Organization: Shoe pantry

Martha Stewart had a great idea to use a pull-out pantry for storing shoes.

[Martha Stewart]

I love this.  All the shoes are easily accessible but not on display.  It's the perfect solution for my house, since we usually don't wear shoes inside and our shoes are stored in the hall closet.  So.  How to implement this?

Borrowing the same strategy I used for the bookshelves, I measured our shoe storage needs in inches.  Our totals:

• Husband (size 10.5) = 15 pairs @ 9.5" each
• Me (size 6) = 45 pairs @ 7.5" each

It's slightly complicated by the boots, which would need more vertical space.  To be prepared, I measured these separately:

• Husband = 4 pairs @ 9.5" each
• Me = 12 pairs @ 7.5" each

(Is this an excessive amount of shoes?  I'm feeling a little self-conscious...)  Using this pantry as a guide, I assumed that each unit is 22" deep and could have seven shelves for shoes, three shelves for the boots.

For shoes, I would be able to squeeze three pairs onto each shelf, while my husband would be able to fit 2.5 pairs (five shoes).  So I would need two pantries + one shelf, which is convenient because my husband would fill six shelves.  For boots, I require 1.3 pantries, and my husband only needs two shelves.  This was all getting a bit complicated, so here's a diagram.

I'm pretty pleased with this hypothetical arrangement, since it leaves a couple shelves open for shoe polish and other accessories.  However, if I think about the pantries from the end dimension, five of them together would mean they would be 70" wide.  Almost our whole hall closet!  So, while this is a nice idea, I would probably have to reduce my shoe collection or split them up to make it work.