Thwart Threats With Clever Hiding Places for Your Valuables

In ancient times, Romans buried their valuables throughout their world to keep them safe. Coins and other precious personal items sat for hundreds of years if the owner died or forgot the location and failed to retrieve them. Now, people continue to discover new Roman hoards throughout Europe.

Like the ancient Romans, you want to keep your valuables safe. You may have precious family heirlooms like jewelry or photographs. You might collect ancient coins or invest in gold and silver for retirement. And important documents like deeds, passports, and property titles need to stay safe.

Fortunately, modern methods provide better protection than a hole in the ground. If you choose not to place your valuables in a bank vault or box, a home safe is a secure way to store your valuables.

But where can you keep your safe so it is out of reach of various risks? Check out how you can thwart threats with some of these clever hiding places.

Inside a Wall

Thieves can easily grab a small safe and carry it away along with your valuables when it's not concealed. In fact, a poor hiding place actually makes it easier for a robber to grab your valuables at once and run. When a safe is small enough to find, lift, and carry away, you need to rethink your hiding place.

You can make your safe invisible when you install it inside a wall in your own home. Choose an interior wall rather than an exterior one, and make sure that wall has sufficient depth to fit the safe. Opt for a room thieves are less likely to ransack, such as a playroom or utility room rather than the master bedroom.

You can use a variety of methods to cover your wall safe. A framed picture or photograph is a stereotypical but effective cover if that safe is in a secondary room. An electrical panel door is another effective safe cover.

Conversely, lower the location of the safe, and place it behind a heavy object like an entertainment center, piano, or couch. Robbers are not likely to move furniture during their quick sweep for valuables.

Beneath a Stair Tread

You're in luck if you have a set of enclosed stairs inside your home. Stairs constructed of wood and not cement can be altered to hide a safe of practically any size as long as sufficient room exists. You can ask a carpenter to remove a single tread or many treads and risers. For example, a small safe can rest below one tread, but a larger safe requires the removal of more.

Once the safe is installed, add hinges to the missing tread and replace it. Or, add hinges to a whole independent section of steps and replace the entire set. Stairs with carpet need only to have the carpet cut and then reattached in a way to allow that tread or section to open and close.

In the Kitchen

A kitchen is a superb location to hide valuables because kitchens are complex rooms with many cabinets and appliances. If your kitchen is large enough to devote space toward a hiding place, stash your safe in a cabinet. Lower cabinets are a better choice because they are deep enough to add a false back to better conceal the safe. Check with your cabinet manufacturer for backing material that matches your original cabinets.

If you don't want to take up cabinet space, you can still hide valuables in your kitchen. Some safes can be made to resemble food product containers like boxes and cans.

For a variety of different safe styles, visit 1st Quality Lock & Key. We can also help you find the right place to hide your safe in your home.