8 ways to create a boot room on a budget

Are boot rooms today’s most desirable home feature? A quick search online suggests they are. Not many of us, however, are blessed with a dedicated boot room. They’re often the preserve of country manors, farmhouses and stately piles but you can recreate a boot room’s most practical elements in a modest home.

Browse Instagram or Pinterest and people across the UK are creating smart nooks and storage areas where they can deposit outerwear. Why not steal some of these budget-friendly ideas?

1. Modify existing furniture: there’s a surprising number of items that can be adapted, especially furniture that may have fallen out of fashion. Look out for tall bookcases, Welsh or French dressers and even wardrobes. Removing shelves and doors, adding some hooks and repainting will give you that boot room aesthetic. 

2. Try the Ikea hacks: head over to Instagram, search ‘Ikea boot room hacks’ and have your eyes opened! Canny storage lovers are using the Swedish brand’s modular furniture to create a bespoke boot room style. The ‘open’ look can be achieved by using just the carcasses but it’s not uncommon to see wardrobes with doors incorporated alongside benches and shelves.

3. Create a 2-for-1 item: all good boot rooms have a storage bench but off-the-peg examples can really blow the budget. An alternative is to use cube-style open storage (such as Ikea’s Kallax shelving unit), laying it horizontally instead of standing it up vertically, and topping it with a seat pad. Add baskets to two of the cubby holes for small item storage and keep some cubby holes open for shoes. 

4. Fake the fitted look: the most expensive boot rooms are professionally fitted, making them a big-ticket luxury item. There are, however, cost-effective ways to improve the look of DIY boot rooms – you just need to visit a DIY store. Adding skirting board to the bottom and coving or cornicing to the top gives the impression of fitted furniture, while wood panelling can upgrade the look further. 

5. Paint your way to perfection: the best boot rooms are a work of art, hand painted in timeless colours that complement the rest of the house. This is possible even if you’re hacking your way to better storage. Pick a classic colour from Farrow & Ball, Little Greene or Benjamin Moore and get it colour matched at a decorating centre or DIY store – it’ll be kinder on your wallet.

6. Add to an existing utility room: the hybrid is called the ‘bootility’ – a utility with extra storage added. And yes, you can search ‘bootility ideas’ on Instagram and see how other people have planned their space. Sometimes a row of hooks and a two-cube storage unit that doubles as a seat is enough!

7. Upgrade your under stairs: open under stairs areas are often overlooked as the slope can make the space awkward. With some clever planning, however, this dead space can become a mini boot room. Get your wood cut-to-fit to create shelves and a bench in the tightest of areas.

8. Finishing touches will elevate the aesthetic: small details will make a big impact. Spend time choosing attractive hooks and handles, add rattan or wicker baskets for smart storage and install lamps for an atmospheric glow – search rechargeable and battery operated wall lights for light without an electrician.

Get in touch if you’re making home improvements ahead of a sale and would like an up-to-date valuation once work is complete.