My custom made welcome sign to "hide" cam

elmo

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I didn't want to just have a cam hanging in front of my front door. So being a woodworker I decided to make my own custom welcome sign that is about to go next to my front door for my new Dahua/Blue Iris setup. What do you folks think?
 

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elmo

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That is cool! Love the sunflower.

The camera does stick out being a black color in the 'O'. Ever thought of making the background around the other letters black? That way maybe the camera would not stick out?
I should have thought of that idea. I originally was going to put the cam inside the sunflower but decided to use the O instead. Having the letter background black would hide the cam a lot better. I was going to stain the background a lot darker, but the stain turned out considerably lighter than I expected. The only way for me to change it at this point would be to try to paint it or remake the letter and background.
 
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WELCOME (to my collection of video clips) :)

I agree with the earlier comments: if the inset was painted a glossy black, the camera lens would get lost and become nearly invisible. Is it just me, or is that WELCOME sign about 3 feet tall?
 

elmo

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WELCOME (to my collection of video clips) :)

I agree with the earlier comments: if the inset was painted a glossy black, the camera lens would get lost and become nearly invisible. Is it just me, or is that WELCOME sign about 3 feet tall?
It is 50" tall, 10" wide + 2" for the sunflower offset. I am rethinking the center area. If I do anything with it, I would remake the letters and background (there is no way to get them off in one piece), stain it black to keep the wood grain, and use a high gloss polyurethane finish to match the shine of the lens. I think paint wouldn't go with the look.
 

NickTheGreat

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I like it. Looks great, even without the camera-hiding aspect of it.
 

Mike A.

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I'd leave it as is. You can see it if you look for it but nobody just coming up on it would catch it until it was too late.

All of mine are very clearly visible and you'd be surprised how few people notice them. I'd guess probably +80% are completely oblivious. Even the Vivint sales guys who came to my door a while back didn't notice one pointing right at them maybe 5 feet from their faces.
 
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I think paint wouldn't go with the look.
Ever thought of using black antiquing? I've seen a few done with a sponge giving fake wood grain. Just darkening the background up a little with the current color peeking through here and there might be all you need and may be acceptable. Could try it before remaking it. It looks so great as it is.
 

elmo

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Ever thought of using black antiquing? I've seen a few done with a sponge giving fake wood grain. Just darkening the background up a little with the current color peeking through here and there might be all you need and may be acceptable. Could try it before remaking it. It looks so great as it is.
I am not familiar with that I'll have to look into it. I went ahead and bought more wood last night though so unless something changes I am probably just going to go ahead and redo the lettering and backing. I found a different but similar font which should make the O look a lot better. It shouldn't take too long to do.
 

elmo

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That is cool! Love the sunflower.

The camera does stick out being a black color in the 'O'. Ever thought of making the background around the other letters black? That way maybe the camera would not stick out?
I knocked back out the center panel, recut the letters in a narrower font, and stained the back with charcoal, stain and finished with high gloss polyurethane. I think it looks much better and hides the camera much better.
I also redid how the camera mounts and am much happier with the result.
 

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