“I build secret doors—and they’re everywhere”

Secret doors aren’t just for supervillains. Steve Humble has built and sold over 5,000 hidden passageways since launching Creative Home Engineering in Gilbert, AZ, at the age of 23. Here, he opens up about why so many homes have them hiding in plain sight, as well as the benefits.

Q: How did you get into building secret doors? “I never thought I would be doing this as my career. I went to school to become a mechanical engineer and worked for Boeing and Honeywell on military turbine engines. I liked those jobs, but realized I wasn’t cut out to work in cubicles. I had always been fascinated by secret doors. When I Googled it, there was nobody building anything close to what I imagined. So I quit my job, moved in with my parents, and hung out my shingle. My mother cried and asked, ‘What are you doing?’ But it didn’t take long for people to start calling me.”

Q: Do you have secret doors in your house? “I have five. One is hidden behind a fireplace. If you play the right notes on a piano—I chose the James Bond theme—the fireplace slides back to reveal a hallway leading to a balcony with a rope you can swing down into the basement sports court. The neighborhood kids love it. Another secret door opens when you move chess pieces to the right spot. One leads to a mechanical equipment room, another to storage for Christmas decorations, and another (behind a bookcase) hides an emergency food supply. And I have a bulletproof gun room disguised as a full-length mirror, opened by a fingerprint scanner hidden in the frame.”

Q: What does your family think about what you do? “My wife wasn’t impressed when we met; she would have preferred I had a stable job like a dentist. But now that the business is successful, she appreciates it. My kids are 14, 11, and 9, and kids are constantly trying to get a playdate at our place.”

Q: Why would regular homeowners and investors want to add secret doors to their homes? “People think safes are secure, but most can be broken into quickly; they’re also a neon sign saying ‘valuables here.’ Camouflage is far more effective and fun. Many of my clients are millionaires storing valuables, but we have a division called Hiddendoorstore.com specializing in affordable $1,000+ designs for middle-class clients who want smoking rooms, wine bars, gun rooms, or love dungeons. If my clients don’t volunteer what it’s for, we don’t ask, since we’re in the secrecy business. I’ve built secret doors for neighbors right next door to each other who have no idea they both have secret doors. They’re more common than you think. And from a real estate perspective, secret doors can make a house more desirable. I’ve had clients who couldn’t sell their home, then added a secret passageway to the listing and sold immediately. Buyers remember the house with the secret door.”