Secret Compartments

Naturally, human beings want to protect what is valuable to them from being stolen. Watches, jewelry, documents, and so forth. In order to protect these things, people have traditionally gone the same route: lock it up. It’s a logical idea, if you don’t want anyone to get your treasures, put a giant lock on it. However, those have not proven to be one hundred percent reliable. Safes, vaults, lock boxes-- all of them have the possibility of being broken into. For this reason, many people prefer to hide their valuables instead of putting them in a safe. This idea of hiding things has lead to many different concepts and innovative ways to conceal things. Usually, when they are small, they are called secret compartments. Some secret compartments are built into furniture or are built into a normal household item; and some are built into the very infrastructure of your home. Here’s how they work, and a few interesting examples.

The reason that secret compartments work is this: they don’t draw attention. A large safe in the corner of the garage will be the target for anyone who breaks into your home. However, a small loose tile in the bathroom will hardly be subject to such attention. With secret compartments, you can put your things close at hand, but out of reach of anyone that doesn't know it’s there.

Some of the ordinary items that have been turned into secret compartments are quite intriguing. For example, the common ice cream scoop. Is just a standard looking ice cream scoop, but if you unscrew the bottom of the handle and you’ll see that the handle is hollow. It’s the perfect place to stash your necklaces, watches and even cash.

Though it may seem odd, dog dishes have also been built to hold valuables of every kind. It just looks like an ordinary dog’s food or water dish which usually gets overlooked by just about everyone who comes in and out of a house.

Clocks on the wall have also been transformed into secret compartments. You can buy a working clock that, when the back of the clock is removed, reveals a space for storage. (It’d probably be a great place to store extra batteries for that clock…)

Some of the other common ideas for secret compartments are: hollowed out books, watches (for small stuff), hollowed out coins (for even smaller things), fake outlets in walls. paintings, coffee tables and more. There are a few keyboards for computers that have a removable panel on the bottom for storage. However if you prefer to store your stuff in a less likely to be stolen item, you may consider using a candle. First you cut out a hole in the bottom of the candle and put in it a small metal box that won’t be damaged if the candle burns down to it. Next thing you do is place it in a vase or on a holder and its instantly the perfect hiding place.

When built into the infrastructure of you home, there are also some amazingly creative ideas to hiding your things. As stated above, the outlet in the wall and the bathroom tile are clever ideas, but what other ideas are there?

In some houses there are long and thin places where security boxes can be put. One of these places that you might not have thought of is behind your baseboards. Baseboards are another overlooked and under appreciated areas of the home. A section of baseboard about two or three feet long can be removed and behind it it a simple metal canister. This is a great little place in your home that can go literally undetected.

Another great hiding spot is the air vent. Not the actual air vent-- You can buy a pre-made box where the lid looks like a regular old air vent. That way you can honestly hide you things in in plane sight. You can access your things with a quick turn of a hidden screw. The box is about sixteen inches long and a few inches deep. It is perfect for cash, jewelry and more.

Some existing furniture can be turned into secret compartments. A coffee table with a removable top is great for storing bigger things that you want to stay hidden. You can make it with drawers on the outside even so that it doesn't seem like there is any extra space for a hidden compartment. This concept goes the same with couches, beds and so forth.

You can protect your valuables in your own home! There is not a need to buy a large safe or a security deposit box, you just need to get creative and hide things in plain sight. There are loads more ideas online for secret compartments and even secret rooms.

http://www.urlesque.com/2010/07/19/hidden-compartments/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/22-clever-hiding-places-to-stash-your-stuff