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Gun cabinets have long been the storage option of choice for responsible firearm owners looking to securely stash weapons in the home. But this type of bulky storage doesn’t tend to be aesthetically pleasing and can take up valuable real estate in any living space. When Corey of Sawdust 2 Stitches set out to build a hidden gun cabinet, she designed and placed the sleek, stealthy storage unit for her family’s firearms in the most unexpected of locations: the living room. While the glammed-up gun cabinet is not a substitute for a child-proof safe that locks, its secret location behind a mirror and its unique hinged door design can keep dangerous equipment out of sight, but still within easy reach.
Drawing inspiration from a Pottery Barn mirror cabinet, Corey assembled ripped 2×4’s into a cabinet frame. She then outfitted the frame with a customizable pegboard interior and hooks, which can secure firearms of any variety or size. At a depth of only 3 inches, the cabinet easily houses guns, magazines, and ammunition while remaining slim enough to avoid detection by unsuspecting guests and intruders. Yet the real beauty of the covert compartment is in its modern mirror cover-up. The striking 8-by-5 grid of 5-inch-square mirrors glued to the cabinet front elegantly masks the seam in the middle of the cabinet—not to mention the fact that two 47 3/4-inch long plywood doors (12 and 18 inches in height, respectively) hide a serious secret inside. Thanks to piano hinges attached to the doors, both the top and bottom doors carefully swing open to reveal your weapons cache, or close shut to hide the guns out of sight.
Like Corey, you can further customize—and secure—the gun cabinet by adding a key lock to the frame for an added measure of safety in households that include children. But even the original design offers some peace of mind in that the removable left trim piece of the cabinet features bolts that keep the closed cabinet doors in place most of the time. Without first sliding out this piece, the cabinet doors won’t fall open. With this clever DIY gun cabinet, you can rest easy knowing that your firearms are safely hidden at all times. Plus, you’ll gain a wow-worthy DIY mirror for your living room!
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