When I was a girl, I was obsessed with hidden spaces. Low-hanging branches under a front yard tree became a quiet reading nook. The closet was a place to pretend to be a part of the Boxcar Children. I think many kids like a little out-of-the-way spot to call their own and do what they like with. But do we ever grow out of that? Area homeowners are still utilizing secret spaces to bring a some childhood magic to their homes.
Secret doors
There is a special house on Wilshire Road in Rochester where a hidden door is built into a bookcase. If you know it’s there, you can leave the formal sitting room and enter a secret screened porch with brick flooring. Former owner Denise Thompson-Slaughter was enchanted with this special door and secret room.
“I enjoy things that are pleasantly quirky, and our bookcase door was definitely that. It sparked imagination and was a secret exit if one was ever needed, and the porch on the other side was a private relaxing space if I needed a break or a quiet workspace where I wouldn’t get a lot of interruptions.”
Current owner John Zielinski and his family are also smitten with the secret space in their home.
“It’s definitely our favorite part of giving house tours,” he says. “We keep the bookcase closed and love watching guests try to figure out how to access the porch. Our daughter is still too young to fully appreciate it, but we hope she finds it as cool as we do as she grows up.
“Some visitors have asked what it’s like to have such a great space hidden behind a bookcase. To us, it only adds to the charm. The screened-in porch is one of our favorite spots, and the hidden entrance makes it feel even more special. It’s a feature we’re excited to enjoy for years to come.”
Hidden furniture
Mark Cleary has a really juicy secret, and it is about something special in his (guest) bedroom—Cleary is the lucky owner of a Murphy bed. William Lawrence Murphy patented the first fold down wall bed around 1900, but his is a bit newer than that.
Cleary lives in a condo at the Sagamore On East in Rochester. Patricia Parsons and Dan McIntosh owned the unit in 2018. In 2019, they worked with finish carpenter Aylish Lightfoot from Sodus to create a new room that would be both an office space and a bedroom.
The craftman used local wood to create the cabinets and the other special finishings, including the fold down bed.
Parsons and McIntosh are boating enthusiasts who brought nautical elements into their design. “The pull-down bed has a built-in desk and also had a large boat model of one of their boats mounted to the bed so when it was in the up position it could be seen,” says Cleary.
The couple sold the condo to Cleary, who resides there with his son, in 2022 when a larger one went up for sale.
Endless possibilities
But why stop at Murphy beds and moving bookcases? The home décor possibilities are truly endless.
-Do you have a little closet under the stairs? Add a few cozy cushions and some classic children’s books, and suddenly you have a kid’s reading nook.
-An extra walk-in closet can become a space for a mini craft room complete with cubbies for supplies.
-An old shed that was designed to store lawnmowers and snowplows can transform into a “she shed” with just a little elbow grease and creativity.
-Add a few extra shelves in an unused cupboard, et voilà—you have a hidden bar or wine cabinet.
-A curtain artfully placed around the base of a top bunk in a child’s room can transform the bottom space to a private play room.
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of (585).
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