I’ve been talking a lot lately about our upstairs hallway and our linen closet. If you’ve been following along, you know what our hallway currently looks like and the design goals we have for the space. Giving a facelift to our linen closet is one of those goals. In a recent post, I talked about our linen closet and the storage ideas that I think will work best in the space. I mentioned that I have big plans for the inside as well as the outside. Well, today I’m sharing what’s been inspiring me for the OUTSIDE design of our closet and it happens to be a favorite design feature of mine. Hidden storage!
Favorite design feature: hidden storage
There are lots of ways to create hidden storage in your home. You can add drawers to toe-kicks in your kitchen or add a pull-out below your sink for sponges. If your staircase has room below it you can even add pull out drawers in the risers.
It wasn’t until recently though that I got the idea to apply this concept to our linen closet. I’m still working through the mechanics of it. How it will work, how to build it, and what form it will take. But today, I wanted to share some of my favorite pins on Pinterest that are inspiring my thoughts and designs and getting the wheels turning.
Hidden Door
I’ve been in LOVE with this concept for quite some time now. The idea of a hidden or secret room concealed by a bookcase or hidden door in the wall is such a cool concept. I mean, who wouldn’t love that or want that in their home?!
Jib door
To create a hidden or secret room you need to hide the door. This is typically done by using what’s called a jib door.
A jib door is a door that is mounted so it’s flush with the wall. The hinges are concealed and a push to open spring latch may be installed instead of a traditional doorknob so the door is truly hidden. Some examples of this are linked below.
- My favorite use for jib doors is small powder bathrooms. I love how this one has been completely concealed by the wall moulding but when opened reveals a little jewel box of a room. Such a beautiful surprise!
- You would never know by looking at this wall mural that it disguises a hidden door! Just a small lip of a handle is all that is needed to reveal the hidden storage or room behind it.
- Love the idea of a hidden pantry in a kitchen! On the outside, it looks like just another set of cabinetry. Push on it though and it reveals loads of hidden storage in a walk-in pantry.
Murphy Door
There’s also what’s called a Murphy door. Murphy doors are what I traditionally think of when talking about concealing hidden rooms. Unlike a jib door, Murphy doors provide some added storage. It’s a door disguised as a bookcase and you usually find them in libraries or studies. Some of my favorite pins from Pinterest are linked below for reference.
- When I think about hidden, secret rooms, I automatically think library. You know, the bookcase that looks like a regular old bookcase but when you push it just so, reveals a hidden room? This secret bookcase door is what dreams are made of! It looks like a regular old bookcase when closed. You’d never know that behind it lays a hidden room!
- Not all Murphy doors need to conceal a room. This Murphy door opens up to reveal additional shelving. Perfect for cleaning up and quickly hiding all the things when guests come over.
- This Murphy door looks like a regular old built-in. Push to open it and it reveals a hidden dog playroom! OMG, I think I need this for Moose!
Concealed storage
I’m not 100% sure a jib or Murphy door will work for our linen closet. The hallway is pretty tight and I don’t think it can accommodate a full-size door that swings out.
We’ve been debating about whether to add wallpaper or moulding to our hallway to give it some much-needed character and style. When I saw the reveal of Alisa’s bathroom for the Spring One Room Challenge on her blog A Glass of Bovino, things started to click.
Alisa and her husband utilized some extra space they found in the studs and created a cabinet that they hid with picture moulding. Following along with Alisa’s reno and digging through some of my saved pins for inspiration, I started to wonder if this was something we could try and DIY ourselves as well.
- This pin is probably one of my favorite examples of hidden storage. I love the larger cabinet concealed by picture moulding. If those bottom panels were drawers that would be amazing!
- I love the mix of hidden cabinets and drawers shown in this pin. I would love to incorporate drawers into our design.
- Although not completely invisible, the cabinets in this kitchen are less obvious when trimmed out with large picture moulding. Same with the design of these cabinets. The center seams aren’t as visible because of the layout of the moulding. The break happens where the two doors meet and when closed, looks like one single, framed panel box top and bottom. Creating a visual trick on your eye.
Creating a design for our linen closet to conceal storage
Sourcing inspiration photos showing ways to create hidden storage is the easy part. Now to figure out the mechanics of it.
I’m pretty sure we’re leaning towards adding wall moulding to our walls vs. wallpaper. Next steps will be to figure out the layout of the moulding in the space and how that design will potentially impact the design of the linen closet.
I also need to research the heck out of how to build this. Mike has some skills but I think he is a little intimidated by this.
Finding resources with visuals and detailed instructions to guide us will be key.
Do you have any hidden storage in your home?
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