A coule months ago, I posted a question about how to build a sliding door system for an 18 ft long closet opening in our basement. At the time, I wanted to build rustic barn-type doors, but the contractor said he was afraid they'd be too heavy and warp in the basement. I went with his opinion and ended up with 4 wide sliding flat closet doors, each of which is made up of two smaller closet doors glued together (so that there is a seam down the middle). The left-most door will have a cutout and a metal grille installed so we can put the dehumidifier in the closet and get air circulation to it.

I will take pics later tonight (I thought I had some, but I can't seem to find them), but in the meantime, I was hoping to get some ideas on what sort of finishing treatment to use on these doors. They basically consume one entire wall of the room, which we're planning to use as a media/playroom. There is a row of track lighting mounted in front of the doors that shines directly on them(without these, that side of the room is kind of dark). Because they're like a big flat canvas with the spotlights shining on them, I have the opportunity to make a real focal point out of these doors, but I'm just not sure what to do with them. Right now they are white MDF. I can't hang anything on them or put anything thick on them because they need to pass in front of each other, but other than that, I am open to anything.

The rest of the basement decor is already finished and we're going for a funky modern loft/warehouse kind of vibe - walls are eggplant, trim and ceiling are dark dark brown (almost black), ductwork and joists are exposed, lighting is a mix of recessed lighting and funky ikea tracklights. The wall of sliding doors is the only thing left to paint.

I was thinking of the following options:

1. chalkboard paint - PROS: 18 ft of chalkboard could be fun for the kids (and grownups), would be easy to do. CONS: could end up looking sloppy and I wonder if the chalkdust would end up getting all over everything (a problem I've noticed with my much-smaller kitchen chalkboard). Also, I wonder if the black chalkboard paint wouldn't sort of suck up all the light from the track lights make that side of the room too dark again. Oh, and you'd still see the seams in the doors.

2. wallpaper - PROS: a funky modern design could look cool and interesting and end up being a real focal point to the room. Wallpaper would hide the seams in the doors. CONS: I've tried looking online and through a couple wallpaper books at the paint store, but didn't see anything I liked (and I can't figure out how to focus my search on just the kind of patterns I'd be interested in -- I seem to have to wade through a lot of country borders and strips and stuff). Also, I've never hung wallpaper before.

3. Some kind of funky metallic paint or silver leaf - PROS: the lighter color and metallic would reflect the light and lighten up that side of the room. Could look funky and cool. CONS: I have no idea what color to pick -- don't want it to look too light cause it would stick out like a sore thumb in my dark funky room. Also, have no idea where to get this kind of paint or how expensive it would be.

4. Sheet metal - gluing a thin sheet of sheet metal to the door. PROS: could be cool. would hide seams. CONS: probably expensive, no idea where to get this or how to attach it, could be a pain to clean (I'm thinking fingerprints from the kids).

5. Painting a mural - PROS: could do myself, would distract from seams CONS: I'm not that creative, mural would get messed up whenever the doors were opened and you'd have to align the doors perfectly whenever you shut them.

6. Fabric - could cover doors with fabric. Probably would be a pain to do and might be hard to clean if little-kid hands get it dirty.

Any opinions on any of those options or any other ideas to suggest? This is the last big decor decision and I need to do whatever I'm going to do before we get carpet, so I need to make up my mind and do something soon! Any opinions/ideas are most welcome! I promise to post pics later tonight....