For as long as Spot Cool Stuff has been fantasizing about the house of our dreams—the mansion we would build if money were no object—our imaginary plans have included trap doors, secret rooms and hidden passageways.

Until recently we thought that installing a hidden door in real life would require a hiring a general contractor who would surely shoot us a suspicious look when we explained what we wanted. In fact, there are over a dozen companies with the specialty of installing stealth entrance ways. Some stock pre-built hidden doors.

And you needn’t have a spooky mansion, eccentric tastes or a now-it-puts-the-lotion-in-the-basket creepiness to you to have a secret door either. There are several reasons why you may want to consider having a hidden door in your house.

Primary among those reasons: space efficiency. A normal door occupies wall area that could otherwise be used for, say, a bookshelf. Do you have a room or storage area you don’t need frequent access to? Hide the entrance to it behind a fireplace, staircase, mirror, wall panel or a painting.

Some people have hidden doors for security reasons. To conceal a vault, for example. Or to hide a panic room made popular by the 2002 Jodie Foster flick.

Mostly, though, we think there’s something about a hidden door that’s magical—and exceptionally cool. (Check out the photos, below).

Companies that specialize in hidden doors include:

Creative Home Engineering — Spot Cool Stuff’s favorite hidden door company. They have the most creative designs and build all types of hidden entryways included armored doors and doors with biometric access control.

The Hidden Door Company — specializes mostly in bookcase hidden doors but will manufacture designs specific to your situation.

Niche Doors — has high-quality pre-built hidden doors made of wood.

Hide A Door — offers some of the most inexpensively priced hidden doors. Their website has a form where you can request a free quote.

Space San Diego — deals with an array of space saving and optimizing furniture, not only hidden doors but also Murphy beds and stacking stools.

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Click on the photo to go to the website of the corresponding company:

pull on the right book and the door opens