Tucked away in our ‘bonus room’ area is our favorite spot in the house. Our hidden movie room or “The Speak Easy” as we like to call it.

We originally had no concrete plans for this space. In our drafted plans the wall where the Murphy (hidden) door is never existed. I was going to have the railing be a half wall and have giant barn doors to open or close whenever we wanted more privacy or separation from the living room below.

Once our house was framed we quickly realized the roof line was going to make that plan difficult, so we had to come up with a solution that not only kept our living room open to the area upstairs but also allowed us privacy when we wanted it. Our genius friend, Jordan Clinger, helped us get to this solution. We had our framer add the wall immediately to the left when you come to the top of the stairs and we had him match the arched doorway to the two on the main floor. We then decided that we would add a barn door to the inside of the movie room to create more privacy while still maintaining a good amount of space in the now much smaller room.

We were those people who would visit the house 1-3 times a day, even if we knew nothing had changed that day. It didn’t take much time staring at this space after it was framed for us to realize, “HOW FREAKIN COOL WOULD IT BE IF THAT WERE A SECRET DOOR?!” It just felt right. We had to do it. No questions asked. Our cabinet guy was anxious about it but on board. It would have been extremely difficult for him to make the entire doorway (including the arch) swing open, so he had the idea to leave the arched part stationary and make the actual door a rectangle.

We absolutely 100% LOVE how it turned out. It created two functional spaces for our home; a dark, quiet, moody movie room/speak easy, and from below it looks like a beautiful sitting area over looking the main floor. It also added a ton of character to our new build which I adore.

Commonly asked questions about this room:

What is the paint color? Thunderous from Sherwin Williams. No regrets painting everything that color. It sets such a cool mood in the room.

Where are your lights from? All are linked here :) I tried to keep them affordable and as well as unique and beautiful. The ceiling fan is amazing. It has a smaller footprint but works so well and comes with a remote control. The oval brass sconces are only being sold in black as of May 2022 but you could spray paint them.

Is it completely finished? I still have lots of ideas for the space. I need to spray paint the white vents black. We need a mini fridge and I want to find some cool Art Deco inspired movie wall art. I also want to add a long table with chairs behind the couch.

Where is your couch and fireplace from? Wayfair and Amazon! Linked here.

What is your kitchenette backsplash tile? Allora 7.5" x 12.75" Rhomboid Matte Porcelain Tile in Solid White from bedrosians. Linked here.

What else is back there? Two bedrooms and a bathroom!

What kind of sound system do you have? None right now but please send us your suggestions!