If someone asked you right this second what your favorite movie was, what would be your answer? I always have to think about it for a few minutes, but then my response is usually along the lines of Pulp Fiction or Into The Wild. Yes, I know those are pretty opposite choices, but both are amazing in my eyes. But if you were to ask reddit user, Eclipse_007, what his favorite movie was, my guess is he will say it is Lord Of The Rings. This is just a hunch but after seeing what he decided to do with a boring door at the bottom of his staircase, you’ll understand why this is a pretty safe bet. Just wait until you see the transformation.
He started with a shadowbox that he built with materials from the hardware store. He used 2×4’s and plywood, then bought a long LED strip on Amazon. He used liquid nails, then placed household items on top of the LED lights to help them become secure when drying.
Here’s a little preview with the led lights illuminated. Looking back, he wished he would have done the lights up and down rather than side to side.
Now that the lights and the box are done, it was time for an epic design. He bought a piece of plexiglass and then covered it with vinyl. He drew the picture on the back and then used a razor to cut it out. He ended up using black vinyl that he had lying around the house. Rather than buying white vinyl, he painted the back of it white which would also help reflect the light a little better inside the box.
Here is a quick glimpse at the front of the plexiglass panel with the lights shining through.
Once he started, he thought about cutting out the design using a vinyl cutting machine. But once he got started, he realized he could do it all by hand.
The design is done, but now he wanted to add some of the lettering up at the top.
With the words added, it took on a whole new look.
Now that the door was pretty much done, it was time to add it to the door frame. This door will actually lead guests into his in-home movie theater. That seems like a pretty fitting door then considering where it leads you.
From the top of the stairs, you can see that the door blends in well.
This is what the stairway looks like now that it has been painted and is finished.
At first he painted over the door using regular house paint, but he didn’t like how it looked. He scraped off the paint, then repainted it using a different paint. Because of the scrapping, he ended up leaving a few marks but liked how it looked because it made it more rustic.
As if the door wasn’t cool enough, he also set it up so the door would open automatically after a touch of the hand. He’s in the process of adding voice recognition. How this will work is you’ll touch the door to illuminate it, then speak the world “Mellon” in order to gain access to the movie theater.
This guy is definitely a true fan of Lord Of The Rings. I love that he’s thinking of different ways to make this hidden door even better and more exciting. If time, effort, and money were not an issue, what movie feature would like to add to your home?