Make Indicator Lights Visible While Integrated Dishwasher Door Is Closed

I bought a new integrated dishwasher. "Integrated" means "while the door is closed, you can't see any of the controls or indicator lights". That makes it hard to tell when the cycle is finished -- if you walk in and it's silent, is it finished? Or is it just in the post-wash cooldown phase? It beeps when it's finished, but that's only useful if you're in earshot at the time.

Mine's an Ikea Rengora, and the next model down (Lagan) has the exact same problem. I could have paid $100 more for the next model up, which shines a light on the floor when it's done, or...

... I could do this. I took a piece of scrap wood and cut it at about 45°. I used a jigsaw, then chiselled off my grosser errors, then sanded, but you could use a tenon saw or a coping saw or whatever.

Then I put shiny Mylar tape on it.

Mine is about 10mm high. I measured the space, found it to be 20mm high, but then went, ehh, the crack between the door and the countertop is only a few millimetres, so if it's much more than 10mm, it's going to be no more effective.

You could use something else instead of wood -- cardboard, maybe, if you wanted to try a prototype (but remember that this is a moisture-rich environment). You could use aluminium foil instead of Mylar tape if you wanted. (Mylar tape is sometimes used for gift wrapping, so if you want to buy some, that's the sort of place I'd look.)

Then I installed it. I used poster putty. If you use adhesive, don't use anything water soluble.

If the indicator light is too low, move the mirror further back, so the light strikes the mirror higher up. If the indicator light is too high, move the mirror forward. And that's it. Super-simple.