Nearly 19% of people said they go to the movies about once a month.
The movies are a fun, relaxing experience.
Want to capture that experience in your home? Looking for the next project for your home? How about you create the ultimate theater room right in your home.
With a theater room, you’ll always have a place to go when you want to get away from the distractions of everyday life. You can host the best gatherings, whether it’s for your kid’s sleepover party or the Superbowl.
Want some tips for home theater design? Read on for our best tips.
Choosing a Room
The room you choose for your home theater is important to get the full theater experience. Ideally, you want a private area with no windows.
Your home theater room should have a strong internet connection if you’re using that for streaming. It should also have a high ceiling if you’re setting up a mounting projector.
Here are some room location options.
The Basement
The basement is always an optimal choice because of its location. However, consider what you will need to add or upgrade in the basement. If the walls are concrete, you’ll have to add drywall.
Garage
The garage is another valuable room in your home. If you don’t park in the garage, you can use it as your home theater.
If you have a lot of clutter and storage in your garage, the first step would be to clear it out and see how you can set up the theater. The garage will most likely need renovation and upgrades.
Adding a Room to Your Home
If you really want to set up the ideal home theater, you can consider adding a room to your home. This way, you can start from scratch and install the wiring, outlets, and wall materials while building it.
Planning Out the Room
Before you get to work, draw up a diagram of the room and where you will have the seating, screen, sound systems, and other details such as wiring and outlets.
You should also create a list of the materials you’ll need for renovations. Also, write a list of the electronic equipment you’ll need such as:
- TV
- Blu-ray player
- Gaming system
- Speakers
These are just some of the items you’ll need.
Wall Material
Wherever you choose your theater location, make sure it has the appropriate wall material to insulate noise. That way, the noise isn’t carried out to the rest of the house or to the neighbors.
You also want a theater where you and your guests won’t be distracted from the noises of the home.
Concrete isn’t recommended. Drywall is a decent choice for the sound. However, if you want to take it one step further, you should consider installing special acoustic wall panels in the room.
Flooring
In addition to the wall material, the floor material will affect the sound too. The best option is carpet. The fabric material will absorb sound.
The main goal is to stop sounds from bouncing around the walls and creating an echo. To test this out, have a conversation with someone in the room and see how the sound is.
Wall Color
There’s a good reason why movie theaters are so dark. The darkness stops the light of the screen from creating glare or bouncing around the room and distracting viewers.
Paint your walls a dark, neutral, matte color. Black might be too stark. Instead, go for a dark color like olive or brown.
Windows
In a perfect world, the room you choose will have no windows. This works out if you choose the basement or garage. However, maybe you don’t want to put in the extra work of upgrading the basement or soundproofing the garage walls.
If you choose a room in your home with windows, you can install thick, heavy drapes or shades to block the sunlight.
Sound
Home theaters usually have a 5.1 surround sound setup. Surround sound means that the sound will be all around you. With a 5.1 system, you’ll have 5 speakers surrounding the room plus a woofer.
The Screen
You can choose between a tv or a projector for the screen. The answer will depend on what you’re looking for.
If you’re looking for a big screen, a projector is the most cost-efficient way to get the largest screen size.
However, if your focus is on quality such as resolution and contrast, TV is your best bet. Televisions are also easier to install and set up.
Seating
What good is a home theater if the seating isn’t comfortable? Forget about chairs or futons. What you need is comfortable, relaxing home theater recliners to make your guests feel like they’re in the theaters.
Tiered seating is the best option so that people aren’t in each other’s way. You can set up tiered seating by building a platform for each row of seating you have.
If you want a more cozy setup, you can also set up seating with sofas. Or, you can do a combination of a sofa and recliners.
Your seating area should be spacious enough that seats are at least four feet away from the speakers and not up against walls.
Extras
Once you have your room setup, you can think about what extra amenities you want to add.
These include snacks, drinks, and other goodies. You can even set up an old-fashioned popcorn maker.
Final Home Theater Design Tips
These home theater design tips can help you get started in planning your home theater. This way, you can set up a space in your home where you can always retreat to.
Check out our furniture product selection to get more inspiration for your home theater.