Have you ever wanted to live in a spooky old mansion with tons of hidden door styles and secret passageways? Who hasn't?! We have all watched Scooby-Doo since before we could talk, and we grew up on Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, and Young Frankenstein. We have all wanted a Bat-Cave of our own complete with super-secret entrances and dramatically high-speed exits.
Now is your chance. As an adult and a homeowner to boot, you can actually customize your house (ancient family mansion or not) to include those hidden doors and secret passageways that you have always dreamed of. To show the true possibilities of hidden features that will make your home both more fun and more functional, Murphy Door, Inc. is highlighting the top seven hidden door styles today.
1. Rotating Fireplace with Candlestick Trigger
No one will ever forget the iconic rotating fireplace from Indiana Jones. The peril, the comedy, and the potential for heating two rooms with the same arrangement are all extremely appealing, especially if you're currently renovating a home with an existing chimney to connect to. A rotating fireplace not only hides the room behind and creates a fun step-through (when the fire is out), but you can also use it to add a fireplace to two rooms with one project.
2. Hidden Wall Panel Door
Have you ever seen a completely blended wall panel click and swing open, revealing a once-perfectly-disguised door? This is seen in Stephen King's Rose Red several times, displaying the alluring madness of a haunted house that builds its own secret passageways. If you enjoy the look of a paneled wall or have an old paneled home to work with, you can replace or even rebuild one of those panels to reveal a hallway or hidden room.
Panel walls are excellent for protecting privacy in the home. They make it nearly impossible for unwanted guests to enter, say, the bedroom hallway.
3. Sliding Display Shelf or Dresser
Home storage furniture becomes the perfect candidate for a hidden door. Dressers, armoires, wine racks, gun cabinets, billiard racks, and much more can be put on sliders or hinged and turned into a door. With the right hardware, balance, and doorway, you can live the Scooby-Doo dream. Hide your kitchen behind the fine china display shelf. Hide your closet behind a sliding dresser. Alternatively, hide your art studio behind a structured shelf displaying your work. Any of these hidden door styles are a fun way to personalize your home.
4. Hidden Trapdoor to Anywhere
Everyone loves a trap door. In homes where space is tight, a trap door can be the most efficient (and most fun) way to access the lower levels. Trap doors don't have to be limited to basement spaces. You can add a trap door to upper floors for quick access, either with a ladder or as a laundry chute between floors. You can even add the occasional trick with a supervillain desk and a trap door trap — with only laundry as unlucky henchmen, of course.
5. Swivel Bookcase Trap With a Book Trigger
Anyone who's a fan of the classic comedy Young Frankenstein may have been secretly planning to build a rotating bookcase into their next home. A spinning bookcase is a hilarious way to reveal a connection between two rooms. With books on both sides and similar decor, you can play wonderful tricks, from disappearing drinks to disappearing magicians. You also gain more privacy for the hidden rooms.
6. Classic Bookcase Door
After the spinning bookcases are the more subtle bookcase=based hidden door styles. Opening with one door or elegant double-bookcase doors, this can transform your public spaces or even connect private spaces. The books themselves provide a sound barrier and added privacy between rooms. You can choose swinging bookshelf doors or hidden sliding mounts for tighter spaces.
7. Secret Stairs Under the Cabinetry
Secret stairs can come from anywhere. There are a number of clever ways to use carpentry to hide the top or even bottom of stairs. One current favorite trick is hiding stairs underneath or within cabinetry. Open the kitchen island to reveal basement stairs, or unfold taller cabinetry to provide access to a secret upper staircase.
Hidden doors, secret passageways, and cabinets that aren't what they seem… These are all the best parts of an ancient castle or your own spooky mansion. Hide rooms for privacy and the fun of revealing them. Make your interior design your own by disguising doors and storage all over the house. Make your home unique, fun, and useful — and increase its inherent market value by indulging in your love of hidden doors. At Murphy Door, Inc., we make high-quality Murphy doors that are a perfect fit for any room or imagination.
