The new idea is to enclose the Pergola. To do that I first draw a new lay out for the cover board and dropping the right side low enough so the jagged edge parallels the front edge of the pergola. Long cuts are made on the table saw to speed up the process. The edge is again cut on the bandsaw.

I'm using twin 18" lights on this version. Since I remove  them from the metal frame they come in I need to add a ignition bar so the lights will turn on correctly. It needs to be within a 1/4" of the bulb to work properly. A riser board is added to position the height.

Here is where I start running into problems. The pergola is also 18" long. I have to split one board and notch the other to get everything to fit. The biggest problem is once assembled the bulb will be entombed and everything will have to be taken apart to change it.

This now becomes a lighting experiment if it works the way I intend it i'll trash this setup and start all over with a 20" pergola. 

The second light is mounted to the back of the coverboard. The sanded plexiglass panels are added and the lights are temporarily wired up.

The look is good so it's time to start from scratch and do it right.

Now this should work great. A 20" pergola makes for plenty on room for the light. A piece of luan cut with a jagged edge is added to cap the side of the lightbox.

The other 18"light is mounted directly to the back of the cover board.

I wanted to give the side boards of the cascass some shape to them. A little jagged edge work to keep with the theme.

Next a run over the chipped blades of the jointer to give them the carved look.

This version has the pergola supports attached to the raised floor pannel since the pergola it's self is mounted to the bottom of the lightbox. This to me was the best way to line up the columns and to make final assembly easier.

After laying out the positions for the columns I predrill holes in the centers of the columns and in the floor. Screws are then driven through the bottom of the floor and the columns are twisted on. Next the cross members are screwed to the tops of the columns.

The assembled top and sides are layed upside down to check to make sure the that once the bottom board is added the whole assembly will have a tight fit. As you can see there is a little gap to fill. Instead of trimming the side boards I opted to shim the pergola instead.

Here is the most boring and dreaded part of this project. Smoothing the sides of the holes for the recessed light panels. It's basicly apply wood filler sand and primer. Over and over and over....

The command center base, columns and cross members are painted and screwed together.

Square corners on the bottom shelf just weren't going to get it so I added just a slight jagged edge to give them some shape.

Final Carcass assembly is again done upside down after the sides are screwed to the top. The lightbox assembly is attached and the pergola is added.

The command center base is set on and held in place by the bottom board. No fasteners added. The light cord hole is then drilled.

The light is then wired to the plug cord by twisting the wires together and covering them with shrink wrap. The cord is hidden by running it behind a column.

As you'll see in the final shots having an equal amount of light on the hanger side takes away the effect of the pergola lights. I painted the hanger bulb a Iris blue. This not only dims the bulb but gives a blue hue to the white such as the hanger scenes in the movie.

Even though the lit bulb looks very splotchy. The effect is perfect.

Before

After

Part 3