Give it some welly!
Practical and oh-so fashionable, boot storage has become highly desirable
The country seems to have gone mad for hiking. It’s set to overtake yoga as the fitness fad of the moment, with celebrities including model Gigi hadid and actress Reese Witherspoon bragging about their hikes on Instagram (where #hiking has nearly 43 million posts).
even the Duchess of Cambridge is a fan. Well, she has the gear, frequently wearing designer wellies and her much-loved £475 Penelope Chilvers tall leather boots on official engagements.
In response, we’re buying lots of boots: the shopping platform lyst.co.uk says searches for hiking boots have increased by nearly 60 per cent over the past six months.
But what to do with them all? Instead of littering the hallway, boot rooms are becoming a popular addition in grander homes.
Katie Fontana, founder of Plain english, says: ‘They are especially popular with our American clients, who refer to them as “mud rooms”, however we are definitely seeing an increasing amount of rurally based UK clients installing boot rooms, too.’
DESIGN FROM SCRATCH
PURPOSE-BUILT fitted cupboards do cost more, but you get the advantage of a space that is designed just for you. The Dormy house offers a range of modular furniture that is customised to exact measurements. It even has a build-your-own boot room wall storage service ( thedormyhouse.com).
If you’re not going fully fitted, then British standard, Plain english’s sister brand, offers a range of ready-made cupboards, such as its double height housekeepers cupboard, which, Katie says, is popular as a place to store waterproofs, boots and dog leads (£1,505, britishstandardcupboards.co.uk).
she suggests starting from the ground up when planning a boot room. ‘We would always recommend a practical, washable floor, such as flagstones or tiles.’
Try Marlborough Tiles, which has a range of porcelain floor tiles that look like natural stone and wood (marlboroughtiles.com).
If you want to soften the space and keep it feeling warmer in winter, add a natural-texture rug, such as Tate & Darby’s Knots And Crosses Beni ourain Rug (£ 380, tateanddarby.com).
Katie adds: ‘A big sink is a useful addition for washing boots and dogs. It should have a mixer or spray tap to prevent scalding.’
But your boot room can also be much simpler in design, explains Tim little, Ceo and creative director of Grenson ( grenson.
com): ‘I have a boot room — we put up long, shallow shelves running the length of the room to get the maximum number of shoes and boots on them.
‘It is used by three or four of us, so it tends to be organised by person.’
Whatever your boot room solution, there are expert tips to keep it looking its best.
‘I have the boots facing toes to the front, so its easier to recognise them,’ says Tim. ‘And I tend to arrange them by season, with rugged winter boots at one end and lighter summer shoes at the other. It’s about ease of choosing what to wear.’
If you want to personalise your storage, add your family’s names to cupboards, shelves or hangers with Midori brass label plates (£14.99, londongraphics.co.uk).
REFRESH UTILITY ROOM
An Existing utility room can make a perfect boot room — with a few tweaks. A good starting point is a storage unit, such as neptune’s Pembroke Fitted storage (from £860, neptune.com) or a wider shoe locker (£ 139.99, greenfingers.com).
If you’re an outdoorsy family with many pairs of welly boots, a rack to keep them tidy and dry, such as the Farringdon Welly stand (£70, gardentrading.co.uk) will help maintain the organisation of your space.
Accessories can transform the room — a boot scraper by the back door is practical and adds to the boot room vibe (try the Country Boot Brush, £30.95, gardenoasis.co.uk), as does a hand-carved personalised boot jack (from £90, theoakandropecompany.co.uk).
MAXIMISE A HALLWAY
NOT everyone has space for a dedicated boot room but, with clever furniture, you can make your hallway more serviceable.
‘For those without a boot room, but who require an area for storing boots, coats, hats and waterproofs, we suggest adding a wooden bench with storage and a shelf-and-peg rail above,’ says Katie Fontana.
A settle with hidden storage, such as the scandinavian two-seater bench (£475,
hicksandhicks.com), can store countless pairs of shoes and boots, or for a narrow hallway, try Ikea’s hemnes shoe storage (from £70, ikea.com).
similarly, a narrow coat stand with shoe storage underneath, such as John lewis’s oak Calia stand (£499, johnlewis.com), or even vintage wooden coat pegs ( etsy.com), can save space and add interest.