Shoes and Ladders

I have an infatuation with heels (and it's justified: I'm 5'2"!). Though we live in the same city, I do not have Carrie Bradshaw's closet space for them (my apartment = Carrie's closet size... sniff, sniff).

Carrie Bradshaw closet
Carrie Bradshaw closet

... if only.

Welp, on to Plan B. This image has been in the back of my mind for years (literally... I think I pinned it right out of high school):

shoes ladder orig pin
shoes ladder orig pin

... and I had seen other ways that ladders were used for storage:

ladder inspo 2
ladder inspo 2
ladder inspo 1
ladder inspo 1

It's obviously not a novel idea... just last week I was in this fabulous shop in Brooklyn Heights, Collyer's Mansion, and snapped this picture:

ladder inspo 3
ladder inspo 3

I had looked all around for a vintage wood ladder, but they were pricier than I expected/wanted to spend, so I enlisted my long-suffering father for the task. Poor guy is doomed to be my workhorse forever.

I showed him the inspiration image of the ladder with shoes, drew a diagram of what I imagined in a ladder of my own, and the next thing I knew, he whipped this out.

ladder 1
ladder 1

Pretty amazing, right? And so much more special than anything I could've bought.

ladder6
ladder6

We had all the wood in the garage, most of it making up the shipping crates from our return from Saudi Arabia 17 years ago... it pays to be a pack rat! Details like that turn pieces in a room into stories.

ladder2
ladder2

And it doubles as a hanger for satchels and totes!

ladder4
ladder4

Even if the heels are gathering dust (city life and high heels don't mix), I love the vertical aspect of the ladder leaning against the wall. And maybe having them visible will be a reminder to stop buying them... flats are the way to go in this walking city!