Get ready for muddy season in the garden. I grew up in Boston, where a number of British ways have managed to linger: we call our mothers Mum (and our bottoms bums), eat our share of fish and chips, and, at least in my house, refer to our rubber boots as Wellies (short for Wellingtons). But the boot rack, a simple, ingenious staple of British back entries and mudrooms, has mysteriously yet to be discovered in these parts. The time is right.
Here are 10 favorite boot racks for Wellies:
Above: With its tapered pegs, the Henderson Oak Wellington Boot Stand also shown in the top photo is £70; from Cotswold Co., it has a Shaker-esque silhouette.
Wellies, by the way, get their name from the 1st Duke of Wellington, an early 19th-century style setter, who had his shoemaker model his footwear after Hessian soldiers’ boots.
Above: Daughter-in-law and mother-in-law duo Natalie Evans and Jacqueline Wilmington of Natajaq make racks in the Annie Sloan chalk paint colors of your choice. Their Two-Pair Welly Boot Rack, shown here, is £55; and Four-Pair Welly Boot Rack is £75.
Above: The two-pair Wellington Boot Stand by Creamore Mill (the same maker as Cotswold Co.’s designs) is £42.65 from the Stuffed Box.
Above: Garden Trading’s Wooden Welly Rack, £50, has natural oak pegs and a charcoal base.
Above: Wellyracks’ Countryman Boot Rack comes in six sizes, painted or in natural pine. This three-pair rack is £38.99.
Above: The double-duty Welly Boot and Shoe Rack (three-pair) is £99 in pinefrom Boot & Saw, which offers larger versions of the design and a range of other standing and wall-hung boot racks.
Above: Cotswold Co.’s standing rack, shown top, also comes in a wall-hung version; the Henderson Oak Rack is £35.
Above: Made in Germany, a 38-inch-long Wooden Boot Rack holds five pairs; for more information and pricing see Gressco.
Above: A Wall-Mounted Welly Rack is £59 from A Place for Everything, which has an extensive boot storage department.
