So you’ve got a safe and want to find a secret place to conceal it. Using a safe is a great way of hiding and protecting your valuables but you have to do it the right way.
Many people focus on finding the most secure safe that’s really hard to crack, however, choosing the right hiding spot is just as crucial, if not more so.
The caveat is that most burglars know the common hiding places and they always start searching in those areas. Safes attract burglars like a magnet because they suppose there’s something valuable in them.
That’s why you want to pick a place for your safe that’s invisible to criminals.
Since you’ll probably use your hiding spot for years to come, it’s worth putting time and effort into discovering the best areas in your home.
And now, without further ado, let’s see the best places to hide your safe in your house.
1. In the Attic
An attic can serve as a great place to conceal your safe or valuables for several reasons. First of all, as I’ve already mentioned, burglars try to spend as little time in the house as possible. So it’s more likely they’ll start searching in the rooms and skip the attic completely.
According to a survey, most thieves start searching for valuables in the master bedroom. The attic is among the least popular places.
Escaping from a room takes little time, while in an attic one can easily get trapped. That’s the main reason criminals usually spend no time in the attic. It’s just not worth the risk and they don’t want to jeopardize being caught.
You can make the attic even less attractive by making it harder to get there (e.g. don’t keep ladders nearby or just lock the entrance of the attic). Of course, it’s not a great idea to put the safe simply in the middle of the attic. You should find a barely noticeable spot that’s hardly visible to strangers.
You can camouflage the safe with old boxes or anything that’s normal to keep in an attic. You can also use some funny stickers to deceive burglars. I really like this pack on Amazon.
The main disadvantage of hiding your safe in the attic is that it’s pretty hard to reach. That’s why if you need to open the safe on a daily basis or accessibility is important, I recommend you choose another location.
Quick Tip: Much depends on the items you want to store in the safe and the structure of your home. If you want to give the lowest chance for burglars to find your safe, always choose a place considering the unique properties of your house. A small safe in a busy attic, for instance, is a pretty secure combination.
2. Behind a Hidden Door
It’s not the cheapest solution but can be a really effective one when done professionally.
One of its greatest advantages is that, unlike the attic, it’s easily accessible for those who know about it, while practically invisible for any other person.
Check out this short video to see what a secret hidden room behind a closet looks like:
You can replace a regular closet or cabinet door with a hidden one but always make sure the new door completely blends into the environment. A hidden door that stands out is no longer hidden, in fact, it will quickly attract burglars’ attention once they get in the room.
Finding a secure place for your home safe is an important step. However, at the same time, you should also make your whole home more burglar-proof. We’ve collected some simple and effective DIY home security hacks in this article.
3. Under Stair Treads
Certain types of stair treads can be modified and turned into a secret hiding place where you can conceal a small safe. Imagine it as storage under the stairs.
You can either install a hidden drawer or modify a tread so that it opens upwards. There’s no one size fits all solution so you will have to use your creativity if you decide on applying this method. However, keep in mind that sometimes it can be difficult to hide the traces of the modification, and you may need to hire a professional for the work.
Here’s an example:
4. In the Wall
You can easily find a reliable wall safe for a reasonable price (such as this one) and there are a lot of great guides online that help you with installing if you want to do it yourself.
A wall safe can be a great choice for hiding cash, documents, external hard drives with sensitive data, jewelry and other valuables.
A high-quality wall safe can give protection not only against criminals but also against fires.
As always, you can further enhance security by concealing your wall safe properly. It can be hidden in many ways but it should be easy to access for the few who know about its location. Placing it behind a closet can be a good solution, for example.
If you want to make sure you choose a reliable wall safe look for a UL (Underwriters Laboratories) certificate or buy from a reputable company. Before purchasing don’t forget to measure the depth of the wall and choose a wall safe accordingly.
5. In the Floor
Floor safes are pretty popular, mainly because they’re one of the most secure solutions out there. However, their proper installation is a little messy as you have to cut a hole in the floor.
Besides being secure and especially hard to remove, they have another important advantage: they can be hidden easily and effectively. You can place a big carpet or any furniture on a floor safe making it really hard for burglars to find it.
You can install floor safes into concrete and wood floors as well. If flooding is a concern, choose a model that is waterproof. I suggest that you consult with a contractor before starting the installation because every house is different and you want to make sure you pick the right place in all aspects.
6. Behind a Secret Mirror
A secret mirror is similar to a hidden door. It’s just a regular mirror to the average observer, only insiders know there’s a hiding place behind it. You can replace any of your closet doors with a secret mirror but always make sure there are no visible traces of the modification.
If you want, you can camouflage an entire room with a secret mirror where, besides a safe, you can hide other valuables too.
7. In a Diversion Safe: Hide Your Valuables in Plain Sight
Diversion safes can be a great solution when you need both easy access and camouflage. There are a great variety of diversion safes available at stores (I really like this safe for smaller items and this one for larger ones), but with a little creativity, you can also do a unique one yourself.
Almost any ordinary household item can be used as a diversion safe: an empty shower bottle, a coke can, a condiment bottle, a fake rock, the inside of an old TV, or a double-bottomed flowerpot.
The main advantage of diversion safes is that they blend perfectly into the environment. Most of these safes don’t even require installation so they can be a perfect choice if you don’t want to make permanent changes in your house.
The greatest disadvantage of a diversion safe is that it’s usually not protected by a lock and once the burglars find it, they can open it easily or take it with them.
Did you know that you can significantly lower the chance of a burglary just by implementing some ridiculously simple methods? If you want to deter crooks the easy (and cheap) way, make sure you check out these tips!
8. In a Fake Air Vent, Wall Outlet, or Shelf Safe
This one can be considered as a type of diversion safe and is one of my favorites. An air vent safe comes in handy when you want to hide larger items in plain sight. It looks like a normal air return vent and can be installed quickly and easily between two studs.
You can use it to hide cash, jewelry, and other valuables. Some models have an additional secret compartment below the main one where you can hide your most valuable items.
The best air vent safes come with an RFID locking system (like this one) and can be opened with a unique RFID key (it’s usually a card or a small token) with a single touch. This system provides easy and immediate access to hidden valuables.
A fake wall outlet can serve as a great hiding spot for cash and smaller items while keeping them in plain sight. Installation is easy and quick, you just have to cut a small hole in the wall. It has two major disadvantages: it usually isn’t secured with a lock and is probably too small for all your valuables.
A fake shelf safe is similar to a fake air vent safe but on the wall. It’s slightly easier to access (you don’t have to bend) but since the hidden space is inside the shelf itself and not inside the wall, like in the case of an air vent safe, it’s thicker than some regular shelves. This can draw some experienced burglars’ attention, so I think the air vent safe is a more secure choice.
If you’re into crypto, make sure you check out my article about the best secret places where you can hide your recovery seed phrase. That’s something you never want to lose.
9. Under the Cupboard
Usually, you can find some space under most cupboards that can be great hiding spots for smaller safes. To gain access to that area, you may have to do some modifications first. Before starting the work make sure there’s enough space for the strongbox and you don’t make alterations that may weaken the structure of the cupboard.
10. In a Bucket of Cat Litter
You can place a smaller safe in a bucket and pour unused litter onto it. The safe will be invisible to strangers and most burglars won’t even think about seeking your valuables in a bucket of litter.
There’s one important thing to note: if you don’t have any cats, a bucket full of litter can be suspicious for some experienced criminals. In this case, change the litter for something else that doesn’t do any harm to the safe and blends perfectly into your home environment.
Instead of a bucket, you can use an empty paint can too.
11. Inside a Wall Clock
Smaller items can be concealed inside a modified clock you can buy for a few bucks. It’s fully functional and from the outside, it’s like any other wall clock, the only difference is that it has a hidden safe at the back with one or two shelves. It’s not bad for hiding some cash but not ideal for storing your most valuable items because the thickness of the clock can be a little suspicious.
Fool the Burglars by Installing a Decoy Safe
If you want to take safe security to the next level, it’s a good idea to “hide” a cheap decoy safe full of imitation jewelry and other inexpensive items in an obvious place where burglars can find it easily. Most criminals will think they’ve found your secret hiding place and won’t seek after the real one.
Places You Should Avoid When Hiding Your Safe and Valuables
Experienced burglars know many more hiding spots than an average person does. That’s why it’s so important to avoid common hiding places, especially the following ones. These are the worst places to conceal a safe:
- Drawers, closets, cabinets, and boxes without modifications (although with some alterations these can be great hiding places)
- Under the kitchen counter
- Freezer
- Toilet tank
- Child’s room
- Vases and pots
- Jewelry box
- Laundry baskets
- Purses
- Under the mattress or inside the bed
Want to know where burglars head first in a home? Check out these useful burglary statistics and be one step ahead of criminals!
Note that for firearms you want a safe that’s easy and fast to access while for your valuables camouflage is more important.
Always make sure nobody sees you while accessing the safe. Think of mirrors, windows, shadows, and cameras that can reveal your secret place.
FYI – While you can definitely store your spare car key in your safe, make sure you have a look at these great hiding spots as well.
Summary
Burglars always want to find money and valuables as fast as possible. They know that the more time they spend searching for valuables the higher the chance of being noticed. By choosing a hard-to-find hiding spot you can reduce considerably the chance of a successful burglary.
There are many great places and possibilities when it comes to hiding your safe in your home. Ideally, you want to plan where you want to conceal your safe before buying it. It’s much easier to choose a safe when you already know what type exactly you want and where you want it to be placed.
Every home is different with unique properties. A solution may work great in a house while it’s a terrible idea in another one. When in doubt, always seek professional advice. One thing is certain: if you keep valuables at home, installing a safe (even the simplest one) is well worth the invested time and money.
Photos: Wikimedia (Jesse Dymond, Ocdp), Themurphydoor, Safeandvaultstore, Thegadgetflow, Flickr (Ctd 2005)
