Hidden doors aren't just a novelty. You might best know them for being concealed behind bookcases in haunted mansions, but the reality of the modern hidden door is that it's just as much about good design as it is about creating that thrill of something mysterious.
"Doors that are discretely placed can help reduce visual noise and maximize the impact of the surrounding architecture," explains Leyden Lewis, interior designer and founder of Leyden Lewis Design Studio. We're instinctively drawn to look for the exits when we enter a room, which makes standard door frames undesired focal points, especially when they're not particularly aesthetic.
The hidden door trend makes choosing interior doors easier, as they can be disguised into more stylish design elements of your home, such as cabinets or wall paneling. But, as you're about to find out, that's just the start of what you can do with a good concealed door design.
1. CONCEAL A PANTRY IN A KITCHEN
One of our favorite examples of a hidden door in a home is as a kitchen pantry idea — concealing the entrance to this functional space within the kitchen cabinetry itself. Not only does it streamline the appearance of the kitchen, but it allows you to be more creative with the layout, without creating awkward spaces where traditional doors need to be.
The interior design team at The Stylesmiths used it for this colorful kitchen as a way to discreetly include a laundry room and pantry into the design. "This clever design element preserves the kitchen's cohesive and streamlined appearance, preventing the laundry area from interrupting the visual harmony of the space," one of the designers tells us. "By providing practical access to laundry and pantry facilities without exposing them to the main living area, this hidden entrance allows for seamless household management while maintaining the kitchen's sophisticated aesthetic."
2. ADD A DOOR IN LIVING ROOM MILLWORK
The hidden door is an idea that lends itself to other rooms in the house, too. As much as it works in kitchen cabinetry, it can be incorporated as a built-in storage idea in living room millwork as well.
This design by California-based designer Joo Oh of Studio JYO is a sort of Swiss army knife of hidden doors. Not only do panels reveal a TV hidden in the center of the millwork, but "there is also a bar and a passage door to the laundry room and garage that has been incorporated into this wall, too," Joo explains.
3. HIDE DOORS BEHIND BOOKCASES
The hidden bookcase door isn't just a haunted mansion trope; it can be used in real homes and, no, it doesn't require pulling the right book in order to open it. This style of hidden door works well in hallways, or in living rooms to conceal a separate snug, cinema or media room.
However, a bookcase door will likely require specialist knowledge, or even a bespoke system, as they're far heavier than a normal door. If you're willing to try to DIY this style of hidden door, you can look into something called a murphy door. If you are up for having a go yourself, you can even pick up bookshelf door mechanisms on sites like Amazon for around $50.
4. HIDE AN ENSUITE IN CLOSET MILLWORK
Ensuites can often require clever layouts, and it's not necessarily to do with the room itself, but how to fit an extra door into the bedroom without it feeling like a hallway or it taking away from storage in the space.
"Given the small footprint of the home, maximizing storage was paramount," says Australian interior designer Alison Lewis, on the decision to incorporate a hidden door to the adjoining bathroom into the bedroom cabinets. "Rather than breaking up the rectilinear cabinetry with a hinged door, I decided to carry the cabinetry through to maximize above-door storage and show that practical can also be playful."
5. HIDE A DOOR WITH BEADBOARD
"If space is tight in a little corridor, but you don't want to waste the opportunity to create some pretty storage, it is such a great idea to get your builder to make a door that mimics the tongue-and-groove walls," says kitchen brand deVOL's creative director, Helen Parker.
Also known as beadboard, this type of wall paneling is ideal for concealing hidden doors, as its vertical lines can almost completely disguise the outline of the opening. If you choose to run beadboard to the height of the doorway, as seen in the pantry by deVOL above, it removes the horizontal line of the door too, creating an even more seamless look.
"Paint everything the same color and you have a secret WC you can hide away in, as well as the perfect pantry," adds Helen.
6. SLIP A DOOR INTO SLATTED PANELING
Just like beadboard, the vertical lines of slat walls means they are similarly suited to hiding doors, while offering a more modern finish for your space. In this apartment by Brooklyn-based firm Leyden Lewis Design Studio, shown above, the slatted wall cleverly conceals a cloakroom amongst an architectural feature.
7. USE HIDDEN DOORS IN A HALLWAY
Hidden doors can really streamline a space like a hallway, which can, in some homes, feel just like an endless corridor of door after door. A design like the modern hallway above, created by Liz Hoekzema, creative director of KLH Custom Homes, creates a seamless look that really modernizes the space.
"The idea for the hidden doors struck early in the process," Liz tells us. "Our architectural and interiors firm, TEN design, drew the plans for this project — carving out an entry space that felt like a cozy cocoon, as well as a visual break between harder-working living spaces and quieter personal spaces felt both appropriate and atmospheric. It didn't take us long to say, 'and the doors need to disappear', creating both a calm visual for guests coming and going, and the family relaxing in their living area."
8. TUCK A TV BEHIND A HIDDEN DOOR
Hidden doors aren't only useful for concealing passageways, but can also be used for storage or as a way to hide your TV. "Seamless joinery can form a hidden door to open and close as you wish," says Rebecca Northmore, the designer manager of bespoke kitchen company HUX London.
"For a traditional finish, opt for the more classical square formation,' she adds. 'Choosing a deconstructed layout with varying textural details [as seen above] will create a contemporary feel."
9. SLIP STORAGE INTO UNUSED SPACE
We all have plenty of walls throughout our home that serve no purpose other than dividing our spaces. An architectural arched doorway in this home by Texas-based design firm Maestri Studio meant that there was a deep-pocketed wall left in the living room — which became the perfect place to slip some extra storage behind a flush hidden door.
A clever push latch means there is no handle or hinges in sight. A seamless hidden storage idea!
10. COLOR DRENCH CABINETS TO HIDE SECRET DOORS
Just like wallpaper and more architectural wall paneling, a colorful wall paint can be a simple way to help disguise hidden doors. As seen in this eclectic hallway by interior designer Gideon Mendelson, founder of New York-based firm Mendelson Group, the color drenched space distracts from the door way, cleverly concealed in the bookcase.
"The entire space is quite fun and colorful, and we felt the library door would further push that narrative by adding a touch of whimsy and delight," explains Gideon. "It's also a practical space saver with the door and bookshelf as one."
11. LET IN MORE LIGHT WITH RATTAN DOORS
It's often small bathrooms, snugs, media rooms or pantries hidden behind 'trick' doors, which means they often don't have their own windows or source of light. That's why this cabinet design by Brooklyn-based Chused & Co, with rattan doors is such a good idea.
It cleverly conceals the bathroom space while leaving the closet looking seamless, but still lets air flow and ample light enter the hidden room.
12. COVER A JIB DOOR WITH WALLPAPER
Wallpaper is another clever way to hide doors in your home. In the space shown above, principal designer Kirsten Blazek of Los Angeles-based studio A1000xBetter elicited this ingenious wallpaper idea to conceal the door to a small laundry room without distracting from the picture window.
"Flush jib doors look wonderful when incorporated into a design scheme to almost camouflage them, creating a traditional hidden door clad in wallpaper," notes Ruth Mottershead, creative director at paint and wallpaper brand Little Greene.
"To ensure that the door feels fully integrated, use wallpaper across the door, as you would a continuous expanse of wall," she adds.
What is the best hidden door mechanism?
Whether your hidden door is designed to conceal the entrance to a space or just for storage, if the door is designed to be opened often (or left open for extended periods of time) it's worth considering the type of door mechanism you choose.
Standard hinges may mean that the doors are constantly in the way, making them less practical and counteracting their space-saving capability. Bi-fold doors are arguably the best kind, as seen in this space above by interior designer Alison Lewis. Pocket doors are also useful for keeping your space steamlined.
How do you make a simple hidden door?
Often you'll work with your builder who will have specialist knowledge of how to integrate a hidden door into your cabinets and millwork, but there are also plenty of DIY hidden door ideas out there.
The easiest kind is with a flush, jib door, and you'll need to source hidden hinges (like these invisible door hinges from Amazon) which are often used for cabinets. These hinges allow you to fix the door in place without any visible fixtures, and can be adjusted to ensure your door is level with the wall.
'As doors need to withstand a few knocks and bumps, particularly at floor level, take you skirting across the bottom of your door too,' suggests Little Greene's Ruth Mottershead. 'Not only will this disguise the door further, but it will help to protect your door ensuring it looks beautiful for longer.'
