Best lighting system for this application?

[windoge1]

I have my build in a Corsair Obsidian 250D, currently completely unmodified. I want to add some lighting to make it a bit more lively. I have an idea in mind to mount lights on the inside of the front panel as there is a sizable gap between the panel/door and the actual case body. Imagine this but with the green lines replaced with a light glow.

 

Now, my question is how to go about doing that. My goal is to hide the lighting element behind the panel and show only the glow. It's a pretty tight space with just over 1cm between the edge of the panel and the clips that hold it to the case. The clip in the center doesn't seem like it actually does anything, though, and could be removed to provide more space. This is something I'm more than willing to do as the space available is not nearly enough to hide the lights themselves. Additionally, the length of the panel is about 7.5 inches/19cm. I can imagine it being difficult to find a lighting element close to the length.

 

I have looked at numerous LED strips but I'm not sure how they would work. My two biggest concerns are brightness and evenness of the light. I don't want the lighting to be so bright that it becomes distracting, but more of subtle glow that will add character to the case. Also, due to how tight the space is, I'm worried that LEDs would produce a very uneven light, while I'd like for it to be the same brightness through the length of the panel.

 

To fix the issue of evenness, I looked at cathodes, though I would imagine them being much more difficult to mount in that confined space. Plus, being rigid, they'd be a lot more difficult to manipulate into the length of the panel.

 

As I was typing this, I thought of the idea to put LED strips toward the center of the panel rather than the edges to help reduce the brightness and make the light more even across the panel. Sound like a decent idea?

 

Any tips or suggestions? This would be my first case mod if I do it and I don't really know what I'm doing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Edit: Fixed the link.

 

I think I know how I'm going to do it now, I just need to choose a specific LED strip. Any suggestions for one that's roughly 12 inches long and connects either by molex or USB? Preferably one that isn't too obscenely bright, like Bitfenix's Alchemy strips are advertised to be.

[W-L]

-SNIP-

 

Just to mention the link is broken.

 

As for having a glow for that gap in the 250D it can be done, you'll need a set of LED strips and you might need to cut and solder them together into a chain to get it around the removable panel. Just make sure the LED's are far back enough to have the ability to cast light out a bit so you won't notice individual glowing spots.