This kitchen has a secret. As you can see in the photo above, the wall of custom cupboards slides open to reveal...
...a stairway leading down to a wine cellar!
What was once considered the servant's staircase in the home's original architecture now leads down to a wine cellar. As the owners told Houzz, they didn't want to rip out the old staircase even though the second floor staircase had been covered up by a bathroom renovation. So instead they turned it into their own secret wine cellar!
See More: An 1890s Victorian in Toronto Goes Modern and Open | Houzz
Related: Trap Door in the Floor: Spiral Wine Cellars
(Images: Jenn Hannotte/Hannotte Interiors via Houzz)
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Monterey Pitcher fr...
Coming to Terms with a Knockoff: Original vs. Reproduction Furniture Design
Monica & Austin's Charming Bungalow
very cool. reminds me of the speakeasy-esque secret entrance to a wine cellar at the place in CA that my wife and i honeymooned at.
Okay, I'm feeling dumb, but the stairs in that pic with the panel pushed away look like they are leading up, not down.
Unless the door opens to a landing and and the stairs lead down to the left (i.e. behind the center shelves).
I don't get it.
I think it's a wine attic, rather than cellar!
Well. I can't stand disguising or hiding kitchen appliances behind doors, but this is a hidden treat I can endorse. Splendid hack.
@Griffin - the staircase actually connects to both the 2nd floor (although the staircase ends there because the bathroom reno sealed it up) AND the wine cellar down below. At least, that's how I read it :)
I love a secret room, but sliding the whole cabinet (and blocking the doorway on the other side?) seems like a hassle. Surely there must be a more elegant soluntion, like a cabinet that opens as a door or something.
I really do not see how those stairs lead down. I love the idea of a secret staircase, though. That is something that I have wanted my entire life!
I don't care if the stairs lead up or down. I'm just a sucker for a hidden passageway! The only place I can do this in my house is a downstairs bathroom...and I'm counting the days until I can do it!
To quote from the Read More link: "A secret wine cellar sits behind this bank of custom cupboards in the home's original servant's staircase. "
I think the author made a mistake using the word "down" in the summary post here, and the "cellar" is actually a shelf sitting at a 90 degree angle from the new cabinets, which would put it right at the "top" of those stairs.