pottery barn star wars art knockoff

24 October 2013

Hello! I am thrilled to be joining Lindsay from Makely and 25 other bloggers for Knocktoberfest 2013! We’re on a mission to make less expensive versions of our favorite designer décor items and today is Day 4. If you are coming from Remodelaholic and her amazing table knock-off, welcome!
We are Star Wars lovers in this house. I saw this death star LED artwork in Pottery Barn kids catalog and thought: hey, I could probably make that for less than $299!

pb star wars death star- image from Pottery Barn -

Here’s how I did it:
I picked up a piece of 3ft X 3ft particle board at Lowes. Guess what? I found a sheet of particle board in their damaged pile and they gave it to me for free! Thank you, Lowes-we’re off to a good start :)

particle board 3ft X 3 ft

Did I mention they will also cut it for you for free? Love them.

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Paint around the edges with some black craft paint.paint edges black

I found a high-resolution picture of the death star on the internet and ordered a 36”X48” engineer print from Staples for $7.
(UPDATE: it’s hard to find a high resolution image these days. Some have had luck ordering a poster from Amazon and using that instead of the engineer print)
There will be some white on the top and bottom, but just cut it down to size.

death star engineer print from staples

Attach the print to the board with spray adhesive (leftover from projects here, here, and here) : I rolled up the bottom to the middle, sprayed, and then smoothed it out as I unrolled it. Then repeat for the top part of the print until it’s all nice and stuck on.

spray adhesive

May I give a bit of advice here?
Don’t use mod podge!! Well, maybe if you are mod podge expert.
I am not.
And then I had to order another print. Boo. I just turned it over and used the other side.

october 2013 008

Moving on…
I used a 1/4” drill bit to make holes in the print/board from the front to the back, trying to follow the picture in the catalog. Then,

  october 2013 014

I took some LED Battery Operated Lights and stuck them through the holes from the back. This is the perfect time of year to do this project because holiday lights are in the stores! I ordered mine here , but you could also do the plug-in version if you won’t be hanging it up and can hid the cord. (UPDATE: I got tired of changing out the batteries, so I found some 50 count plug-in cool LED lights that stay cool to the touch during Christmas that I switched these out for. There are quite a few I didn't use, but they just light up behind the board and kind of make a cool effect. I'm still on the lookout for 30 count LED plug in.)

lights in back

It’s okay if your holes aren’t perfect, it’s like a Christmas tree. When you turn on the lights, everything looks pretty.

lights through drilled holes

It’s looking gooooooood. Let’s take it downstairs to the boys’ room.

death star complete
Our grand total (let’s just forget about the print I messed up with Mod Podge, kay?)
large engineer print: $7
particle board: free
black craft paint: 75 cents
LED battery operated lights: $8

Total: $15.75
Yessssssssss. A savings of approximately $283!
Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station:

diy death star for under $20

Dun Dun Dun
Dun-DA dun
Dun-DA dun.

pottery barn death star knock-off

And may the force be with you.
Always.

star wars figures

Are you ready for more? Head over to Vintage Revivals where the amazing Mandy will show you how to make an $800 West Elm rug for around $60! To see all of the projects, click over to party central at Makely.

Knocktoberfest 2013 - Over 25 awesome bloggers challenged to create designer knock off projects. via MakelyHome.com

Happy Knocktoberfest!

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7 comments

  1. This is AMAZING!! Thank you for sharing! I'll be making this for my son's room, possibly for a birthday or Christmas present! Thanks again!

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  2. Any chance you would be willing to make and sell one? My son's pants are on fire for one but I REFUSE to pay 300.00

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  3. Any chance you would be willing to make and sell one? My son's pants are on fire for one but I REFUSE to pay 300.00

    ReplyDelete
  4. Any chance you would be willing to make and sell one? My son's pants are on fire for one but I REFUSE to pay 300.00

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is so awesome! Thank you for sharing!!! I too fell in love with the PB one when we bought our bedding sets for the boys room, but couldn't part with that much money. I'm going to be making this next week... can't wait!

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  6. This is fantastic! We are getting ready to redo the boys' room and my oldest loves Star Wars.

    Also, I second the Mod Podge comment. I ruined my favorite poster trying to mod podge it onto a canvas. :( Bubble city. Boo.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Great job! I saw that a pottery barn and was looking to recreate it when I saw this - HIVE mind in full effect :)

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