How to Design the Perfect Media Room

One of the newer ideas in designing the “perfect” home for your family is having the experience of a home theatre or media room within your own space. Lack of quality family time, the expense of movie tickets and snacks along with luxury house designs have all contributed to the desire to plan and create a home media room. The ultimate in entertainment, whether enjoying family time or entertaining friends, is the art of creating, designing and enjoying your own home theatre room. As in other home improvement/design style methodology, this process is ultimately dependent on individual tastes and budget restraints. No matter the design or budget, a few key points are essential to all media room planning whether the room is sophisticated or casual. Planning will be the key to a well organized and functional space and sometimes, the room will be a dedicated home space but, quite often it will be a shared space that pulls double duty such as a den, basement or bonus room. To enjoy the ultimate experience in home cinema viewing, the below are a few key points of consideration:

Space and furniture – if the space is a shared space, how will the room be configured? Furniture placement necessitates a comfortable space in which everyone can view the screen from all angles. Consider furniture blocking where there is some type of space delineation, whether a couch or partition is used if some part of the room is used for other purposes. A vast array of specialty furniture is available for your media room and the furniture, itself, is of prime importance, as you will be spending large amounts of time on it where comfort is paramount.  To create a realistic viewing experience, try a sectional sofa and/or recliner, some of which come with drink holders and specialized fabric that is easy to clean. A second option would be theatre platform seating which offers a tiered approach where every seat is a good seat for viewing; although, not all rooms will offer the type of space needed for platform seating. Additionally, a good variety of comfy chairs and large pillows would be nice to have.

Fun or Formal – will the room be casual or sophisticated? Is it a dedicated space with a clever layout, richly paneled walls, a bar for entertaining and top of the line leather seating that can be heated? Or will inexpensive reproduction movie posters, stars overhead, brightly colored accessories, a pool table, a children’s play area and a free standing popcorn machine line the space? Either way, fun or formal; the space should allow everyone to gather around the screen and enjoy an honest to goodness movie viewing experience.

The Mood – task lighting, black out curtains and dark furniture will increase the drama, effect and experience of watching movies in your home theatre. Dark furniture, dark walls and black out curtains will all contribute to the ultimate in home movie viewing while removing light and creating a dramatic environment. Of course, you will still need to be able to maneuver in the room so consider task lighting, and/or LED lights along the floor much like a real movie theater or even flashlights for the children. Increased drama and authentic theatre ambience can be incorporated into the space with a velvety curtain strung across either side of the screen and/or as you enter the space and don’t forget to add fun light or funky colored pillows, and room-to-room carpet or brightly colored shag rugs in order to lighten the mood and space.

Snacks – easy access to snacks and drinks is a necessity. Whether you opt for a mini fridge, microwave, standalone popcorn machine or go all out with a built-in snack bar in the space, having access to refreshments will increase your movie experience. Sodas, water, even beer/wine along with pretzels, popcorn and movie sized boxes of candy will impress your family and guests.

Equipment – there are as many options for home movie viewing equipment as there are dollars to be spent on the equipment. From the simple Blue Ray player and flat screen television to the more expensive screen, projector and state-of-the-art speakers, customizing your home theatre with great quality sound and viewing elements will be dependent on the budget and family needs.

Now that you’ve filled the space with a gigantic screen, incredible sound, awesome artwork, ambient lighting and tasty snacks and drinks, you will have crafted a home theatre experience you may never want to leave…so sit back, relax and enjoy the room you’ve created as you venture into a galaxy far, far away….