I've seen some invisible storage.

One lady I used to work with lived on Park Avenue. Her dining room wall was paneled w/ leather-covered squares on two walls. One wall was just the panel; the other had an 18"-deep cube behind every panel, which was hinged.

She also had a wall that was essentially white-painted wood, flat, but each panel was the door to a cabinet.

You might find it easier to simply re-cover each relevant wall with 1/4" plywood and paint it all the same; use 3/4" plywood for your door, and set the frame deep enough so that the door will be flush. The plywood would probably make it easier to give you a nice sharp but strong edge to the frame AND the door.

I suggest trying to find a carpenter near you to ask about it.

Panelling is a good idea because of the moulding. You can do the panel moulding all over the whole wall, and then just have the portion opening that you want. Make it one of those push-latches, maybe, or a door that rotates, or pushes sideways...

Safety boxes can also go under surfaces - Ikea used to sell a drop-down drawer that can be attached to and hidden under a table surface.

Karin L

I researched this idea a few years ago to hide a hallway access door which stuck out like a sore thumb in my dining room. Usually it's best done on a wall that has moulding panels or wallpaper with a distracting pattern. Even then the edges of the doors will usually be detectable. Search "Jib doors" "hidden doors" and google will pull up lots of ideas. I've seen some ppl use mirrors to disguise a door, make sure the door goes all the way to the floor, a gap at the bottom will ruin the effect.

Amazon sells wall safes that can be recessed in the wall between studs and then you can hang a picture frame or something to hide it. We have two in our house, one in the hallway and one in our bedroom, behind decorative mirrors on hinges. We keep firearms in them, after being robbed in the middle of the night once we decided keeping firearms close was a must have, but we wanted them to be child proof and hidden.... and easily accessible in an emergency. But I've seen people store jewelry, passports, documents, misc stuff in them. We bought a large safe to keep important stuff in though, since those are fireproof. But the wall safes are handy for any items you want hidden but not necessary protected incase of a fire.

I cut a hole in the lath & plaster in my bedroom closet for hidden storage. It's on the inside, right beside the door. It's not a walk-in closet, and you can't see it unless you shove the clothes aside and go into the closet and look out. I used a piece of scrap wood to be the "bottom" of the recessed cubby. Another great place to do it would be on the inside of the closet, above the door. It would be nearly impossible to see there, too.

Bob that is awesome! Please share your plans!