Some Fun Additions To The Movie Room + Adding Lights To The Basement Stairs

Welcome to the 853rd Metamorphosis Monday! We had our second movie night in the recently created movie room and it was so much fun!

The movie kit I purchased a while back included “official” movie tickets that the boys filled out for the invited guests. Attendees weren’t allowed to enter the theater until an usher/Maitre d’ had taken their ticket, returning the stub as proof of admission. The boys loved that and stood sentinel at the foot of the stairs as their parents arrived. The parents got as big of a kick out of that process as the kids did. I saved the tickets they filled out, but can’t find one now. I’ll add a completed one to this post later, but here’s how they look straight from the kit. (Movie Kit is available here: Movie Kit.)

The movie was action-packed! I think my brain is too slow for kids’ movies these days. lol

There have been a few small additions since I last shared this space. Can you spot any of them in this photo?

I had been planning on adding some pillows to the sectional sofa, but the movie-themed ones that I ordered were kind of scratchy-feeling when they arrived, so they had to go back. I gave up on the idea of looking for movie-themed pillows, and went in search of pillows that were cushy, soft, and a bit oversized for comfort. I found some great ones, then struggled choosing a color since they came in 29 colors! Inspired by the red color in the movie sign above the mantel, I ultimately went with red pillow covers. Red seems right for a theater, doesn’t it?

I love the punch of drama they add to the sofa! With down inserts, they are super soft.

They are a true red, not an orange-red. I had to turn off all the lamps in the room to get a more accurate photo of their true color. The light coming in from the right is from the “Movie-Night” sign that’s on a nearby shelf. I had it turned up pretty high for this photo since all the lamps were turned off.

The pillow covers are 22 inches square, as are the down inserts that I placed inside. The inserts didn’t quite fill out the pillows as much as I thought they would, so I’ve reordered the inserts in the next size up, which is 24 inches. I don’t want them to feel firm, but would like the insert to be a bit more supportive. I’ll let you know how that works, in case you’re interested.

Here’s a closer view of the color. I really, really like these pillow covers; they are incredibly soft and comfortable. (Pillow covers are available in 29 colors here: Red Pillow Covers.) The down insert I’m currently using and have reordered one size up can be found here: Pillow Inserts in Various Sizes.

What other additions have there been? I moved the blue and white lamp that I’ve been using on my office console to this room. It’s the lamp you see on the left.  It may be returned to the office if I find another lamp that I like better in the future, but for now, this one is working well here in the movie room. In addition to the lit Movie-Night sign that’s on a shelf in the left cabinet (and always looks completely white in photos) I’ve added another lit accent piece to the right cabinet.

Did you spot it in the earlier photos in this post? The star came in two designs, and I went with the one with the glitter background. The red color is another fun tie back to the red print in the sign over the mantel and, of course, the red pillows. (Red star is available here: Red Star with Glitter Background.)

I also added this fun movie/film clapboard to the mantel. This was the nicest one I found online, and it works! I like how it looks in the open position, so using a permanent black marker, I colored a small wood dowel and tucked it down into the little opening to hold the hinge in the open position.

Do you see the little round dowel tucked inside? It’s easily removed if my grandsons get the urge to try it out on movie nights. I’ve ordered a second one to go on the other side. I’ll keep one in the open position and the other will be in the closed position. This was such an inexpensive decor piece for the movie room, and I like that it’s something the boys can enjoy playing with on movie night. (Clapboard is available here: Movie Clapboard.)

Everyone loved the popcorn that this popcorn machine produced. It was the first time we had used it, and we all went back for seconds, so that was a good sign. I wish I had thought to take a photo of it in action. I will do that the next time I fire it up for movie night! (Popcorn machine is available here: Popcorn Maker.)

In addition to the popcorn, each movie attendee got their choice of candy and chips. (Popcorn for the popcorn machine is available here:  Popcorn Designed for Popcorn Machines.)

Surprisingly, the Miss Vickie’s chips were as big a hit as the candy! I didn’t expect that, so the very next day I ordered a large variety pack so we’ll be set for future movie nights. The favorites were the Sea Salt, Jalapeno, and Smokehouse BBQ. I like the sea salt and vinegar, so this is a great variety pack for my family. (Chip variety pack is available here: Chip Variety Pack.)

I have one last update planned for now, and that’s the addition of small wall lights to the dark staircase leading down to this room. There’s a light for the back door landing at the top of the staircase, and a light in the ceiling of the basement room at the bottom, but I would like some light on the staircase itself.

This staircase has the same issue I had with the basement staircase at the Georgia house. The only light for that staircase was located at the very bottom, so the staircase was not lit at all. I loved how the lights turned out for those stairs.

So my plan is to add three of the same lights to this short, basement staircase here in the Dollhouse. I have those ready for the electrician who will be here tomorrow. (Wall lights are available here: Wall Lights, Great for Stairs.)Then it will be time to add back the basement handrail that’s currently stored in the garage. It was missing from the staircase when I bought the Dollhouse, but I had the seller leave it off, knowing eventually storage cabinets and such would need to be moved down to the basement. Hopefully, the handrail can be added back in such a way that it can easily be removed when/if something large needs to be moved down to the basement.

So to recap, the new additions for this room were: Blue and white table lamp (stolen from my office), two red pillows, a red, lit star, and a movie clapboard with another on the way. Staircase lights should be going in tomorrow. I may eventually add narrow sconces on either side of the sign above the mantel. I’ve found several online that would work, and wiring would be easy since there’s already an outlet in the wall behind the sign. No plans for that right now, though, just thinking ahead. Hope you enjoyed these recent updates. I have several to share for the guest bath and will do that soon!

Looking forward to all the wonderful Before and Afters linked for this week’s Met Monday! Like to know when a new blog post is up? Subscribe for email updates (it’s free), and your email will never be shared. Subscribe for email updates here: Subscribe.

Metamorphosis Monday: Metamorphosis Monday is a party that’s all about Before and Afters. Please link up your Before and After projects like DIY projects, room makeovers, craft projects even recipes. Please do not link up Table Settings; save those for our Tablescape Thursday party on Thursday. If you are participating in Met Monday, link your post to the party using the “permalink” to your MM post and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on the name of your post, then copy and paste the address (that shows in the address bar at the top of your blog) into the “url” box for InLinkz when prompted.