4 Tips for Creating Home Theater Rooms

Every family, space and budget will have their own home theater room needs. Many elements that go into a home theater room are simple and common components that are usually included with any purchase. Decide how you want your home theater to look, but don’t overlook these desirable, if not practical tips for room design.

• 7.1 Surround Sound: There are other surround sound options, including 5.1 and 6.1 surround sound that are excellent choices, but if you can buy the best, buy 7 speakers. The sound system adds a layer to the soundscape you are creating by surrounding yourself with speakers. With 7.1 surround sound, the left, center and right speaker are positioned before you. Left surround and right surround flank you on either side, and left rear and right rear angle back from behind you to give you the most intense audio experience.

• Media Closet: Rather than have an entertainment center below your television cluttered with components and cables, consider using a media closet. A media closet is an enclosed space nearby in which all components are set up and wired together. Cables come into the main room through a small hole made in the wall, connecting to each visible component while remaining somewhat hidden.

• Stadium Seating: Instead of relying on a single comfy couch for the seating area in your home theater room, consider using stadium seating. A two or three level terrace can be built or installed easily enough – provided there is room – onto which are fastened a number of plush, reclining theater seats. Not only does it offer more seating availability than a couch or set of chairs, it creates a feeling of being in your own private theater.

• Dimmed Lighting: The right lighting is important in your home theater room. You don’t want to keep it pitch dark, but you don’t want excessive lights on either. Lamps with shades work fine, but to create the most realistic movie experience, install several wall lamps on one circuit and connect a light dimmer to the switch. This way, you can set the atmosphere when using the home theater.

Home theater rooms can be state of the art entertainment areas featuring the best audio and visual technologies have to offer along with spacious and comfortable seating arrangements, or they can be more modest in scope, providing the same high quality movie and television viewing in a less extravagant setting. Among the must-haves are a large model flat screen, high definition television, a surround sound speaker system complete with amplifier, a DVD or Blu-Ray disc player and a place to sit. Some of extras include dimmed lighting, stadium seating, a media closet and a DVD projector with a built-in movie screen.