Beyond Bookshelves: Secret Home Libraries That Will Make You Gasp

Monica Gray - March 28, 2024
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Beyond Bookshelves: Secret Home Libraries That Will Make You Gasp

In a world increasingly dominated by digital media, many aspects of print media get thrown by the wayside. However, there’s no denying there’s an allure to the timeless charm of secret home libraries. Usually, we see these in mystery movies or fantasy novels.

These hidden sanctuaries evoke a sense of mystery that encourages us to take a closer look at the books that might be hiding more secrets than their words. We found some of the most alluring secret home libraries, so check them out right here.

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Book Bub

Something Magical

Nothing screams magical more than towering bookcases with a hidden door. Surely, something enchanting must lay beyond that hidden door. They even have statues of heads above the bookcases. This looks like a door where very important secret meetings take place.

To get this look, all you’d have to do is install a floor-to-ceiling bookcase on an empty wall where a door is. You’d also add shelving to the door to make it blend into the surrounding shelves. (Bookbub).

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News
Newsweek

The 500-Year-Old Sussex Home

This home is full of secret passageways. According to Newsweek, “Freddy Goodall discovered the passageways hidden behind a bookshelf in the home. He believes they once extended to nearby buildings and a church.” He said he was, “looking through photos of the house from the 1800s,” when he spotted a doorway in one of the photos.

Goodall described the experience, saying, “I searched for the door and found a small hole that looked into the hidden room.” There were passageways and unused rooms, full of spiders and cobwebs. He said, “The passageways run from one end of the house to the other. When the passageways were in use, I believe there were some running miles underground to nearby buildings and a church. I found a safe containing old historical documentation relating to the house. I have found other artifacts including old books from when the house was a school. I will look for new things in the future.” (Newsweek).

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Love
Love Incorporated

Modern Hideout

This bookcase is not only aesthetically pleasing to look at but it has a hidden section you can explore. By walking into this living room, you’d never notice the secret door amongst the other shelves that look the exact same.

Whether it’s a secret storage room or another library like some of these other bookcases have, it’s only a surprise for those who get to discover this secret passageway. The owners did a great job of blending it in with the other bookcases and made the look seamless (Love Property).

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Book Bub

Bookshelves Hiding Other Bookshelves

You’d never think to look behind this bookshelf. But when you find that secret sliding compartment, you find more bookshelves with more books. That’s genius! Maybe these hidden books hold secret messages or codes that only certain people are meant to find.

You could make this secret room another hidden library or reading cove that’s only known to you. Add a skylight for some additional natural light, a cozy chair, and a reading lamp, and you’ll have yourself your very own secret library (Bookbub).

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Stashvault
Stash Vault

Bookshelf Door

This door hidden within a bookshelf leads to a secret room at a house in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The owners had custom-made this bookshelf and covered the entryway to a room that was already there, to conceal it. This is a fun project that didn’t take a huge amount of renovation.

All you have to do is install a swinging bookshelf that operates as a door, with hinges and all. Install a secret doorknob concealed by books and other things so no one knows it leads anywhere (Stash Vault).

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Book Bub

The Swivel Bookcase

If you give this bookcase the shove it deserves, you’ll find a large, plush lounge chair waiting inside. That, plus a good book, is the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

By simply walking past this bookcase, you’d never know it could swivel and open up to a secret lounge. Beyond this bookcase lies another mystery world, full of secret books and other things only for those who find the secret passageway (Bookbub).

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Book Bub

A Curved Bookcase

Just when you thought this bookcase couldn’t get any more interesting, it did. The bottom of this bookcase opens up to a secret area. We’re not sure how to open it, but for those lucky people who do manage to open it, a special treat awaits.

While the curved bookcase is remarkable, what lies beyond it is even more so. Decorated in gold and adorned with carvings, this bookcase is lined with color-coded books. Perhaps one of those books opens the secret door and reveals what lies beyond (Bookbub).

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Counter Hack

The Gothic Bookcase

By looking at this bookcase, you’d never think there was a home office hidden behind these books. But upon finding the hidden handle and opening it, it leads to a man named Ed Skoudis’s home office. It’s even protected by a Knight in armor, fending off those not worthy.

His office looks like it belongs in a medieval castle. Adorned with unique hangings, carpets, and pillows, he truly made his space look like something that dates back centuries (Counter Hack).

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Book Bub

A Secret Sanctuary

In this person’s house, they have a secret family living room hidden by a giant swinging bookcase. This is a great place to hide if you’re playing hide and go seek, or if you want to hide away from the world and disappear in your world of books.

To do this, you’d need to install a bookcase where your living room opening is. It helps if you already have a second, smaller living room attached to this first one. (Bookbub).

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Book Bub

The Secret Staircase

There’s no saying where this staircase leads. Does it lead to a secret loft, or does it lead to another room full of books? Either way, whoever has the chance to open this bookcase and find out what lies beyond is pretty lucky.

Perhaps there’s a secret code to open the door or you have to pull on one of the books to open up this secret entrance. You can add this to your home if you have a side stairway that only leads to a single room. Turn that room into its very own reading nook and install a sliding bookcase in front of it (Bookbub).

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Book Bub

A Private Bathroom

Looking at these floor-to-ceiling bookcases, you’d probably never guess they hide a bathroom. This works well in a living room where you already have an attached bathroom. You can add bookcases across the wall, and turn one into a door that opens up to this bathroom.

By having this private bathroom, you never have to share a bathroom with anyone again. This is a wonderful way to get the privacy you deserve. There’s nothing better than having an entire secret bathroom to yourself with no one around to disturb you (Bookbub).

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Metro
Metro Builders Az

Panic Room

Ever since the pandemic in 2020, many people considered adding a panic or safe room to their house. And what better way to conceal it than with a bookshelf? You’d think this one was just a part of the wall. But behind that door is another comfortable, safe room where you can run and hide.

You can opt for a custom remodeling of your home, or follow suit of one of these hidden bookshelves on this list. It doubles as a storage shelf and a way to hide an additional section of your home (Metro Builders Az).

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Book Bub

Painted Books

At a glance, you’d never notice this is a secret home library. But if you look closely, you can see a door handle that blends into its surroundings. It also has painted books instead of real ones.

If you’re someone who likes to investigate, you might have noticed this was a secret home library sooner rather than later. We’re unsure where this secret home library leads, but it’s probably to another secret library or reading room (Bookbub).

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Book Bub

Hidden Room

You don’t have to completely renovate your entire house to add a hidden room. You can simply do this by installing a bookcase across an empty wall and turning one of the bookcases that opens into the second room.

Bookcase sliders like this one are simple and easy to add. They also make great storage spaces for extra books and other gadgets and gadgets you might not have room for. This will make your space look a bit homier while also adding a secret room to your house (Bookbub).

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Reddit

The Great Aunt’s Hidden Room

In this Reddit user’s great aunt’s house is a hidden room within a bookshelf. The users of Reddit had a blast making up stories about the secret room. One even commented, “Imagine selling this house to someone but never telling them about the secret room. Then secretly living in the room and only coming out for scavenging and washroom stuff.”

That’s something from a horror film! Let’s hope there are no hidden rooms in your house you don’t know about. This person’s Great Aunt has a large secret room that extends for a majority of the floor. You can opt to have a secret space like this one, or a simple hidden nook (Reddit).

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Book Bub

The Secret Loft Space

There’s nowhere better to read a good book than in a secret loft space in your house, covered by a bookcase. These people decided to turn their tiny loft into a secret space by installing a bookcase in front of it.

You’d never think there was another section underneath their loft. But it’s a cozy space to relax and hang out. It’s also a great way to have additional storage that’s out of the way (Bookbub).

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Book Bub

More Books Beyond

It’s always a suprise to open a library bookshelf to discover more books beyond, just like this person has in their house. This second room of books may have secret ones only left for those who discover it.

You can turn the wall of your living room or bedroom into a bookcase, and if there’s already a tiny nook, simply cover it with the bookcase to turn it into a secret room (Bookbub).

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Book Bub

A Little Nook

You don’t have to cover an entire room in your house to have a secret library or room. You can use a bookcase to cover a little reading nook, tucked away in your wall.

This person’s home has a reading nook hidden behind their bookcase. They have to climb up the ladder to access it, which makes it more of a fun mission to get into. You’d have to know it’s there to open the correct section of the bookcase and entire your tiny nook (Bookbub).

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One
One Kind Design

Needle in a Haystack

Because of how large and expansive this bookcase is, you’d probably never guess there was a secret door located somewhere within the bookcase. But it turns out this door leads to a secret room. If you look closely, you can see it leads to another secret living room, like a miniature version of the one the photo was taken in.

If you have floor-to-ceiling bookcases already, it’s likely there’s no hidden room already located on the other side. But you can achieve this look if you have a small living room and want to cover the adjacent, bigger room, in a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. Add a few vintage couches and you’ll have a very mysterious home (One Kind Design).

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