I’ve always loved the allure of antique wooden shoe forms…but when it comes to my decor philosophy at home, I like to choose treasures that hold both form and function. Yet the patina of old shoe forms is difficult to resist. With that said, I wanted to share a few ways one can repurpose antique shoe forms to be both fun and functional.
On a desk, a repurposed shoe form penholder holds a treasured writing utensil – ready to create when inspiration strikes. I find that I enjoy this special pen, which was a birthday gift from the hubby, much more displayed on top of my desk than tucked away in a drawer.
Shoe forms lend themselves quite well to becoming repurposed lamp bases, whether or not you have a shoe fetish. Talk about a conversation piece!
While you would certainly need to ensure this shoe form is not left unattended, using them as repurposed candleholders is both quaint and a bit industrial.
How do you feel about antique shoe forms? Are they finding a spot in your home?
10 responses so far ↓
1 carol // May 28, 2009 at 11:00 am
interesting post… I often saw these for sale on vintage sites and never quite ‘got it’. I feel the same as you that I prefer my ‘objects’ to have a function.
(certainly in my home with limited space)!
this is great… it makes sense to me now and the ones you have are particularly charming in their form & patina as well.
come to think of it, I’ve seen these used as business card holders, resting in that groove that shows in your last photo…
2 erin // May 28, 2009 at 11:42 am
i love the lamp! beautifully done.
3 ljcadv // May 28, 2009 at 2:20 pm
i never would have thought to use these as a decorating piece. Love the lamp idea!
4 lisa / parallelbotany // May 28, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I love the look of old shoeforms, too.
I saw a picture in a book (I think) where several shoe forms had been mounted in a row on a wall, with the toes facing upward, and they were used as hooks for hanging coats and bags and such. What a great idea, right?
I’ll see if I can remember where I saw it…
5 cindy // May 28, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Ooh great ideas! I have one as well, Now I know what to do with it ;o)
6 Leslie // May 29, 2009 at 12:47 pm
We used to have bags of these shoe forms from the shoe factory my father owned. Can you believe we used them for kindling? Now I have a few to remind me of my childhood, but I leave mine in their original form. The lamp idea is cute, though.
7 chikitarosemarie // May 30, 2009 at 1:09 pm
classic and creative!! love them all! especially the lamp ones..
i can imagine the stuffs being put on the corner of my living room.. awesome!
8 farmhouse wares // May 31, 2009 at 10:00 pm
The lamp is my fave!
9 The Deco Detective // Jun 1, 2009 at 8:15 pm
How cool! The pen holder is nice. I don’t think I would buy a shoe form, but that’s mostly because I don’t buy anything at the moment (a smaller apartment does that to you). But the idea is really neat!
10 francesca // Jun 18, 2009 at 7:58 am
I have one and wasn’t sute what to do with it… thanks for the great ideas!
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