My back entry* is a shambles. I’ve got double doors at the back of the house leading into a hall / utility room which is about 12ft x 8ft. At the minute it gets used as a dumping ground for everything – coats, wellie boots, shoes, kindling, potatoes, wine rack….bike gear etc . Ideally I’d like to get it plumbed and have fixtures built, turn it into a proper utility room but short term I need big robust storage things.

Can the hive mind please recommend an online retailer for sturdy wooden storage. I need some kind of shoe storage and a freestanding stack of shelves. I’m not sure where to start looking, most results turn up decorative, twee, “faux vintage” type stuff and the local furniture stores are complete rip off merchants.

Thanks.

*There you go, that’s the sexy part in case you were wondering.

how un-twee and practical do you want ?

loads of garage shelving on ebay etc

otherwise, ikea probs

If you want it to look tidy get storage with doors, not open shelves.

Ikea is always a good place to start. Wardrobes, book cases etc – can be ‘repurposed’ as utility storage, or just buy their dedciated storage solutions to fit your space.

Buy a copy of Enzo Mari’s ’Autoprogettazione’, a hammer and a saw and build your own 🙂

Big floor to ceiling cupboards for coats and shoes – with heating element and dehumidifier…I would if I had the room.
Baskets work for us for hats, gloves, over trousers, torches etc
Big, long hooks at high height work have all our rucsacks on.
Dark floor, that can be mopped.

scaredypants – Member
how un-twee and practical do you want

Preferably not industrial looking. Chunky and wooden.

wwaswas – Member
If you want it to look tidy get storage with doors, not open shelves

Long term I will have to get a unit custom built I guess, but for now I just need to get the mess off the floor.

Ikea Ivar or whatever its called.

Just buy some big cheap kitchen larder units. Putting a utility room in with kitchen furniture is as easy as anything.