SECRET ROOMS AND HIDDEN BOOKSHELVES

Hidden doors and secret rooms have become an increasingly popular feature in American homes, whether the goal is foiling burglars, eking out extra storage or creating so-called safe, or panic, rooms for doomsday scenarios.

No one appears to keep track of how many such sleights of hand are cropping up in American homes. But evidence of interest abounds: Houzz, a website that connects homeowners with design and remodeling professionals, reported that searches on their site for the terms trap doors, kitchens with hidden pantries and speakeasy home bar lounge had all more than doubled between 2022 and 2023. The subject has inspired all manner of blog posts, subreddits and Pinterest boards. On TikTok, posts on the Hidden Room account have garnered some 165,000 likes.

Companies that make pre-hung, ready-to-install doors that masquerade as bookcases and pool cue racks say that business started booming at the height of the pandemic in 2020, when Americans holed up at home dove into renovation projects. Some homeowners who turned bedrooms into offices for remote work swapped out regular closet doors for ones that double as shelving units to make the spaces more functional, as well as more professional-looking on Zoom calls.

The contrivances have a long, varied history.

At the turn of the 20th century, the financier J. Pierpont Morgan had the architect Charles McKim design a jewel-box library next to his house in New York — now the Morgan Library & Museum — with bookcase doors in walnut and fruitwood that maximize shelf space while providing staff easy access to spiral stairs leading to the second and third tiers of the repository. (Slender brass handles are the only giveaway.)

In another room on the same floor, movable bookcases in Mr. Morgan's own study likely hid his stash of naughty volumes, said Jennifer Tonkovich, a Morgan curator. On a recent morning Ms. Tonkovich gently pushed back one of the bookcases, then slid in front of it an adjacent bookcase that smoothly rolled across on a brass rail, revealing a previously concealed opening for books that, she noted, maybe a gentleman wouldn't want everyone to see.

 

To read the complete article, see:
Not Just for Scooby-Doo Anymore — the Secret Door Is Having a Moment (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/realestate/design-trend-secret-doors.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web