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Clopen - the invisible drawer hidden in a floating shelf

Clopen - the invisible drawer hidden in a floating shelf
Clopen being used as both a shelf and a drawer
Clopen being used as both a shelf and a drawer
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Clopen - the floating shelf as it looks bare hanging on the wall
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Clopen - the floating shelf as it looks bare hanging on the wall
Clopen - the front edge opens to reveal a slim shelf that was previously invisible
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Clopen - the front edge opens to reveal a slim shelf that was previously invisible
Clopen being used as a shelf
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Clopen being used as a shelf
Clopen being used as both a shelf and a drawer
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Clopen being used as both a shelf and a drawer
Clopen sesame - the drawer is opened using magnetic keys
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Clopen sesame - the drawer is opened using magnetic keys
The magnetic keys used to reveal the invisible shelf within Clopen
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The magnetic keys used to reveal the invisible shelf within Clopen
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When burglars enter a home their first instinct is to look for the place where the valuables are kept. In most homes this is a safe or some other secure installation. With luck the safe will protect the valuables contained therein, but experienced burglars will know what to do to extricate either the safe itself or the precious items it's shielding from prying eyes. However, there could be another way of keeping your valuables safe - storing them in the last place a burglar is likely to look. This is where Clopen could come into its own.

Clopen, from Japanese company Torafu Architects, is a floating shelf which contains a masked hiding place for valuables or items you'd prefer not to be found. The secret 23mm-thick drawer is invisible to the naked eye, with the wood veneer finish laid over the top of the aluminum parts making the whole shelf look like one solid piece of timber.

Clopen sesame - the drawer is opened using magnetic keys
Clopen sesame - the drawer is opened using magnetic keys

As a floating shelf Clopen works the same as any other, but by using the magnetic keys which enable the owner to slide open the hidden drawer, Clopen reveals its inner secret.

Anyone storing valuables inside Clopen would have to be confident the secret stash would never be discovered, because if it is then there is nothing standing in the way between the thief and the goods they desire. But it's unlikely an intruder would take the time to pore over the finer details of a floating shelf that looks like any other.

According to the company's website Clopen has been through the design phase and is now entering into production. No details have yet been released concerning availability or pricing.

Source: Torafu Architects via Designboom

View gallery - 6 images
9 comments
9 comments
Pikeman
People who have their house broken into will wonder why their floating shelves have been ripped off the walls.
PimplyDykBallz
Yeah, now that all the burglars are being informed about it, it's pretty much made worthless before it even goes to mass market.
Bob Tackett
@Pikeman Also, people with regular shelves will wonder why their shelves were ripped off of the walls.
Benji Roo
@Pikeman NewsLine "String of unsolved shelf robberies shelved." O.o
Expanded Viewpoint
Clearly an idea whose time has NOT yet come!! And what's to keep some burglar from carrying around a couple of magnets to trip the latching mechanism and open the thing up easy as pie? It might be WEEKS before you knew your stuff was gone if they left without a trace of having been there. I've never seen a single floating shelf anywhere before like this, so that alone might make it look suspicious. And that veneer looks kinda hokey to me too. I'd just get a good safe if I had worries about stuff getting boosted.
Randy
Dave B13
I prefer something that looks valuable, yet is not, and turns into a sticky skin burning eye burning smelly staining deafening gadget when tampered with, and that's been transmitting audio & video & GPS to authorities & owner, after being removed it's usual location.
Kenneth Thomas
How often are you robbed? Really?
An expert burglar will knock on the surface and detect a hollow interior. A non-expert won't get past a safe, much less a well-hidden or well-secured one.
Best marketed as a space-saving device, not a security device. Otherwise-- someone who gets robbed with one of these, is going to litigate.
Mexoplex 5 Million
Good grief people. all burglars dont read gizmag.com . and now shelves are just one more place for them to check. after theyve gone through your drawers, closets, mattresses, safes, and valuables in plain sight THEN they may decide to rip shelves. but if they have that kind of time, YOUR security alarm/home defense plan SSUUUuuCCkkkkkk. So instead of poking holes in this product maybe you need to reevaluate some other things first.
Sambath Pech
Despite what everyone has said, it's still creative. But I'd probably be just as well-off by getting a fake hollowed out "book" or using an empty soup can in the cupboard.