Secret Bookcase Doors Provide Privacy, Extra Storage, & Excitement
Look at the doors inside your home. What do you see? If they’re just standard doors, you may be missing an exciting opportunity.
Hidden bookcase doors have become a popular way to add extra storage to a home. In addition to giving extra space for storing knickknacks and books, these doors also conceal the room or closet behind it and add to your décor. If you’ve never considered a hidden bookcase door for your home, here are some things to consider.
Available Options
Over the years, bookcase doors have evolved from standard door-sized to bi-folding doors. Finishes have changed, as well, with an almost unlimited supply of paints and wood types available. A homeowner can choose the perfect bookcase door for his own décor to add to a home’s value. Here are several different hidden bookcase door types to consider:
- Door builds: bi-fold, flush mount, sliding
- Wood types: cherry, hickory, maple, oak
- Swing direction: in or out, depending on doorway type
- One sided or double sided
How to Buy
You may not find hidden bookcase doors at your local home improvement store, but there are several options on the Internet. You can either order directly from sites like Murphy Door or you can track down a local retailer. If you go to the online route, you can pay to have the door shipped to you already put together, which can be pricey. You can also order a kit to hand over to a local carpenter to build for you.
Before going the online route, however, you might also check around with local builders to price what they’d charge to build a bookcase door for you. When you compare the cost of purchasing a pre-made door with paying someone local to construct the door, you may find that the local option is actually the most affordable.
Do It Yourself
If you’re feeling ambitious, you can actually build a door yourself. There are many helpful instruction guides available to walk you through each step of the process. You’ll only need to purchase the parts, the lumber, and the tools you’ll need to do the job. This is the cheapest option, especially if you have a day to set aside for building your door.
Before you commit to this option, though, be aware that a bookcase door can be a fairly complicated do-it-yourself project. You’ll need to be comfortable working with both wood and metal, since a bookcase door is a combination of both of these. You’ll also need to rig up a way to open the door—a task that is usually accomplished by pulling on one or more books housed on the shelf. Whatever latching mechanism you choose, you’ll need to make sure it’s indiscreet if you want your bookcase door to truly remain a secret.
A secret bookcase door is a great way to jazz up your home’s interior, as well as hide a room you’d prefer to keep tucked away from view. In addition to these benefits, it will also be a great conversation piece during all of your get-togethers.
