Ugh I went to have stuff cut yesterday and it is never fun but the guy at HD was pretty cool. I orginally went to get the flimsy white coated board but the guy showed me another product I actually had no idea they had. It comes in the standard 96x48 and it a white board that is flexible and you can actually use it for a dry eraser and draw on it and erase. I do not plan to draw on it but this stuff is highly reflective and my hope is that the LED lighting will be extra, extra bright. One thing I am concerned with is my TV reflection lol but I hardly watch it.
So I covered all the shelves and installed the block for mounting the board in each shelf area. I have yet to install the underneath to the shelves as I have not settled on lighting just yet. I did in my mind but I am unsure on the mounting just yet.
Let's discuss that. If the lights are mounted directly on the board I cover the under shelf area directly above the statues it only leaves 2-3" between the light and statue. It is acceptable but I am not sure I like it. Even with the wider wood covering the 2x4s you may still see it.
My thought is a test to see what happens if I just leave them uncovered allowing my to put the light even higher up inside the shelf box and mount you see in the previous post. I can do this and not have to directly drill the light as they come with chains and therefore I can adjust them up and down and if needed replace them without having to take the wood covering off.
It all comes down to presentation. I can't have ugly 2x4's visible from the couch, no offense to any 2x4 reading this. I truly think from my computer at work and not being home to check that this will likely work. The wide wood plus it being below most peoples eye level except for the top shelf nobody will ever see the 2x4s if left open. One more advantage is that I can run the cords out a hole in the side of the outer 2x4 by the walls and you will not ever see them as they will all plug in behind the TV console.
My idea for the top is simple. Thankfully the lights are a feather and they connect with a side plus so that it looks like one continuous light out of up to 10 units. Additionally I can plug all 7 into each other as one switch and will if I can as they also come with about a 4-5' plug to link them far away. I will post the lighting part when I do it.
So I will likely get one long 2x2 and mounts it horizontally across the 3 beams up top and then bolt the LEDs to it. This will be a tough job but I think it can be done and if needed I will hang them. It will look just fine but it HAS to be secure. Can't have $75 in lights destroy $1000s in statues.
Enjoy these progress pix. Let me know what you think.