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How to Hide a Safe in Plain Sight | The Best 8 Sneaky and Cheap Ways

By Maria Paiz October 23, 2023

Sneaky and Cheap ways to hide a safe in plain sight

*This post contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links, but it never influences our product selection process.

 

Table of Contents:
  1. Best places to hide a safe in your home
  2. The Floor
  3. The Wall
  4. Fake Air Vent
  5. Diversion Safe
  6. The Attic
  7. Secret Door
  8. Stair Tread
  9. Cupboard Floor
  10. Conclusion


Buying a safe for your home is a great way to provide security for heirlooms and important documents. If someone breaks in, having an excellent location for your safe is just as important as the safe itself. When you install a safe, where should you place it?

Deciding where to place your safe for optimal effectiveness depends on several factors you might not consider when installing. That is ok! Keep on reading to learn the super-secret hiding places to install a safe in your home.

Hiding a safe is something that takes some guile and deception. The home is actually full of secret hiding spots most thieves will never look at. Thus placing the safe in a highly visible and well-trafficked area means that everyone who enters your home will know where you'll hide money or valuables. The main goal of a home safe is to place it somewhere that is out of the way and only known by the people who live in the home, like hidden storage. 

 

Best places to hide a safe in your home:

  • On The Floor

  • In The Wall

  • In A Fake Air Vent

  • A Diversion Safe

  • In The Attic

  • Behind A Secret Door

  • Under The Stair Tread

  • In The Cupboard Floor

The Floor

One of the best and most effective places to install a safe is on the floor. If you are building a home, it is much easier to design a spot for a floor safe as opposed to making one on the existing floor. Floor safes are not a good option for people living below sea level or in areas with lots of flooding.

  • A floor safe can be easily covered with a rug or a piece of furniture. 

  • They often have a recessed handle that allows no distinct humps or bumps.

When thieves or burglars enter, they will search the most common places a safe is placed and could miss a floor safe in their haste. Remember that thieves work on speed. If the safe is hard to find, they could give up and leave before any significant valuables in plain sight are found.

Building a floor safe in an existing home would mean the floor and possibly the foundation could be broken through. If you live in a house with ample space between the floorboards and the floor below, a floor safe would need to be light and small. Remember that if the safe contains firearms, it should be easily accessed in an emergency.

Best Floor Safe:




TigerKing Floor Safe

Tigerking makes an excellent, durable safe with several different entry modes. That means if you lose a key or the keypad malfunctions, you have another way to get inside. It has six solid steel bolts that act as the locking mechanism and has a mode where only the key and the keypad code will open the lock. That's maximum safety for your home and heirlooms. 

The main features of a Tigerking floor safe are:

  • Touch screen design - The touch screen allows fast number entry and responds well to other commands. Its flat design means that there are no unusual bumps or obstructions when hidden.

  • Warning alarm system - If the code is entered wrong three times in a row, an alarm system built inside will chime, making loud noises in the home and messaging the authorities. 

Easy ordering, low prices, and free shipping at Amazon. Click To Buy.

The Wall

A wall safe is one of the most easily concealed locations in the home. They can be installed by removing a section of drywall between studs and covered with a mirror or painting for concealment. The best parts about a wall safe are its ability to be hidden and protected from flooding.

When people think of a wall safe, they think of noir movies where a large painting covers a safe filled with cash and jewels. This cliche means that people are using the safes with regularity. Bad guys will flip pictures and mirrors to see if there are any goodies behind them. Be creative when it comes to covering your wall safe.

  • Use a wall that isn't in the main room or hallway. 

Use a linen closet or a hidden storage area that is out of the way and rarely used. Time is the enemy of burglars, and once the significant spots are checked, they will abandon hope of finding anything lucrative. Pick secret hiding places that will keep them searching. 
 

Best Wall Safe:

 


Wall Safe meant to hide a safe in plain sight

Paragon Lock & Safe makes a steel powder-coated wall safe that is light and strong. It weighs only 36lbs, which is much less than a large mirror and has around a cubic foot of space inside. It is only four inches wide, making it capable of taking small items and possibly smaller handguns. 

The top innovations on the Paragon Lock & Safe box are:

  • Fits between the studs of the wall - The sleek design of the safe means that it can fit into the space between the studs without any further harm done to support the structure of the wall. 

  • Two modes of opening - It comes with a keypad and a separate section to add a key. If the batteries inside the keypad die, you still have a way to get back inside the box.  

Easy ordering, low prices, and free shipping at Amazon. Click To Buy.

Fake Air Vent

These types of safes are diversion safes that can be opened with a token or key card tap on the surface. Camouflaging itself as an air vent, this safe guarantees that burglars will pass by without a second thought. They look exactly like the vents in your home. You can hide cash, handguns, spare house keys, and documents using these safes.

The fake air vent is a smaller safe for personal belongings and papers. Wall depth and the actual air conditioner system could negatively impact the safe be sure to measure before buying a safe. 

An air vent is not going to be easy to open without the keycard or token. Placing a handgun inside for self-defense could be a bad idea if there is a home emergency or break-in. Choosing something small inside your bedroom will keep you safer for home protection. In an emergency, every second counts.

Best Air Vent Safe:

Professional Grade Products Hidden Wall Safe, Hidden as Air Vent in Plain Sight, Secures Jewelry, Valuables, Cash etc.

Professional Grade Products makes a wall safe that is small and indiscreet. It has a false wall that can be installed to hide valuables from view completely. When the gate is dropped, there is nothing behind it unless you have the totem to open it. This model is easy to install and fits between the studs like other wall-mounted units.

Some things that make the Professional Grade Products model stand out are:

  • False wall - Inside the vent, a false wall can be attached with magnets or screws. The screw adds an extra layer of protection against anyone who thinks there could be safe. 

  • Low tech - Often, safes can have electrical malfunctions that require assistance to be opened. With a low-tech vault, there are no ways to be locked out of your safe. 


Easy ordering, low prices, and free shipping at Amazon. Click To Buy.

 

Diversion Safe

Diversion safes are small and allow your valuables to be hidden in plain sight. The diversion safe can take several different forms, and one of the most common is the fake rock with a spare key hidden in plain sight. They come in all ranges of casings and feature a small cafe on the inside.

Installing a diversion safe in your home takes security to the next level. They make models that resemble kitchen appliances and smaller pieces of furniture. A burglar will bypass these items because it is so uncommon that they could contain anything of value. This will surely keep your valuables in plain sight, hidden from secret hiding spots thieves. 

The most often used types of diversion safe are:

  • Soda cans

  • Electrical sockets

  • Food jars

  • Fake rocks

Diversion safes can be as big as a microwave or as small as a tube of lipstick. This secret safe is a great hiding place for those more minor items. Hiding cash, USB drives stored with personal information, and jewelry can all be placed into these small, secure, secret compartment models and diversion safes.

Best Diversion Safe:

Hanger Diversion Safe by Stash-it, Hidden Pocket Safe, Fits Under Hanging Clothes with Pocket to Hide Valuables for Home or Travel

Stash-It Hanger Safe breaks the convention molds of a safe like no other product on the market. It mocks a suit bag and hangs in your closet to be masked by jackets or other pieces of clothing. Placing cash and jewelry inside a diversion safe is advised, while handguns and anything with too much weight will produce a noticeable bulge. 

The best parts about the Stash-It Hanger Safe are:

  • Fireproof design - The material is fireproof and protects the items within against disasters. Paper items and documents will benefit from being placed inside this safe if a fire ever occurs.

  • Portable - The Stash-It can be used as a safe for traveling. Placing it inside a jacket allows you to make extra cash or traveler's cheques when you travel around the globe. 

Easy ordering, low prices, and free shipping at Amazon. Click To Buy.

 

The Attic

The attic is one of the last places the burglar would think to look for a safe. Most attics have recessed ladders or hidden entrances that could make it harder for them to be found. It should be placed in a corner or disguised with boxes to keep it from being easily seen.

Having a safe in the attic could be a bad idea if you plan to add several heavy items or have an older home. Improvements to specific attic sections would make it more visible to intruders. Extra lumber or newer construction in an older home is a dead giveaway. 

A major complaint about having a safe in the attic is that storing and retrieving items could become a hassle. Placing guns for home protection inside isn't a good idea.


Best Attic Safe:

Amazon Basics Steel Home Security Safe with Programmable Keypad - Secure Documents, Jewelry, Valuables - 1.8 Cubic Feet, 13.8 x 13 x 19.7 Inches, Black

AmazonBasics makes a great, inconspicuous safe and large enough for larger items. An attic safe is best when it can be covered by something or stashed in a corner. This safe is small and dark-colored, which makes it harder to spot in dark and shadow.

 

The best part about the AmazonBasics safe is:

  • Programmable keypad - Having a code that can be remembered is essential when having a safe. This model allows you to change the password as often as you need to keep your items safe and secure. The lock also allows for emergency access via the key.

  • Solid construction - This safe is built with 14 and 8-gauge steel, and the locking bolts are pry-resistant. That makes it a tough nut to crack, and at only 40 lbs, it can be moved as often as needed. 


Easy ordering, low prices, and free shipping at Amazon. Click To Buy.

 

Secret Door

If building a new home or adding on, a great hiding spot to install a safe is behind a secret door. A small nook can be made that will tightly fit in your safe. Covering the niche can be a sliding door or something more deceptive, like a bookcase. 

The secret storage door is one of the ultimate secret storage to install your safe. If space is built for the safe, it will be much harder to break open if it is discovered. The walls inside will be formed around the safe, and the doors' proximity makes it hard to crack open with tools.

Let's face it; the secret door is the most innovative of the installs. It is also the most invasive. Installing the extra door and implements are going to take a professional to install. Often a door that leads nowhere and serves no purpose will stick out like a sore thumb. That is why adding the shelving or bookcase adds another dimension to safety.

Best Secret Door:

 Sliding Bookshelf Door Options

Hidden Passageway makes a series of bookcase shelves that can hide a safe or just about anything you can think of. They excel at making top-of-the-line secret compartment products that protect and add style to your home. 

The best parts about a Hidden Passageway secret door are:

    • Major cool points: These doors look like something Batman would use to get into the Batcave, which can't be bad. They fit seamlessly into the wall or shelving and could come equipped with the same kind of door used on bank vaults. 

    • Automated feature - If the door is too heavy or needs to move, having the computerized feature is a smart move. If there are books or anything of substance on the shelves, it will be massive.  It is paramount to ensure all the family members have access. 

Order a custom or ready-to-ship hidden door. Click To Buy.

 

Stair Tread

A popular new trend is to replace the space between stairsteps as a safe. It works like the air vent and only pops open for the keycard or totem. The amount of space is limited and will need to be used for only small essential items like family heirlooms.

This type of safe will take an expert to install and could require that the space under the stairs is not in use. The little space is the most obvious drawback. Placing a small handgun or stash of cash inside is an excellent idea, as the stair tread safe is easy to get to.


Best Stair Tread Safe:


Amazon Basics Steel Security Safe with Programmable Electronic Keypad - Secure Cash, Jewelry, ID Documents - 0.7 Cubic Feet, 16.93 x 14.57 x 7.09 Inches

A safe often fits into the gap between the steps, and the type of safe only needs to be determined by its size. AmazonBasics makes a smaller opening safe that fits the average height of most stair steps. It has an easy-to-operate keypad and is suitable for storing smaller documents and emergency cash.

The best parts about a Stair Tread Safe are:

  • Small size - The small size of the safe makes it harder to see. Most burglars would never inspect each step to try and find a hidden safe. 

  • Easy to mount - Installing the safe inside the stair-step will be a hard job that could leave evidence of your work. This model only has four bolts that need to be attached to the wall or ground for safe installation. That means less work for the box and more for the step.

Easy ordering, low prices, and free shipping at Amazon. Click To Buy.

 

Cupboard Floor

Adding new cabinets and cupboards to the kitchen or dining area is a great place to install a new safe. These cabinets can be formed to envelop the safe and make it hard to be detected. The cupboards are also a great place to store large-size hidden safes.

Cupboards are some of the last places a burglar will look when ransacking the home. Using this space to hide your most precious items is a great idea. Placing heavy pots, pans, or kitchen appliances atop the safe could also camouflage it.

Best Cupboard Floor Safe:

 

TIGERKING Security Home Safe, Safe Box- 2.05 Cubic Feet

Tigerking
makes a great neutral-colored valuable safe that is small and rugged. It weighs 60 lbs and is only about two feet tall. The small size is what you are looking for if it goes under a kitchen cupboard or bathroom sink.

The best parts about the Tigerking cupboard floor safe are:

  • Dual warning system - Like all Tigerking models, the warning system will be its main draw. It emits a buzzer while also contacting the police or security when it is triggered.

  • Emergency key - Something the Tk has that other models don't is an emergency key. Other models could make you punch in an entire code instead of pushing a series that instantly opens it. Time spent opening the safe could mean the difference between life and death in a burglary situation. 

Easy ordering, low prices, and free shipping at Amazon. Click To Buy.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, cleverly concealing your safe in plain sight is a smart security move. These eight ingenious and affordable methods not only keep your valuables hidden but also ensure easy access when needed. The essence of a well-hidden safe lies in its integration into everyday surroundings, making it unnoticed by intruders. Evaluate your home to find the perfect spot, whether it's behind a secret door, under a stair tread, or within a cupboard floor. Each of these options offers a unique blend of secrecy and accessibility. Remember, the best defense is keeping your safe out of sight and mind. Enhance your home security with the right safe from USASafeAndVault.com and rest easy knowing your treasures are safely tucked away.

 


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