How To Snag Hilary Farr's Clever Design That Adds Extra Shoe Storage

In every episode of "Tough Love with Hilary Farr," the HGTV star helps homeowners with challenging or messy living conditions make their spaces more functional. To do this, Hilary Farr often creates clever storage solutions for families with cluttered belongings. One of the most important possessions to organize? Shoes. In an episode of Season 2 entitled "From Ukraine With Love," Farr helps a family make better use of their shoe storage with one ingenious item: a storage bench, which she adds to their dining nook. To do the same for your family, include a shoe storage bench near where you typically enter your home.

You've probably heard of using a shoe storage bench in the entryway to store all your many pairs. However, this location isn't always convenient, especially if you often enter your home from another entry, like from a side door. The best solution is to place your shoe storage near where you typically enter your living space. For this family, that meant keeping their shoes in their dining nook, which was right next to their garage door. A storage bench with drawers is also typically a better option than an open shoe rack, as the closed drawers will minimize the visual clutter in a space. Drawers also make it easier to put away your shoes, as you can just throw them in without a second thought.

A shoe storage bench is an example of how to implement Hilary Farr's best tips for home upgrades on a budget. To include one in your own home, begin by deciding where you should place your shoe storage bench. As discussed, the best place to keep it is near wherever you typically enter your home. So, if you have a dining nook near your garage door, that would be the best option. Alternatively, maybe you enter into your living room, in which case the storage bench could sit up against an empty wall. Or, perhaps you typically need a pair of shoes before you enter your backyard each day to tend to your garden, in which case keeping a storage bench near your back door could be helpful. 

You'll then need to consider how to keep the area as functional as possible. If you're adding your bench to a dining nook like Farr did, you'll likely want to also include a small table and a few chairs. When choosing the right furniture pieces, ensure they fit comfortably in the space while still allowing you to pull out all of the drawers. Furthermore, throw pillows or upholstered seat cushions can make your bench more comfortable, so consider these additions as well. Farr included some beige pillows with lots of texture that made the space feel more dynamic and well-styled. 

The final step is to choose what bench you'd like to include. The first option is to easily DIY a storage bench. To make a bench with three drawers, you could build a frame out of 2x4 boards with three openings, cover the top and sides with plywood, then add drawer slides and drawers to the openings. If you want the piece to look like Hilary Farr's, paint it white and add large gold handles.

As long as you first ensure it will fit in the space, you could also purchase a bench. You could buy the Lark Manor Wedgeport Revolution Upholstered Storage Bench that costs under $240 on Wayfair. This white option has four drawers with chrome built-in handles. If you want a large corner piece instead, check out the Linon White Backless Nook Harris Solid Pine Storage Bench on Amazon that costs $350. However, keep in mind that this option has a flip-up top, not drawers. To add more texture to the space, consider a storage bench with woven baskets as well as small drawers for other items, like the Safavieh Damien Three-Drawer Storage Bench on Ashley for less than $200. This option also comes in multiple colors, so if you want to make more of a statement, you don't have to stick with stark white. Finally, instead of drawers, you could choose a piece with slanted shoe holders, such as the GOURE gray storage bench at Walmart that costs under $190.