From storage solutions to feeding a creative spirit, hidden rooms are being drafted into blueprints.

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It’s architectural misdirection and local homeowners are loving it.

Hidden in plain sight, Edmonton and area homeowners are embracing the idea of hidden rooms. From lottery homes to new homes builds, secret rooms are popping up in all sorts of places.

“What we’re finding is that more and more people are requesting them in the drawing stage,” said Ashley Maclean, co-owner of Newground Developments, an Edmonton-based boutique builder specializing in custom-built homes. “Honestly, everyone (is asking). But we’re finding it’s definitely more geared to younger families (and new home construction).”

Newground, which built the current Mighty Millions lottery home in Cameron Heights — in support of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation — put two hidden rooms into a 4,902-square-foot lottery home grand prize: one on the bungalow’s main floor designed as a secret hideaway to stash a Christmas tree when the holidays are over (so you don’t have to lug it down to the basement but rather just slide it over into the cavernous space) and a second in the finished basement, this one also intended for storage. Both are hidden behind wall panels with moulding that makes each secret door look like it is just another part of the wall.

But while Maclean said one of the main reasons people want hidden rooms is for storage purposes, as she notes a popular option is for kitchens to have hidden pantries, it’s far from the only one.

Other possibilities include safety and security — spots to keep items secured or private with secret locks only the homeowners know about; there has also been the occasional request for a safe/panic room to protect from threats like home invasions. Or, on a much lighter note, secret spaces for kids to have fun in: imaginative play areas hidden under the stairs or crawl-through passages between the children’s bedrooms.

“Typically, the clients will come to us, but we have suggested them in certain situations,” said Maclean, noting the requests usually happen organically during a home’s design process.

That, said Maclean, is the best time to discuss this option as secret spaces require additional planning, skilled carpentry and design finishes. The earlier they’re built into the home’s design, the easier it is to minimize those costs including creating the visual illusion that the panel to enter the space is not a door even though it is.

From the outside, this home will likely look somewhat similar to other newer Sherwood Park bungalows.

Being built by Newground for Josie and Braden Heppner, this will be their dream home when they move into it next year. The couple has opted to add a 560-sq.-ft. loft to the main level and will finish their basement.

But beyond that, this won’t be your typical bungalow, although you wouldn’t know that from a quick, cursory look at their plans.

When you enter, the entry hall wall will have a design focal point just off the doorway, with six panelled millwork sections. Accented with a foyer table and mirror, it will catch your eye and become a welcome gathering spot.

However, what you won’t see is an entry closet off the front door. Instead, two of the wall panels on the entry wall focal feature are actually hidden doors that will open into hidden closets, giving the entryway a cleaner, sleeker look. With this bungalow being built on a lot with a limited footprint, some concessions had to be made, especially as the homeowners pointed out that their front entry area is not that large.

Meanwhile, the other hidden space, said Josie, will be her version of a man cave, a she-shed.

This secret space will be located in her home office, which will be set up in the loft with the home office occupying about two-thirds of the loft and the hidden room taking up the other third. A bookcase in the office will act as the hidden door, with a lever of sorts — Josie wants to keep that aspect to herself — to activate the opening.

“My office is going to be very bold and bright,” said Josie, adding her secret room will be more relaxing with plants, neutral colours and a hammock.

“If money were no object, I would put more hidden rooms in,” said Josie, who points to her imagination, Harry Potter, The Secret Garden (children’s novel) and a love of exploring as her inspiration for hidden spaces. “Now that I’m an adult, I have control over what I get to put in my home and I think it’s great. It brings me joy.”

As for Braden, he hasn’t been forgotten. While there are no hidden rooms in his plans, he’s getting a music room, which will take on the look of a recording studio and a place to showcase his guitars.