Hidden Door

There is a little door inside my built-in hutch.

One of the things I love about old houses are nooks, built-ins and little doors.  In our ca. 1915 home, there is a beautiful built-in cherry-stained hutch in the dining room.  I have all of my fine bone china in it, as well as a collection of green and white Moderntone sherbet dishes and white hobnail glass pieces.  One day I was organizing items in a smallish cupboard at the bottom of the hutch, when I found a little door that seemingly led to nowhere.  I was just so excited – oddities like this make me love old houses!  Well, I discovered that it opened into the clothes chute that goes from the upstairs to the basement.  But my question remains:  why would one need access to the clothes chute via a 10″ square door inside the bottom cupboard of my hutch?  It’s not very convenient.