The classic secretary is a chest of drawers with a top-down door, behind which there are many hidden drawers and compartments. At first, this furniture was considered ladies'. The open door served as a table for writing love letters, and pearls and diamonds shimmered in the locked recesses. However, the design turned out to be successful, and it was borrowed for more prosaic purposes: storing documents and writing materials. Let's try to assemble a simple secretary with our own hands, so that markers, disks and folders with papers finally find their permanent place.

Let's make a very simple secretary

Preparation for work

Our secretary will have the simplest device, but in terms of convenience and functionality it will not yield to the factory one. For its manufacture, the following materials will be required:

• Ready-made desktop holders for folders made of plywood (sold in stationery stores) - 6 pcs.
• MDF blank for the top cover - 890x330x16 mm.
• MDF blank for the back cover - 890x325x16 mm.
• Joiner's glue.
• Screws.
• sanding paper.
• Double-sided tape.

From the tools we will need:

1. Electric jigsaw with a blade for a curved cut.
2. Drill.
3. Screwdriver or screwdriver.

As you can see in the picture, our module is mounted on an ordinary dining table with tabletop dimensions of 100x80 cm. The superstructure for placing papers looks like a complex of interconnected horizontal and vertical supports, united by MDF top and back covers.

In conditions small apartment it would be nice to figure out how to make the secretary mobile. This condition is just built into our design. The trick is that our shelf module is removable, which means that if necessary, it can be quickly removed to any other place.

Marking and sawing MDF

First cut out the top cover. To do this, we lay the stand on the sheet with its side so that the back side of the future cover is aligned with the horizontal shelf flush. The front side of the cover should protrude 1.5 cm forward beyond the horizontal shelf. We mark the position of the first part of the shelf.

Marking the outline of the lid

We turn the stand over and mark the position of the second, mirror part of the shelf.

Cut out the top cover

We cut out the top cover with an electric jigsaw, installing a file for a curved cut into it. The pendulum stroke must be turned off during operation. The dimensions of the lid should be:

• Length - 890 mm,
• Width at the junction of horizontal supports - 320 mm,
• Width at the ends - 170 mm.

We cut out the back wall in the form of a rectangle, according to the given dimensions - 890x325x16 mm.

Scheme of our secretary

We grind the finished covers and cover them with furniture varnish for 2-3 times or paste over with a self-adhesive film.

Some pieces of furniture

Furniture with a secret

17:00 June 27, 2016

Some pieces of furniture seem to have stepped out of the screen of science fiction or spy films: in fact, they are not at all what they seem. It cannot be said that this is an invention of modernity - furniture with additional secret functions has been made since ancient times. Inside what has survived to this day antique furniture very often various caches and secret boxes are discovered. Tables, dressing tables, chests of drawers and lockers, created by ancient craftsmen, usually had a dual purpose: they were not only used, but also safely hidden in them money, documents and jewelry from prying eyes and intruders, which was vital in those turbulent times.

In France in the 18th century they even began to produce the new kind furniture - secretaries. The name itself suggests that these interior items were intended to store the secrets of the owner. As a rule, these were miniature bureaus with many visible and hidden shelves and drawers and a folding top used as a desk.

Drawers were often provided with secret locks and secret locking mechanisms. Among antique dealers and collectors of antiques, there are many legends about untold riches accidentally discovered after pressing some inconspicuous carnation inside an old secretary. Or how an antique secretary, having changed many owners, fell into the hands of an experienced specialist who was able to figure out the location of the cache, searched for a long time for a way to open it, and, of course, eventually found a secret box full of ancient treasures.

But even today, the romance of secrets and mysteries has not gone away - people still like to equip unexpected and original places to store valuables. And for a number of reasons, the easiest way to do this is in furniture and other interior items. Some caches cannot be created without help good master furniture maker, in some cases, furniture is already sold with secret storage niches, but there are also ways to safely hide something inside the most ordinary furniture.

Caches in ordinary furniture

The simplest example is if you need to securely hide an envelope or flat bag, simply tape it to the bottom of the drawer on the underside. In most cases, even if someone searches through all the drawers of your desk, they are unlikely to guess to look under them. For greater certainty, use the lowest drawer so that it is also physically inconvenient to inspect its bottom.

By the same principle, hiding places are arranged under the seats of chairs, however, in our opinion, this is less reliable: chairs are often lifted to rearrange, and they can also accidentally fall. Therefore, the probability of quickly discovering such a cache is very high, and this one is better original way storage to use for something not very valuable.

It is also quite common to store valuables in the piano. By design, this musical instrument has a lot of free space inside, which can be perfectly used to place anything from household supplies to important documents. Of course, provided that a professional musician does not live in your family who will not allow you to treat the instrument so frivolously.

Caches are often arranged under furniture - in the empty space between the legs, which closes decorative facade. Someone builds a convenient drawer there. Or you can just find a flat box that is suitable in size, put valuables in it and shove it away under the closet. You can also make the simplest double bottom inside the drawer yourself.

Finished furniture with hidden niches

Naturally, not all ready-made furniture can be used to store valuables - most often it is simply designed to conveniently accommodate ordinary household items. For example, in an ottoman in the hallway it is very convenient to carefully lay out shoes, and in ottomans or banquettes in the bedroom or living room - those things that are often used in these rooms.

The same applies to storage under the bed - a full-fledged cache from this place will not work, but then remove unnecessary ones in this moment items are very convenient.

Among the finished furniture designed for secret storage of valuables, special shelves and countertops should be noted. According to them appearance it is impossible to guess that there is a cache inside.

wall mirrors and paintings of a special design can also be a great hiding place, which is almost impossible to detect. Also, real safes are sometimes disguised under the guise of paintings.

Another way to arrange a hiding place at home is to purchase a secret box or safe disguised as an outlet.

Caches with your own hands or to order

It is very popular to place caches made of books on bookshelves. It does not require any special skills and expensive materials- the main thing is to choose the spines of books in such a way that they look harmoniously among other publications on the shelf and do not attract attention to themselves.

You can try to create on your own simple secret places for storage inside the countertop or under the countertop.

Others, more complex projects, are made to order from a good master. This applies to secret drawers or special secret storage niches inside various furniture.

Each time dictates its own styles, including in furniture design. However, in addition to beauty, many interior items should also have additional functionality: drawers, drawers and shelves. And in some cases - hiding places, small safes disguised as ordinary bedside tables, chests of drawers or other pieces of furniture, as well as built into bookcases and wardrobes.

Secretaire with curved legs, decorated with carvings

Their presence always had its own meaning: here it was possible to hide something that was not necessarily visible to the rest. And, starting from the 18th century, in any rich house one could find a secretary, and in the Russian version - a desk, where the owner kept especially valuable documents: bills, money, jewelry.

Inside the antique furniture that has survived to this day, various hiding places and secret boxes are very often found.

Furniture with secrets - table and cabinet with additional drawers

In past centuries, in the homes of wealthy people, a table or a cabinet with secret drawers was an obligatory accessory for a study, which was used to store especially important documents, money, jewelry, which made it possible to protect them from thieves. Later, in France, a special table-wardrobe was invented, called a secretary, because it was really possible to store various secret documents and small valuables in it.

The drawers were often supplied with secret locks and secret locking mechanisms.

The popularity of secretaires and other furniture "frills", equipped with various secret spaces, was not accidental. Their design has its advantages that ordinary tables and cabinets do not have, and features that are unique to such products.

They are no less relevant today: in stylized safes and hiding places they store securities, expensive jewelry, important correspondence and documentation. Among the clear advantages of such furniture can be noted:

• storage of valuables without access to them by outsiders;
• their arrangement in different furniture elements;
• the possibility of making secret vaults with your own hands.

Among the factors characteristic of furniture with a secret, the design features of such products stand out, allowing you to prepare storage spaces. specific type values. As a rule, if caches are specially equipped, they are equipped with secret locks, and today - with an electronic security system.

Today, the furniture market offers products not only for personal use, but also for businesses and organizations. In addition, it can be made to order according to individual drawings.

To open this table, you need to place a special magnet in Right place, no more handles and levers

Caches in ordinary furniture

Caches are often arranged under furniture - in the empty space between the legs

Antique furniture is a storehouse of secrets and mysteries. Old master cabinetmakers turned furniture design elements into real works of art. Today's craftsmen make modern furniture in the old style, helping to create a special interior and complement it with hidden elements.

Secrets in antique furniture

The purchase of special tables, cabinets and bedside tables with hiding places is a rather expensive pleasure. But this does not mean that especially important documents and the jewels will remain on the shelf in the closet.

Stash option in the house on the bookshelf

Finished furniture with hidden niches

Wall mirrors and specially designed paintings can also be a great hiding place.

Released today different kinds ordinary furniture equipped with secret spaces. Caches can be located in any part of it, and both the owners themselves can equip them with their own hands, and by ordering their production from craftsmen, secret places can be located:

Secret drawer or safe disguised as an outlet

Caches with your own hands or to order

Stash in the table, custom made

It is not always necessary to buy expensive exclusive furniture equipped with hidden places. Can be used a budget option by ordering the desired item furniture interior specialists in their own drawings. Can i home master try to create and equip it with your own hands.

It can be equipped with hidden places under the tabletops or inside them, in the doors of cabinets and bedside tables, as well as shelves and drawers on which locks can be embedded.

Of interest are small turnkey niches equipped in the depths of the drawers of the desk with a secret.

An interesting option for a hiding place in a chest of drawers

Hollow legs and furniture racks

A simple hiding place in furniture - in the hollow legs of a chair

The hiding place, equipped in these pieces of furniture, is considered a classic. It is quite simple to make it: you need to drill a hole of the selected size inside the furniture element. It is assumed that only one person will know about such a "secret" - the one who made it.

It is clear that the place for storing valuables equipped here does not imply a large number of them, which must be remembered to be disguised in a convenient way.

Advice. Holes must be made very carefully and not overdo it with their diameter, so as not to weaken the structure and not lead to its breakage.

Stash inside chair seat

Secrets in boxes

The double bottom drawer is a true classic that still works to this day.

Traditionally, hiding places are arranged in the drawers of a desk or chest of drawers, where you can make a "second bottom". For its equipment, they take the same material from which the furniture itself is made, of the same size, fix it:

• Velcro;
• magnetic strips in a plastic frame;
• in other convenient ways.

The idea of ​​a small cache - a box inside a box

You can put flat objects there:

• documentation;
• cash;
• Photo;
• securities.

Hidden "treasures" must also be fixed on the "second day".

Drawers with secrets for in ordinary lockers

Secrets in closets

Secret boxes, safely hidden in the most ordinary-looking bookshelves

Cabinets provide a wide field of activity for equipping hiding places from thieves. Their large internal and external space allows you to hide a large number of items of various configurations.

Caches built into a regular closet

Stash location	What can be hidden	How to fix
Under the bottom of the cabinet, in the far corner	Jewelry, small valuables	put in a box right size and put on the floor; pack in a bag and attach with Velcro to the bottom of the cabinet
Behind the back wall	Documents, securities. Jewelry, art canvases	Secure in bags and attach with tape or glue
Behind inner surface mirrors	Only flat objects	Use tape
At the bottom of the cabinet - the formation of the second bottom	Any items corresponding to the height of the second bottom	Fold in a niche, cover with a second bottom
In the far corner inside a closet, disguised as a shoebox	Items that fit the box	Put a box with a lid that can be locked with a key in a shoe box, fixed with screws to the cabinet floor, put a pair of shoes that no one uses on top, cover with a shoe box lid

Retractable panel in the closet, hidden from prying eyes

Attention! Before hiding a thing, it is necessary to decide who can know about the existence of the cache and have access to it, so that, if it is discovered by the household, not to get into a stupid position.

Video: how to make - The easiest cache

Many mistakenly believe that functional furniture appeared quite recently, when it was time to furnish not luxurious apartments, but small apartments. Meanwhile, history takes us several centuries into the past to tell about the emergence of one of the most interesting and functional types of furniture - the secretary. Indeed, the secretaire is as popular today as it was in the 18th century, when it first appeared. Today, together with the Dream House website, we will plunge into the world of retro furnishings and learn a little more about this furniture.

A little about the history of the creation of the secretary

As mentioned earlier, the secretary appeared in the 18th century, but some sources date its appearance to the 12th-13th centuries. It was behind the secretary that the ladies of that era wrote thousands of letters; in their numerous drawers they kept both love messages and state secrets. Thus, the secretary cabinet easily replaced both desk, and a safe, and a closet.

Modern models have been slightly modified, but, as before, they are a cabinet with drawers and folding shelf, which acts as a work surface. A large number of drawers allows you to keep all the writing instruments at hand, but at the same time, in perfect order. And secret locks and reliable locking systems protect important papers from prying eyes.

Modern secretary - desk

Initially considered as ladies' furniture, the secretary quickly fell in love with the male half of humanity, becoming the workplace of emperors and kings. For example, Napoleon Bonaparte took a folding travel secretary with him on trips - when folded, he took up little space, but the desk was always there, even on the battlefield. And then doctors liked this functional furniture, allowing them to keep doctor's instruments and medicines in order.

Currently, writing secretaries adorn modern interiors, combining working area and a spacious closet. The aristocratic look of furniture with a retro touch fits perfectly into both classic and modern interior styles. The main thing is to choose the right shape, color and finish of the secretary.

Secretaire in the interior: application possibilities

Now secretaries are most often made "antique": from dark wood, with carved decor. Such furniture is perfect for, as well as for the style, and rococo, but categorically does not fit into modern styles. When choosing furniture for such an interior, you need to change your approach and look for more concise forms with no conspicuous finishes. Such modern secretaries in not in large numbers are also present on the furniture market. And if earlier they were made exclusively from solid wood, now this furniture can be made from MDF, laminated chipboard, veneered. And only a few can afford a secretary made of solid wood.

Secretaire - antique furniture

Antique secretaries usually have big sizes, they are made of expensive woods, have a rich dark color(brown, burgundy) and decorated with carvings. For classic interiors such aristocratic furniture, which exudes solidity and chic, fits perfectly.

Art Deco style secretaries have elegant shapes and are most often made in black or white. And country-style writing cabinets, as a rule, are of a simple form, without decoration, sometimes with scuffs on the body.

AT modern interiors the secretary is sometimes part of a furniture set and is one of the "wall" sections. It is, as it were, built-in, which does not take up much space and, at the same time, is part of the headset.

Where can I put a secretary

This universal view The furniture is mainly placed in the living room. Representing a compact workplace, it easily fits a laptop on its surface, and there is still room for all kinds of folders and books. After work, all these accessories are removed, and the lid is closed, turning the secretary into a regular cabinet or.

But no matter how convenient and roomy the secretary is, it is not intended for long work behind him. You can’t put a stationary computer on it, and it’s not very convenient for your legs to constantly rest against drawers. However, as an alternative to a mini home office, it fits perfectly.

The secretary can be placed not only in living rooms, but also in the library, office and even in the bedroom. The main thing is to find a place for a compact workplace, wherever it does not interfere and does not take up extra square meters. Under this description, the corner secretary-chest of drawers is ideal, which allows you to store various things in a large number of drawers, and when the lid is open, it acts as a desk.

A compact workplace is necessary not only for adults, but also for children. Sometimes a student closet is placed in the nursery, in which case it replaces the desk and places portable computer equipment and other study supplies. Maybe, the best option will use a large desk for work and study, and a secretary for a laptop or computer, but each parent chooses furniture based on the size of the children's room, so advisers are superfluous here.

Secretary and bureau - two brothers

Often, along with a secretary, they also look for a bureau. Both types of furniture are a compact workplace, only the secretary is more of a closet with a sliding or hinged lid, and the bureau is a kind of table with an add-on. The latter stands steadily on four legs and has small dimensions that fit perfectly into almost any interior. Meanwhile, the presence of a work surface and shelves for papers allows you to use it for short work, for example, while sitting at it, you can pay bills or write a shopping list for the store.

Secretaries, cabinets and other wooden furniture are most often presented in the color of wood (walnut, cherry, beech, wenge...). But that's not always the case. When the furniture in the process of finishing acquires a color that hides the pattern of the tree, then many people have a question: “Why hide the tree under the paint?” Probably a fair question. The same question, by the way, can often be heard from craftsmen.

What is really the point?

Look at this photo report on the construction of a secretaire and cabinets made of wood. These pieces of furniture were planned in the living space of one of country houses suburbs. Try to feel the content of the project and most likely you will find some interesting points for yourself, and maybe the answer to the question posed.

Work in the workshops began, as usual, with the preparation of blanks. First, we prepared blanks for the cabinet. Sawed plywood and maple boards. At the stage of preparation of blanks, it is extremely important to withstand correct geometry and dimensions of future parts. At all corners of the workpieces, an angle of 90 degrees must be maintained, and the error linear dimensions should be no more than one third of a millimeter. And only with this approach, the product will eventually be assembled.