A Secret Kids Room Through the Closet

Many kids fantasize about having a secret, child-size room just for them. My own kids have a secret room, but it’s more accurately called “hide behind the couch” or, sometimes, “throw a blanket over your head.” Parents Fey & Mark in Cleveland Heights, Ohio discovered they had unused space below their stairs and decided to do something really special with it. Take a look at this hidden hideaway for their two young children…

We built a secret room for our children! Mark noticed that one of our staircases had unused space underneath. A coat closet took up a couple of feet, but there was still plenty of space for…a secret room. You enter the room through a little door in the back of the closet (obviously inspired by The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).

The amazing people at Residence Artists did the work. The carpenter (Zach) had the idea of making the door a replica of our front door. We found vintage-look hardware on the door here at Vintage Hardware.com. The set comes with two keys that we will give the children when they are older.

Fey had the idea of creating a secret “snack door”, disguised as a picture frame. Fey did the pen and ink sketch of the children, and Mark did the print of the door and key.

We furnished the room very simply—just some nightlights and a floor pillow. The main fabric is Etsuko Furuya’s Echino Animal Damask, and the velvet back from our adorable local fabric store, Bolt & Spool. We hope the children will love this room, but even if they don’t…we love it!

Thank you for sharing Fey & Mark!

(Images: readers Fey & Mark)

– Re-edited from a post originally published 9.17.2013 – CM