Hidden in plain sight: DIY Secret Storage (disguised as an Art Ledge)

(somber music) Do you have that much money? and not well

hidden

places for it? Don't trust your cat? Who would probably take the money and leave you? There has to be a better way. (Beep) Hey guys, we're Evan and Katelyn. And today we are making an artistic shelf with

hidden

storage

. To hide the 500 individual fake accounts we just spent $50 on an intro skit on. But honestly, we've been wanting to make an artistic shelf for a long time because, as you may have noticed on this channel, we love making art. And continuing to add holes in our wall is unsustainable because we don't have an exact matching paint. (Both laugh) Yes, that's true.

Yeah, so we're just going to punch some holes in a wall for an art shelf, but then you can just put it up. You can rearrange it and just add more super. And we want to add

storage

because... It's cool (laughs). It seems great (laughs). And there are practical reasons. I mean, maybe that's where our spare house keys go, or our passports, or that's where we can keep... A small bag. It's a little small for a bag. I might hide the gummies I let reach the perfect level of tightness for a year because they're finally almost reaching the right level of chewiness.

This is legitimate. He has three that he's been working on for a while. And we have to hide them because your dad likes them too. Yes, exactly. And with the Christmas holidays and the arrival of guests, we want to spruce up the house a little. So we thought a house project would be fun. Yes, first. Go to Lowe's to buy supplies. KATELYN: Lowe's is our sponsor. EVAN: Yes, yes. KATELYN: Most art frames, if you look at them from the side, the profile looks something like this. But because we are adding storage, our supplies are a little different.

First, we need a lot more wood. We are going to build ours out of oak and luckily Lowe's has it in different shapes and sizes. We also need hidden hinges that cannot be seen from the outside. And while we were there, we actually picked up some fun art and a little plant that I hope I can keep alive to put on the shelf later. But now I think I should hand it over to Evan so he can show you the 3D model and how it all came together. EVAN: Since our shelf is going to be a little bit heavier and we're going to have to pull on this front edge to access the hidden storage, we're going to go ahead and upgrade the wall mount solution to this bracket here. that we will screw to the wall and to the shelf itself.

But before all that, we need to cut some wood. KATELYN: We're going to cut them all at once because they're all the same length. Yes. (sharpened saw) (quiet classical music) When I was planning how to add a hinge to this I thought, what's the best thing I can add? Watch this. Do we have soft closing? Soft closing hinges. The most premium of the hidden repositories. (Evan laughs) It's a little hard to open. Is that going to be a problem when it's mounted on the wall and we're like (tension) (Evan laughs) Can it be adjusted? No. (Laughs) But I think when you have a lever, you know it's going to be a lever, so it's going to help you do it.

And we're going to attach it very firmly to the wall because we're going to mount it on three studs and also to be fancier, I have this template here that lets me know how far I should drill, how far apart. It is. I just need to plug this in and I will because I'm so lazy and smart. Yes. I mean, no. I mean, you're smart. You still are? (Evan laughs) Are you still worried? about the hinges? Well, I'm equally excited about the soft close because that's my definition of luxury, but I'm also a little worried about the force to open them.

The only way we know is to add it and then test it. The only way we know is to completely complete the project. I mounted the wall (laughs) And I hope... Yes, and I hope it's okay. (calm classical music) We had never installed this type of hinge before, but it was surprisingly easy with a template, which is a cheat, but still. The docking procedure began. Block one. Sounds two. Start the soft close operation. (gong rings) KATELYN: Oh. (Evan laughs) That worked out pretty well. KATELYN: So this will be the front. EVAN: I think we can get this down.

KATELYN: Yeah, it seems a little high on the side. EVAN: That narrows it down. Hmm. (playful classical music) Man. So he says between three and six millimeters, it should have gone four or five. So he could have adapted it a little more. Oh, so we should have tried this new technique on some scrap wood. Or we can re-drill the holes. Further in, using the mold? No, that won't work. What do you want to say further inside? Even if you go further, there will be an additional gap. Know? That only works if we do it further in or further away.

Oh, we can move them. Yes. And then when you are left with these like... Luxury... Retainers... Weight reducers Some weight reducers. Yes. (Evan crying) (upbeat game show music) It's okay. So if we did this project ourselves and didn't have to post pictures of it on the internet, we would probably just drill new holes in this piece and call it good and just hide holes on the inside of our closet. But I feel obligated to make this free of major errors. Dun dun dun dun So we did it again. Now the question is, does our new one really work? (wood clatter) EVAN: Are you ready? (exciting, upbeat music) (Evan screams) KATELYN: Oh my god.

Oh. Oh, and it's flush too. Yes. Wow. It's better in every way. Yes. KATELYN: Okay. We're done with this. Oh. This is something I learned. There should be a little space here, can you show it to him? Just there? Because that's where the hinge is. So what I did was choose exactly the right part of the wood to bend like this... KATELYN: Oh, by the way. Until the end. So there will be a little gap here, but the edges are flat. KATELYN: And now it looks so good. It looks much better. It was quite shameless. Yes.

And to help visualize the rest, we have these pieces here that we can just place. Yes a bit. Imagine a wall and the end cut off. That looks good. EVAN: Well, it's really good. KATELYN: I don't think you can tell it has a hinge. That opens, you know? EVAN: Oh. KATELYN: Oh, that's great, I love it. This is incredible. Yes, I'm very glad I did it again. KATELYN: Me too. EVAN: (laughs) Sorry, we're recording. (Evan laughs) Now that we've fixed our mistake at the beginning of this video, we're going to move on to the next step, which is building the box for our little hidden storage closet.

In short, sawing wood and gluing it. EVAN: Like most woodworking projects. (fast techno music) (saw a buzzing sound) Okay? (saw a buzzing noise) (wood knock) Oh wait, we have to use glue. That? We (laughs) have to put glue on it. (Both laugh) You mean we're not alone, we get this cool shot where we cut quickly and then that's it? (Evan laughs) (fast techno music) (Evan laughs) What? Just laugh, we didn't hit the first time. No one needs to know, I'm going to delete that. No you are not. I know you're not. (Hammering) (Evan laughs) That was like you.

KATELYN: I like it, okay. I think that's a good place to end. (calm classical music) (Evan gasps) Did you just spill? (Evan laughs) No, I almost (laughs) spilled on myself. (Evan coughs and laughs) I'll be very casual about this. (Katelyn laughs) (Evan laughs) Okay. (They both laugh) (Katelyn snorts) (Squeaking) The glue is ready, and now we just have to see if the front piece still fits now that it has this attached to the top. I mean, it should. Oh it's good. It looks good from this side. How does it look here? (Evan clears his throat) EVAN: Looks good.

It's not like that... KATELYN: Oh, there it is a little... EVAN: I almost have to close a little more. KATELYN: A little more, then we might have to adapt. Some of you might notice that since the front lip that the art rests on can be opened, the art simply slides out. Not a good design for an artificial

ledge

. But we are going to add a little bit, we are going to cut this into strips. And add it to the front and you have the perfect height. KATELYN: So when it opens, you still have a tab. (uptempo jazz music) I think we're good.

Hurrah. Let's move on to the next glue! Okay, now we're moving up, we need to make the part that hangs on the wall that will hold this. (saw a buzzing sound) Do you want to come see it? Fits. (hammer banging) Yes! (laughs) EVAN: Yes! NARRATOR: Three hours later. (uptempo jazz music) (humming noise heard) We interrupt this regularly scheduled montage to bring you what we hope is the last remaining number. This looks good, but this gap still bothers me. (calm, fun music) It still bothers me too. Considerable. I didn't really want to say anything, but it still bothers me.

Magnets. Magnets. Aren't you going to ex

plain

? They're just going to do it, magnet people! No no. Listen to me. Magnets! So we just need to be able to keep it closed a little bit, because when we do that, if we have a couple of magnets there and a couple of magnets there, aren't we going to make one there? No, I don't think so, so I don't need it. Well. Let's do as little work as possible. While we solve the error we have. Yeah. (Evan laughs) (up-tempo jazz music) (drill hum) KATELYN: Wow. Okay, I think it looks good.

That looks good. (drill hum) This has quite a bit of meat. Yes. I thought, this is significant. Wait, back up a little. I was like (knocking on wood) (Laughs) Oh, that's cute. (drill hum) I actually think we should take a break, no, don't open it yet. The test must be when all the art is present. Oh. Because that is the realistic test. Ah, but I want to do it! The test is when all the art is there so we can make sure we can open it without everything moving. Well. Now everything was expected. Can we open these hinges without knocking everything over?

Oh yeah. No problem. (Both laugh) (Evan claps) Oh, that's good. Well. Do you want to do it? Yes. Sorry, I took that moment of yours. Everything felt very stable. Super stable. I wasn't worried about anything falling. Yes, and the soft close... Yes, it's nice. Nice. Okay, but can it fit... all of our backgrounds? And... (laughs) You look like Gollum. I'm quite proud of our work. (Evan laughs) This is the first time we've done everything with a hidden compartment. I know! I think it's pretty cool! I don't think I expected this to open since I passed by and didn't notice.

Now you know where we keep our things. So don't come for us. And no one else knows. Thanks again to Lowe's for sponsoring this project and making it possible. If you have guests this holiday season you can go to Lowe's... And you want to hide things from them. Just kidding. If you have guests over this holiday season, you can go to Lowe's and get everything you need to prepare your house, and all the links to all the tools and materials we used for this project, below. Until next time! BOTH: Goodbye! (Beep) (calm music) Yes, we heard a cat.

Let's get a cat. BOTH: Let's get a cat. ♪ Let's get ♪ Let's get ♪ Let's get a cat ♪ It's a small horse. ♪ Let's get a cat ♪ ♪ And a little horse ♪ Aw! I know, I'm so... oh my god. I also left the back door open.