Home-theater-tysto (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Whether you’re a fan of action flicks, romantic comedies, old western films or out-of-this-world sci-fi shows, you want to see all your favorite movies with that theater atmosphere even if the movie watching is done in the comfort of your home.
Home theaters have become popular for people who have enough space to add one into the overall decor of their homes. You only need three things to have the perfect custom home theater: the screen or projector, the furniture and a room to place everything inside.
The Home Theater Room
The place for your home theater is usually separated from the other rooms of your house. This prevents loud noises from entering other rooms and disturbing family and guests. According to Hometime.com, people often place their home theaters in basements to control the light level and noise factor. If you don’t have a basement, decide on a spare room that’s secluded from the other rooms in the house.
If you’re renovating a room, this is the perfect time to add insulation and STC soundproofing drywall. This drywall will lessen the noise that passes through it, adding to the comfort level of the house. You can also place the wiring to the surround sound system inside the walls to hide the stray wires so you won’t have wires taped to ceilings or running under rugs.
Home Theater Furniture
Now that you’ve decided on the room, you now have to add the necessary furniture. Common questions you’ll want to ask yourself include, “How much furniture will I need?” and “How should I arrange it?”
The size of the home theater room will help you decide on the number of furniture pieces and size of the furniture you can place there. But also keep in mind how many people will be using the room on a regular basis. You want to make sure you have enough seating for everyone without overcrowding the room to the point where people can’t move or feel comfortable.
Whether you decide on a simple couch and chair setup or stadium seating with tiered levels, place the seating so everyone can see the screen without craning their necks in odd positions or losing the full effect of the surround sound systems. Always place furniture a certain number of feet away from the screen for optimal viewing. As stated by the Do It Yourself website, furniture placement is based on the width of your television by 3.
Sounds confusing. But simply put, if you have a 40-inch television, place the furniture 10 feet away (40 x 3 = 120 inches, or 10 feet). The left and right speakers for the surround sound system should be on either side of the main piece of furniture.
Home Theater Screen
Home theater screens come in a number of sizes and types. Choose from projector machines with silk screens, wall-mounted monitors, or flat screen televisions. Whichever you decide, place the screen where it can offer the greatest viewing enjoyment and is in a secure place for safety reasons. There are also some simple tips to place your television in the best area.
- Mount wall televisions at eye level. If it looks too low on the wall, raise it to your eye level while standing and push furniture back a bit further so you can view movies without having your head tilted back awkwardly.
- Use the appropriate mounting brackets and always try to secure brackets directly into wall studs.
- If placing the monitor on an entertainment cabinet, ensure the cabinet’s stability so that it can’t tip over on anyone. Place a few screws through the cabinet and into the wall for added stability.
Pop Some Popcorn and Relax
Once you customize your home theater the way you want it, sit back and enjoy. And remember that the furniture and equipment placement isn’t set in stone. Arrange and rearrange items to keep the decor looking unique so you want fall out of love with the room.
Jessica is interested in interior design and home improvement. She enjoys remodeling and redesigning existing spaces for new purposes.
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