Building a hidden door in a wall: Make your Childhood Dreams Come True

Not every aspect of a home remodel has to follow the common conventions.  Building a hidden door in a wall that leads to a secret room can be a great way to add a little bit of fun and adventure to your home. Hidden doors and secret rooms don’t have to be just something that you see in movies or read about in books, it can be something that you can have in your own home.  Consider some of these designs for your home that is both fun and functional.

What do you want your secret door to look like?

The most classic hidden door designs come in the form of bookcases.  Bookcases are ideal secret doors because they can take up a lot of space, especially one large enough that you can walk through.  They also have the additional benefit of being a functional piece of furniture for the room.

If you choose a bookcase you’ll have to decide how you want it to move to provide access to the hidden room or space behind it.  For a built-in style bookcase, you can have it hinge either forwards or back, depending on the amount of space to work within the room. If the bookcase is designed to look like a piece of furniture, apart from the wall, then you could set it up so that it slides to reveal the opening.

Image from freshome.com

Another option is to use a paneled wall.  Walls that have an edge to molding as well as up and down the wall are ideal. Paneling will allow you to conceal the edges of the doorway, and make it blend in more naturally with the wall.

Image from decorpad.com

Where do you want your secret door to lead?

What do you have to hide?  A secret door should lead to someplace that you want to keep private or unassuming in your home.  You could make it something functional, such as a doorway to a small private office or a storage space like a basement or attic.  Perhaps you have items that you would like to have an extra layer of security such as jewelry, heirlooms, or weapons. Or maybe you just want to create a “fun space” to delight your kids and give them a place for their imaginations and play to run wild.  

You likely won’t need to carve out a whole new section of your house to do this.  Most houses already have existing spaces that could be easily modified to become a “secret room”.  Some places in your house to consider for your secret space could be under your stairs, in a portion of a finished attic floor, or a side wall in a basement.  There are no right or wrong answers. Just find that little extra space in your home, and begin imagining what would be a fun use for it.

 How about a secret switch?

While you could simply make the room accessible to anyone who can push or pull the panel or bookcase, if you truly want to make your door a “secret”, then you’re going to want to have a secret switch.  A switch or latch should keep your secret door locked and only allow it to be opened from the outside when engaged. You could use a simple hook, switch or button to disengage the lock, however, if you really want to have some fun with it, you should consider options like a “false book” or a button hidden underneath a piece of furniture.  With wireless technology today, there are more creative possibilities than ever.

Do you want to add some fun and mystery to your home? Treasured Spaces is here to help! 

Whether you want to do more common remodels and additions with your home or something that is a little bit different, Treasured Spaces is ready to help your vision become a reality.  We’re excited to help you make your home just a little bit more fun to live (and play) in!