RGB Illuminated Booze Bottle Box
Of course, you can buy these. But I had an itch to build my own. And I wanted something that was entirely self-contained. Not everything needs a remote and/or wifi connection and/or phone app. So in 2026 I built the box shown here.
The box was made from ½" plywood sized to accommodate four 1.75 liter bottles. The box was divided into a top compartment for the RGB LED strips and a bottom compartment for the RGB controller and power supply. After some filling, priming and sanding, the upper compartment was sprayed gloss white. Everything else was sprayed semi-gloss black.
Upper compartment with three strips of RGB LEDs.
I bought a roll of self-stick of RGB strip LEDs and cut three lengths to fit in the box. All solder connections were made before installation. The solder connections were delicate. After installation and testing, I added a blob of epoxy at the ends of each strip for protection and strain relief.
Epoxied solder connections.
I found small self-contained RGB controllers on Amazon. Many modes and speeds could be selected. With each power up the previous settings were recalled. I selected a full-spectrum, slow fade effect. Since the box was intended to sit flat on a countertop, I didn't bother enclosing the bottom compartment. The 12 volt power supply plugged into a switched outlet such that the box turned ON with the rest of the room lighting.
Bottom compartment with controller and power supply.
RGB controller.
The top edges of the box included a 3⁄16" rabbet for containing the bottle shelf, which was made from 3⁄16" polycarbonate. To make the polycarbonate into a translucent light diffuser, I thoroughly scuffed the underside of the shelf with an orbital sander. I didn't glue or otherwise attach the shelf. It stayed put by gravity and could be easily removed if need be.
Recessed polycarbonate shelf, flush with the top edge of the box.
Light diffusing polycarbonate shelf.
Vinyl decal branding.