The majority of Singapore residences have limited entryway space, especially if you live in a condo or an HDB flat. Getting a shoe cabinet to fit beautifully in this small space while offering the storage space we need to store all of our shoes may be a challenging task for many of us, and simply choosing one with a spectacular design that catches your eye will not work.

With so many different sizes, heights, door types, designs, and other features to pick from, how can we narrow down our options to just one shoe cabinet? Here are some pointers and things to consider when selecting a shoe cabinet for your home.

The Ideal Shoe Cabinet Size

A proper shoe cabinet should have a depth of at least 20cm to allow for the storage of most shoe types without the shoe protruding out of the cabinet. This requirement, however, will vary depending on the size of your shoes. As such, it is important to know the length of your shoes before shopping for your shoe cabinet. 

The majority of shoe cabinets are built to keep shoes without their boxes; if you want to store your shoe boxes as well, you may wish to consider alternative solutions, such as installing shoe racks in a room to properly organise them all. The size of the ideal shoe cabinet will also depend on the number of shoes you need to store.

Choosing The Right Shoe Cabinet For Your Home

1. The Available Space You Have

Before you head to the stores in search of a new shoe cabinet, you need to know how much available space you have to fit the storage unit; can you fit a large four-door cabinet or do you only have room for a shoe rack? 

Shoe cabinets, like shoes, come in a range of styles and sizes. Narrow shoe cabinets with drop-down inclined shelves are excellent for small spaces, whilst larger ones with conventional shelves may come with sliding doors, eliminating the need to account for extra space for the doors to swing open. 

Aside from that, there are multi-purpose shoe cabinets that allow you to store a variety of items and even doubles up as a seat for when you need to sit down to put on your shoes.

If none of these is suitable for your space, consider getting shoe racks. They are great space-saving alternatives to cabinets because of their portability and are also compact enough to fit into small spaces.

2. How Much Shoe Storage Space You Need

The number of shoes you own will ultimately determine how much storage space you need. If you only need to keep four pairs of shoes, a single level shoe shelf will suffice. However, if you own more than 20 pairs of shoes, you will need a proper shoe cabinet or a larger storage unit.

A typical two-door shoe cabinet in Singapore can hold between 10 and 15 pairs of shoes, whereas three-door shoe cabinets may hold up to 24 pairs of shoes and four-door shoe cabinets can hold up to 32 pairs of shoes. This is also dependent on the size of your shoes and how well you organise them.

Many shoe cabinets include removable shelves, allowing you to rearrange the boards to accommodate the height of your heels, high-cut boots, and high-cut sneakers. Such features allow you to make the most of your shoe cabinet by minimising the amount of redundant air space. For example, reducing the height between each board to store flat shoes, and using the extra space to store heels. 

Some shoe cabinets even come with slanted shelves to maximise the pairs of shoes that you can keep and allow you to efficiently store your heels as well.

3. Which Material Is The Best

While there are numerous materials for you to choose from, wood is the finest choice for shoe cabinets because of its versatility and durability. It does a great job of protecting your shoes from moisture and sunlight, looks just like any other regular piece of furniture and can complement a variety of home decor styles. You can keep the wood natural for a Scandinavian, contemporary and rustic interior or paint it dark for modern and industrial interiors.

Metal shoe cabinets are uncommon in Singapore, but some cabinets include metallic accents for aesthetic purposes. They are popular in modern and industrial interiors, as well as in fold-down designs.

Fabric and plastic are less durable solutions, but they do the job and are less expensive than wood. Fabric is often used to cover the sides of metal shelving structures and is excellent for ventilation.

These tips will help you in better understanding your needs and the key features to look out for while shopping for a shoe cabinet. Before you go shopping, make a list of these features and figure out the size of the cabinet you can afford to get for an easier experience.

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