this IKEA shoe storage hack to life when the jumble of shoes in her family home had become too much.

She told me, ‘As a family of five, we have a lot of shoes. We wanted to maximise this dead space in our porch, and found that the Ikea BISSA units fit perfectly.’

And while these BISSA units are already marketed as shoe storage thanks to the different pull-out compartments, Ali wanted to take her hack one step further. So, she bought two different sizes - the smaller BISSA Shoe cabinet with 2 compartments (£30 at IKEA), and the slightly larger BISSA Shoe cabinet with 3 compartments (£45 at IKEA).

She then stacked the smaller cabinet on top of the larger one, attached them to the wall to prevent toppling, and added some decorative trim to enhance the built-in look. This cost her just a few pounds from Wickes.

IKEA Bissa shoe storage hack in a hallway, next to a pink seating area and mirror

(Image credit: @shemadehome)

To finish it off, she colour-drenched the units in the same colour as the rest of her hallway - Little Greene’s Clay Mid Paint, which starts at just £5 depending on the pot size. And as you can imagine, Ali was over the moon with the result, especially as she turned what was previously dead space into a stylish shoe storage solution for up to 20 pairs of shoes.

She told me, ‘The result is a huge amount of shoe storage, on a shoestring budget, that looks incredible too.’ However, she’s not the only one who has turned to IKEA’s BISSA units for an organised hallway.

White IKEA shoe storage tucked in the corner of a hallway

(Image credit: @shemadehome)

Ideal Home’s Editorial Assistant, Maddie, recently moved in with her boyfriend and raved about her IKEA Bissa shoe storage too. And while she didn’t add trim or paint it like Ali, it still totally transformed her hallway - and she hasn’t had to deal with shoe clutter since.

But if IKEA hacks aren’t quite your style, it’s still possible to buy ready-made shoe storage for smaller spaces. These are my picks as an Ideal Home Editor.

You just can't go wrong with an IKEA hack!

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Lauren Bradbury
Content Editor (House Manual)

Lauren Bradbury has been the Content Editor for the House Manual section since January 2025 but worked with the team as a freelancer for a year and a half before that. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing from the University of Chichester in 2016. Then, she dipped her toe into the world of content writing, primarily focusing on home content. After years of agency work, she decided to take the plunge and become a full-time freelancer for online publications, including Real Homes and Ideal Home, before taking on this permanent role. Now, she spends her days searching for the best decluttering and cleaning hacks and creating handy how-to guides for homeowners and renters alike, as well as testing vacuums as part of her role as the Ideal Home Certified Expert in Training on Vacuums, having spent over 110 hours testing different vacuum models to date!