I'm completely pleased with this, it's exactly what I was hoping for. It's true it doesn't comfortably fit above a woman's size 9--my shoes fit fine but my husband's have to be stored sideways, taking up more space. But the whole reason I bought it was for the slim profile so it makes sense that there's a limit to what it can store. We went from having a junky looking front entryway with shoes piled everywhere to a smooth, sleek front entryway with this awesome piece of furniture that fits the space perfectly.