Bookcase / Han in Carbonite Hidden Door

Bookcase / Han in Carbonite Hidden Door
This is a bit of strange one. I got a lot of the concepts from other hidden bookcase door tutorials, but added some twists of my own.

the concept is a bookcase built-in that can swivel to reveal an entrance to a room.

When my home was constructed I saved some money on interior doors by having archways installed.  this is pretty cool for open rooms like my dining room and game room, but for my theater not so much.  you really need it dark in there to enjoy a movie.  In my head I have pondered adding a regular door, but then I saw an instructable for using IKEA bookcases as a hidden door partition and it clicked what I wanted to do. 

Objective was to achieve a hidden door look, mix in my love of Star Wars and close off the theater.

Aprroximate total cost was about $150

(little quick edit here, just to be clear it's $150 not including Han, which if it's a DIY sculpt could be a few bucks or for a custom made or even licensed product could be $$$$$.  I will hopefully be adding in some info on how to get at least the face casts, like you see on my wall outside the theater)

update: added a vid of the finished product, it also shows the bookcase out of the archway.











 
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Step 1Determine the size of the opening

Determine the size of the opening
The size of the opening has a lot of do with the look and operation of the door. 

I wanted a built in look, with 3 sections.  this allowed me to have the certain bookcase be my "door"

My approach was to find a way to have the bookcases appear to be static, yet roll open when needed.

As you can see in the photo, I have an arch to deal with as well as an opening of about 59"

I decided to get 2 CD towers from IKEA (Billy model) and one 30" bookcase from Walmart. 




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28 comments
Oct 2, 2011. 9:39 PMhighjacked says:
Does it have a magnet or latch to help keep it closed? Or closed enough so there isn't a possible gap?
Jun 1, 2011. 9:01 AMSchmidty850 says:
Looks as if the entrance when the door is open is quite small.....
May 27, 2011. 2:07 PMtinker234 says:
hey could i use plaster and use a smal toy and upscale thanks
May 26, 2010. 3:16 AMhectoretorres209 says:
I like it!!! the han in carbonite part!!!
Mar 26, 2010. 12:43 PMmeskarune says:
This is the most awesome thing I have ever seen.
Dec 24, 2009. 10:43 PMVery Keri says:
Could you have rigged this so it opens in? It seems like there would be more room to walk through that way. I really like how you finished the whole thing, but having to turn sideways and crab walk in would be a deal breaker for me.  Alternately, what if you did a track, so you could push it back and then slide it to the side, kind of like how you open the side door to a large van? If I were you, I wouldn't go back and wreck my project just to test this theory, but I'm just kind of thinking out loud. My husband wants a "man" room and I think it would be really cool to do something like this to hide the overstuffed recliner and NCAA paraphernalia that he plans on putting in there.
Dec 31, 2009. 10:52 AMmettaurlover says:
It's possible to do that, but not a really good idea unless you have an existing sliding door well wide enough for a bookcase or you're willing ot cut a huge hole in your wall. It's pretty simple once you get past that part, though. You just need a couple of tracks that met the sliding track to the side in the ceiling, a spring mount on the side opposite the door in a hidden place that will pull the door back into place, and a bookcase that you'd do this to.
Dec 20, 2009. 1:53 AMoriginalwynne says:
big ass christmas tree! nice instructible, really cool idea =D
Dec 18, 2009. 6:07 AMTinderbox says:
Very nice, can't wait until I'm out of student digs and into my own place so I can do stuff like this!!
Dec 18, 2009. 7:58 AMinkstainedheart says:
That is exactly what I was thinking!
Dec 17, 2009. 11:13 PMdee2 says:
 If the door was fully constructed and ready to install, what do you think would be the cost to install the door? Take into consideration that the door way would have to be squared up first to prepare for the install. Also, how much time do you think it would take to install the door?
Dec 17, 2009. 10:19 PMranmawolf says:
This *so* rocks!! HAIL!! ^_^ 

I like that you didn't opt for swivelable wheels and chose stationary ones - much more stable.


Dec 17, 2009. 3:00 PMYerboogieman says:
Hmm, I like it. Very smooth.
Dec 17, 2009. 1:39 PMTHE GOOSE says:
GREAT JOB!!! I love how you have each side of the door looking totally different. 2 thumbs up!
Dec 17, 2009. 12:58 PMSenordrummeR2 says:
That's pretty amazing! I've thought about doing one of these. What about a means of egress? If someone puts something in front of the bookcase while you are inside, how do you get out? Or do you just wait it out like Chevy Chase did in Christmas Vacation?

Very cool work. Thanks for posting!
Dec 17, 2009. 9:51 AMTransquesta says:
Doooood!   Awesome work!

One thing, though.  After about six months of opening and closing, you're gonna egg out that upper hole through which the pipe 'hinge' protrudes.  Pine's a soft wood, so expect to have to make a bushing.  I'd suggest drilling out a couple of flanges. Looks like you have just enough space above and below the header to accommodate the same type of flange you've used on top of the shelf unit.

. . . Any, like everybody else has indicated, this is EXCELLENT craftsmanship!


Dec 17, 2009. 9:30 AMjonkun227 says:
 FANTASTIC! This gives me so many ideas. Thank you! 
Dec 14, 2009. 11:19 AMCycrolus says:
That's freaking awesome. Oh and bonus points for the Transformers and Halo stuff!
Dec 14, 2009. 9:12 AMiamrusky says:
 no way is this real... you watch movies in jabba's palace! too cool.
Dec 12, 2009. 11:15 PMPhratpirate says:
I am jealous of your Christmas Vacation Moosehead Cup... I know how much $$$ a set of those are, you are indeed a lucky man.
Dec 11, 2009. 5:32 PMasyrith says:
I so love you! You are my new hero! Everything about this is so epic. Thank you for sharing. Total nerdvana.
Dec 11, 2009. 5:22 AMJuxtaposedPink says:
This is so awesome! I am pretty convinced I am capable of making my own sculpt, so I am SO going to have to try this one. Thanks for posting!
Dec 10, 2009. 7:00 PMwerfu says:
 Realy cool man, you should try some far opening heavy-duty hinges to get the shelf open further. BTW its a realy nice christmas tree, you should post a pic of it :)
Dec 10, 2009. 3:46 PMthatoneguydavid says:
is there really no more info you can offer about the body cast?
Dec 10, 2009. 1:28 PMsnelpiller says:
Dude thats amazing! you did a really good job, be proud! you should add a video now when its finsihed, and not just the one where its halfdone

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