A Designer’s Trick to Making Cabinets Look “Discreet” (It Involves Artwork!)

Cabinets — especially in a working area of your home like a laundry room, mudroom, or pantry — are essential for hiding away unsightly things like cleaning supplies, detergents, food, boots, and more. But if you’re a design fanatic, they can sometimes feel like a dead end. A cabinet door’s a cabinet door, right? Wrong! One TikToker shared how she made her cabinet doors completely disappear using an ingenious design.

One of the creators and interior designers behind Tiny Haven Design shared a clip of how to disguise laundry room cabinets by building them into the wall behind her washer and dryer. She then used strategically placed molding and artwork to further conceal the doors, and you’d never know they’re there.

“This laundry room had to be calm, discreet, and hardworking,” the caption of the post reads. “With a growing family and limited storage, we created a hidden, touch-to-open system that doubles as an art wall — proof that function and beauty can live side by side.”

The clever trick sparked inspiration for viewers. “Ahhhh adding this to my laundry room reno!” one person commented on the post. Another said, “Saves for my future house in 10 years.” 

And someone else joked, “‘Can you grab the detergent?’ ‘Where is it?’ ‘In the cabinet’ ‘WHAT CABINET!!’”

Even if you have no plans for major remodeling in the future, you can use this idea to improve the look of your existing cabinets. If there’s currently no molding or trim on them, you can easily add some around the edge of each door using a paintable peel-and-stick trim like this one from Amazon. 

Then you can paint the cabinets and walls the same color, remove your cabinet hardware, and hang some lightweight art on the cabinet doors. You may be surprised at just how camouflaged the doors look.

Don’t let boring cabinet doors bog down your love of interior design. Get a little creative with how you use your space, and they may just become the subtle standout of the room!