I shared my front porch with you earlier this week. Now it is time to show you my side porch….
I *almost* didn’t share this project with you. I couldn’t decide if it was going to be repurposed chic or kind of trashy. Ha! But I ended up in LOVE with it when the whole porch came together and it functions perfectly.
I spray painted an old filing cabinet that I got for $10 and turned it into shoe storage!!!
We do not have a back entrance into our house and we do not have a mudroom. The side entrance and front entrance are it. So because of that, we had a muddy, messy, side porch. And there were always a huge pile of dirty play shoes. Our side porch was anything but attractive. It was embarrassing. I had built a shoe bench for our office and it works great for our regular shoes, church shoes, and school shoes. But I didn’t want out yard work shoes and play shoes in the house. Not only were they an eye sore, but they would get wet in the rain.
I needed something to keep them dry and to hide them. I looked online for 3 years for something like a metal locker, metal bookcase, or something. I couldn’t find something that would fit my tiny porch and that wasn’t super expensive. I didn’t want to pay $200+ dollars for something that would hold our dirty shoes!
It has been a life saver! It works really well.
I wanted to add a planter to the top but I was worried about it getting knocked off or blown off (we get really strong wind storms here!). So I drilled a hole through the planter and through the top of the filing cabinet. I used a nut, washer, and bolt to attach the planter to the filing cabinet. It isn’t going anywhere! And in the winter I can fill it with pine cones :)
CONFESSION: I am not a wreath person. But I wanted more greenery and the door needed a little something. I had greenery left over from the topiary trees I made for my office so glued and wired them on a cheap wreath form from Walmart and hung it with the same fabric that I used for the curtains in my kitchen.
Speaking of curb appeal…… I planted giant sunflowers next to my garage. I normally plant the big yellow ones that get as large as a dinner plate but this year I planted a mix called “Autumn Beauty”. I am really happy with how they look!
I love that my side porch is finally clean and pretty with no shoes in sight :)
Brilliant! If it works for you, then it’s perfect! I may have to do the same because our front porch is littered with dirty cleats, lawn mowing shoes and flip flops :) I love the labels and the planter, too!
ahhh, come on, where’s the before shot? makes the after all the more wow!…not sure why I’m asking to see a pile of dirty shoes though…lol
What a great solution to your problem! And it’s pretty, too! Well, sometimes it really is worth being creative! xo Anja
That is the most creative idea. It looks great. I love how you even decorated it with a planter. Love it!
Only you could put a filing cabinet on your porch and make it look good!
Wow, what a fabulous idea and it looks so charming, too! Great job! And, I looove those sunflowers.
I’m sitting here thinking… “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Love it! All of it :) Where did you buy the sunflowers at? I’ve always wanted to grow sunflowers and these are really pretty!
Clever!! I think one of our file cabinets might be seeing “shoes” duty. Then it’ll just be a matter of getting compliance, LOL. Love those sunflowers.
Genius! That’s such a good idea!
Clever. Love the color.
Splendid! I like it!! Also have a tiny house!
Super cute idea! I do have a question though…. How does it fair in the weather? Has the rain caused any damage or issues?
Are you kidding? This is absolutely fabulous repurposed chic! I love it so much when a space is customized to fit specific needs, and you have done it in a fabulous way!!!
Yes, those muddy play shoes get me every time! I keep thinking that by having the kids spend the summer in crocs I can just rinse them out, them somehow they sneak in and wind up under the play kitchen, or in the nursery, or next to my bed! How do they do that?
:)Jessica
stayathomeista.com
What a lovely idea! I think it’s brilliant how you painted the cabinet to match the house colours!!
What a clever and creative idea! Perfect color to go with the bricks too.
I live the colour and sheen of your doors. What is the paint colour and brand of your side door? It must be satin as well? Thanks.
I LOVE this idea but I can hear my husband saying a few things about it and am wondering if you might have the answers. I need to convince him that this is the perfect solution to our shoe problem.
1. Won’t the filing cabinet get rusty after getting wet?
2. Won’t the shoes get really smelly since they are not getting any air?
Like I said I LOVE the idea, just have to figure out how to convince my husband it will work. Thanks. :-)
It is just weird. What about building a small bench and line the inside with some roofing liner?
I did this indoors. Now I don’t know what the size of your drawers is..but for *mine* I use disposable paint tray liners in the bottom so that they are easy to pop out & clean & pop back into place & despite them being a sift floppy plastic, they have held up for a few years.