Design Solutions: Secret doorways are associated more with castles and grand buildings from the past than with newer houses in suburban Dublin. They are also usually hidden behind what looks like a bookcase.

Auctioneer David Allen's Donnybrook home is not a castle - but he did go for the bookcase look. "I got the idea when I was staying with a writer friend in the south of France. He had a library with a secret door leading to a bedroom. When it came to building an extension to my own house, I thought - why not try something similar to join the hall to the new sitting room?"

In London, David found The Collector's Workshop, a bookbinding company that sells individual book spines. "My builder Mark Kenyon helped us put it together. It was just a matter of working out how many "books" we needed, glueing them to a flat wood panel and then attaching that to the door. It cost €1,600 for all the spines. They're real leather and embossed, so you can have whatever titles you wish. In hindsight, it would have been fun to personalise the names."

Maybe it's just as well - Dave's house is for auction on June 17th through Gunnes and new owners may not have appreciated tomes such as The Life And Times of David Allen, as it is intended to leave the door in place after the sale. A similar door is planned for David's new home: he and his wife are renovating a house in Clifden where she runs an antique shop.

The Collector's Workshop - 0044 208 8081920