Three creative ways to keep wet shoes off your hardwood floors

Spring often means rain and lots of it! April showers bring May flowers, but they also bring dripping, wet shoes into your home and onto your beautiful hardwood floors. Do not let soggy shoes dirty up or damage your floors! Minimally, wipe shoes on a mat outside the front door, remove them when you come inside, and leave them on an additional mat or towel in the entryway. Ask guests to your home to do this as well. This plan, however, is not attractive and can also damage flooring in the long term if wet towels or mats are left on the floor for too long. There are many decorative solutions to the wet shoes problem!

Decorative Trays: Purchase an inexpensive, deep tray from a big box store or inexpensive retailer such as HomeGoods or TJ Maxx. Shoes can go straight into the tray, which will collect water droplets. Smooth round stones can also be purchased and added to the tray so that shoes and boots are sitting on an elevated platform, allowing water droplets to drip off and filter through the rocks. This will also prevent your shoes from sitting in a puddle of water. Look for decorative stones or rocks at a gardening center or craft store.

Galvanized Tubs: A galvanized tub can sit right inside the door or even on the front porch. Galvanized metal can be incorporated into almost any design style from farmhouse casual to modern industrial. Galvanized tubs are meant to hold water and will keep water off the floor. Consider a galvanized metal tub outside the front entry for holding the muddiest boots or one right inside the door to keep wet shoes at bay.

Wooden Crates: This is another solution that can be made to match almost any décor. Paint basic wooden crates from a craft store in a shade or tone that matches your other décor. Wooden crates can go in the corner on your front entryway, either inside or outside, and can be stacked for more storage. Boots can stand upright in a crate to help them dry faster and to keep water from pooling on top of other shoes. Wooden crates keep shoes neat and pairs together.

Each of these shoe storage solutions are easy and inexpensive to implement. Teach small children to wipe their feet and remove their shoes at the door. Additionally, keep a small towel for wiping pet feet near the entryway to prevent their wet and muddy feet from damaging the flooring as well. Don’t have hardwood floors? Call us today for a consultation with one of our flooring specialists!