Photo courtesy of Absolute Sound
If your home theater system isn't mediocre, why should the space it's in be so nondescript? After all, you spend a lot of time there. You might want to devote the same energy and attention to detail you put into assembling your system to making your home theater room as memorable as your movies.
Create an Experience
To find out how to turn an ordinary room into a distinctive home-entertainment space where you can lose yourself in movies, TV shows, and music, we spoke with a trio of designers who specialize in high-end home theaters. It turns out to be fairly easy and affordable to “accessorize” an average space using tips gleaned from their years of experience building custom theaters.
“Whether it's a high-end, dedicated home theater or something much more modest, it's all about the experience,” says Ted Hollander of Absolute Sound in Winter Park , Florida , whose clients include actor Wesley Snipes and Cincinnati Reds pitcher Danny Graves. “Anything you can do to the space to make that experience more special is well worth it — from adding movie posters or a popcorn maker, or using an acoustical treatment or carefully selected wall colors that make the room go away when you're watching a movie. These things add to the experience above and beyond what you get out of the speakers and surround sound receiver.”
Theo Kalomirakis, owner of TK Theaters in New York City, whose opulent designs have been the subject of two coffee-table books, notes that some of the accoutrements once found in the highest of high-end home theaters — special seating, lighting, and other movie-themed furnishings — are now within reach of typical home theater enthusiasts. Thanks to increased competition, for example, the price of theaterlike reclining seats has come down. “You can probably buy a group of three or four theater seats for the same price as a sofa, or even less,” says Kalomirakis.
This wall unit from Salamander Design's Synergy Series is meant to accomodate large plasma screens.
Don't Get Too Comfortable
While any comfy sofa or chair will do, “home theater seating” sets the experience — and the room — apart. Row-style seats that are permanently attached to the floor, like the ones in traditional movie theaters, as well as recliners are available in a wide range of styles and prices. Home theater recliners from makers such as such as La-Z-Boy and Modular Theater Systems are more practical for most homeowners. Unlike ordinary recliners, there's a myriad of ways you can configure them.
La-Z-Boy's Matinee recliners shown in black/gray leather, come with built-in cup holders and trays.
“A home theater recliner in most cases is a modular piece of furniture,” says Hollander. “You can order select seats with or without arms, for example, and then configure them the way you want. That gives a seamless look as opposed to having a whole bunch of ordinary recliners shoved together. Another thing you can do is eliminate the arms between two recliners to make a loveseat-recliner hybrid. That saves space and allows two people to cozy up together, or they can recline independently of one another.”
Another difference from ordinary recliners is in the way they recline. “Some home theater recliners recline a limited amount so you don't end up looking at the ceiling,” Hollander adds. Motorized recliners offer the most flexibility. “When customers ask me about motorization,” he says, “I tell them that the nicest thing about it is that you can stop just about anywhere you want, whereas with a mechanical recliner you're limited at best to a few presets.”
Home theater recliners cost anywhere from $500 to $3,500 apiece, with extra-cost options ranging from leather upholstery to built-in snack trays and drink holders to “shakers” that vibrate in tandem with the action on the screen. (Click to read “Resources” for the Web addresses of all the manufacturers and retailers mentioned in this article.)
Robert Kaufman of Audio Command Systems in Westbury , New York , which designs home theaters for the glitterati of the New York City arts and entertainment world, warns that you don't want to get too relaxed sitting in your home theater. Hollander agrees, explaining that “The idea is to be comfortable enough to fall into the storyline of the movie without falling asleep. Look for something that allows you to sit comfortably for upwards of two hours without getting fidgety. But if a seat is overly cushy, it may not be very good for your back. You want to have good support.”
Hollander also thinks recliners are a good idea because “you'll be more comfortable with your feet up than if they were on the floor.” Another thing to avoid is a seat with too high a back. “If your surround speakers are behind you and you have this big headrest,” he points out, “it's going to water down the surround effect.”
The number of seats you'll need depends on your budget and on the size of the room. “I like to work backwards from how many people typically will be in the room,” Kaufman says. “In a room that's, say, 16 to 24 feet wide, I'll put three rows of four seats. And you'll want to make sure the front row is at least 12 to 15 feet from the screen” (assuming it's a big one).
Of course, most homeowners will need only three or four seats. And for flexibility, multiple recliners can be configured in an L or U shape in the same manner as a sectional sofa. If you often entertain or have the whole gang over to watch sports on a regular basis, you might need a second row of seats, but to do it right you'll want to add a riser (click to read “Come On, Rise Up”). “Otherwise, part of the screen is obscured for the people in the back row,” Hollander notes, “or it forces you to position your screen too high off the floor — and that's uncomfortable for front-row viewers.”
Light and Dark
Another way to enhance your home theater is lighting control. “When you're watching a movie, you want the room to be dark, like at a movie theater,” says Hollander. “But if you're watching, say, a basketball game, it's not quite as natural to be sitting in the dark.” Putting the lights on dimmers let's you have it both ways and is a fairly easy and inexpensive option. “Dimmers allow you to adjust the lighting to the proper mood — bring it to a level that isn't distracting,” Kalomirakis says. “I also prefer table lamps and sconces to overhead lights.”
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| Lutron's Spacer lighting control includes dimmer presets and a remote control. |
Lutron Electronics' Spacer ($80) lets you dim the lights from the comfort of your recliner. It easily replaces existing light switches and can either be operated with its own remote control or configured to work with your home theater system's universal remote. “Let's say you have a programmable touchscreen system remote like those from Philips or Marantz,” Hollander says. “You can put the dimmers on the same remote so that you touch a button to automatically dim the lights to a preset level and touch another one to bring them back up.”
Cinema-themed lighting can also add a distinctive touch to your room. Wall sconces are available from HTMarket.com and Home Theatre Interiors for around $200 to $500 with everything from movie reels to the THX and DTS logos. For an even more dramatic effect, try a fiber-optic treatment from Visual Lighting Technologies or Acoustic Innovations to make the ceiling light up like a night sky. The price varies by square footage and the number and type of lights installed, but you can also buy a do-it-yourself version from HTMarket.com for $430.
“To me, a starlight ceiling is for someone trying to make a statement with his theater, as opposed to a movie lover who wants the room to go away when watching the movie,” Hollander comments. “A star ceiling is pretty distracting. On the other hand, if you like to entertain, you can always turn it off. But the minimum you'll spend on one professionally installed would be a couple of thousand dollars.”
Made in the Shade
You'll also want to consider ways to control the ambient light in your room, especially if you have a projection setup and plan on watching movies during the daytime. “If you can't totally control the light, you're not going to have a great environment,” Kaufman says. “You need something that totally blocks out light, or at least filters out 80% of it.”
Lutron's drapery controls use keypad-controlled Sivoia QED (Quiet Eelctronic Drive) technology to keep the opening and closing of window and movie-screen curtains unobtrusive.
Most drapery stores can design custom shades and drapes that block most or all of the light coming through a window. Heavy drapes also serve double duty by reducing sound-marring reflections from the hard glass surface. (For more on acoustic remedies, click to read “Room Treatments.”) Designers of high-end theaters often use motorized blinds and drapes like Lutron's Sivoia brand or those from MechoShade. But they're pricey — around $1,000 each for a 4 x 6-foot window — and require professional installation, which adds to the cost.
Another way to control ambient light is simply to repaint the room. “Keep the color palette subdued,” suggests Kalomirakis. “Anything that's white or off-white reflects light, so the room never gets dark enough for viewers to focus on the screen.” He recommends dark grays, blues, and reds.
“First of all,” he says, “it makes the room stand out, because bright colors are used throughout many homes. A darker color gives the room a little more drama. And when the lights go down and the movie starts, the light from the screen doesn't bounce off the walls in a way that makes you constantly aware you're in a room and not in a movie theater.”
Out of Sight
You never see the equipment in a movie theater — just the screen. And with remote controls and onscreen displays, you don't need to have your gear out in the open.
“If you look at high-end home theaters, the equipment is seldom mounted on the same wall as the screen,” says Hollander. “So if you have a closet off to the side or in the back of the room, it's better to have your gear located there. That way your screen stays unobstructed, and you don't have to spend a lot of money on fancy cabinetry to hide your equipment, which can go into a stand or rack in the closet. Then all you need is a remote-control ‘eye' (sensor) in the front of the room that connects back to the hideaway gear.”
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| The CD-150 (left) and CD- 600 CD racks from Boltz provide rigid storage for hundreds of discs. |
But if stashing away your equipment isn't an option — or you like having it out in the open — there's a myriad of modular storage solutions for components as well as discs and tapes from companies like Boltz, Sanus Systems, AV Mechanica, Bell'O, Salamander, Lovan, Soricé, and StudioTech. “All you really need to do is get it off the front wall — put it on the side wall or behind you,” Hollander advises. “It can still be very prominent, but positioned in such a way that it doesn't detract from movie watching. And some gear lets you switch the display off while you're watching.”
“There are so many equipment-friendly cabinets,” observes Kalomirakis. “A lot of companies offer sophisticated media-center cabinets that accommodate all three front speakers, neatly organizing everything into a single unit.” So what does this designer of big-budget private theaters use in his own home? “I use Ikea cabinets,” Kalomirakis reveals. “They're very inexpensive, and one bookcase in Ikea's Billy storage system line costs only $249, has subdivisions for CDs and DVDs, and comes in a variety of finishes.”
Getting Personal
And then there are accessories that let you personalize your home theater space. You can choose from hundreds of movie posters and dozens of frames for your walls, as well as a variety of cinema-themed coffee and end tables, throw pillows, carpets, bar towels, candle holders, paper-towel holders, light-switch plates, and still more from online suppliers such as Home Theatre Interiors, HTMarket.com, and Home Cinema Accessories.
BDI's Vector 9429 component rack uses a steel frame to support flat-screen TVs.
For a signature start to an evening of movie watching, you can even order a personalized movie-introduction DVD from HTMarket.com or Home Theatre Interiors ($150), and they can also help you stock your very own concession stand with everything from an authentic theater-style popcorn popper ($500 to $1,500) to an old-fashioned soda fountain ($1,000 and up) to double-matinee-sized candy bars.
With so much cool stuff like this available, it's tempting to go overboard. “You want to keep it from becoming a distraction,” counsels Hollander. “You're in the room to watch a movie, and it'll be harder to follow if there are too many other things to look at. I try to keep accessories in the back of the room or an adjacent room, like a foyer,” he adds. “That's usually better than having, say, glass-covered movie posters on the side wall that are going to act like mirrors and reflect light.”
Most people put a lot of time and money into planning and installing a home theater system. And since the system generally reflects the personality and style of the owner, it's only fitting that the room it's in should follow suit. “A home theater is a fun thing,” Kaufman concludes, “so why not spend some money to personalize it?”
Come On, Rise Up |
If you want to add an extra row of seats to your home theater, a riser is crucial to preserving the view for the people seated in it. But the project isn't as complex and expensive as it might seem. “It's really easy to build a 12-inch-high riser for a second row of seats out of 2 x 10s with a 3/4-inch plywood top,” says Ted Hollander of Absolute Sound. “It's kind of like building a small deck,” he explains, “very inexpensive to do, and you can just carpet it. I've had some jobs where existing carpet was left in the room, with a riser added on top. Then if the house is sold and the room has to be turned back into a bedroom or whatever, it's easy to remove the riser.” |
Resources |
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Acoustic Innovations AV Mechanica Bell'o Boltz CAN-AM La-Z-Boy Home Cinema Accessories Home Cinema Decor Home Theatre Interiors hometheatreinteriors.com, 800-494-4020 HTMarket.com |
IKEA Lovan Lutron Electronics MechoShade Modular Theater Systems Panelfold Salamander Designs StudioTech Sanus Systems Visual Lighting Technologies |
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Room Treatments
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A good-sounding space makes for a better home-entertainment room. And while it might be impractical for you to cover your room floor to ceiling with acoustical panels, many quicker — and cheaper — fixes are available. Companies like Acoustic Innovations, Panelfold, and Modular Theater Systems make acoustical panels priced from $1,000 to $2,500 that are ready to hang on the walls — and won't make your room look like an amateur recording studio. “You can position them where you need acoustical help, particularly on the side walls,” says Ted Hollander of Absolute Sound. “It's very easy to do, and it can make more difference to your system's sound quality than upgrading your amplifier.” |
Acoustic panels cover Modular Theater Systems' Avetower (above), which holds all of your A/V components — including a front projector — and Neo Proscenius (below) which houses a front-projection screen and conceals the front left, center, and right speakers.
