Considering that we are in the middle of a pandemic, most of our activities are restricted to our homes.
Our homes are playing multiple roles and have become our office space, kids’ school, gym, library, and ultimately entertainment area.
This has increased the need for having a dedicated home theater room.
Read along to learn all there is to know before setting up your media room.
Layout and Dimensions of a home theater room
To start with, you will need to identify a space which you can convert into your media room.
It should ideally not be in the center of the home to avoid disturbance from the sound to others at home.
It can be your basement, or first-floor family area, or even that guest bedroom which is rarely used by your guests.
It is just great if you have a space dedicated to home theater.
For a good viewing experience, you will need a minimum of 20 feet long room which is min 13 feet wide.
You can still have a home theater set up in 12′ X 12′ room too, it is just that you might have to reduce the screen size.
Layout
Her is a picture to explain the basic furniture layout for your home theater room.
Ventilation in a home theater room
A good ventilation is a must as the entire room will be closed and will hardly have any air circulation.
Air-conditioner is also needed to keep the electronic equipment cool.
What is the best flooring option for media room?
Top recommendation would be to have carpet flooring as it absorbs excess sound and makes your viewing experience very pleasant.
However, carpet flooring comes with a bit of maintenance, if you are up for it, this should be your choice.
How to do lighting in home theater room?
Lighting plays a very important role in enhancing your experience.
If you have windows in your home theater room, make sure you use complete blackout curtains or blinds.
Use ambient lights instead of harsh direct lights.
Use diffused lights in false ceiling and wall panels. Use footer light if your room is very long.
Acoustics
You will have to soundproof your home theater room to avoid noise leakage.
Equipments needed to set up your media room
Gadgets that goes into your media room are the heart and soul that defines this sapace.
Here are some of the items that you might want to consider buying based on your budget.
1️⃣ TV or Projector screen.
2️⃣ Projector (If your viewing distance is greater than min of 10′)
3️⃣ Speakers (Bars, Floor standing, Wall mount, Ceiling mount, Down firing, Satellite speakers)
4️⃣ AV Receiver
5️⃣ Sub-woofer (Active / Passive)
6️⃣ Home theater in the box
I would highly recommend you hire an expert in this domain to guide in all the technical aspects of it.
If you are based in Bengaluru, Cinebels is worth paying a visit.
How to multipurpose your home theater room
There is no rule that your media room should not be used for anything else other that your movie time.
You can re purpose it for other uses like:
1️⃣ Home gym
2️⃣ Home office
3️⃣ Kids study
4️⃣ Home bar
5️⃣ Art gallery
6️⃣ Music room
“How to make your home multifunctional”
What is the purpose of your home theater room
What I mean by this is, what do you enjoy more watching movies or listening to music? What will be the primary use of your media room?
If you are someone who loves listening to music, you will have to invest in soft speakers.
On the other hand you use the room extensively for watching movies, go for bright speakers.
Using bright speakers for listening to music, in the long run, will cause listening fatigue.
Budget
“What should be the budget to set up home theater room?”
This is the first and most important question you should answer before even starting the planning.
The budget can vary from pin to plane. Who should decide on what you are willing to invest and then start your research work.
You can get a decent home theater in a box for around $400. And then there is no upper limit.
Best suited colors for your home theater room
11 Home theater room designs for inspiration
Cozy home theater room
This looks typically like a living room or a family room where the traditional tv unit has been replaced with a projector and screen.
One with the wall panel
I like this media room for two reasons. One, the simple and elegant wall treatment.
Two, smart and casual floor seating.
Theme based home theater room
Though this is not a very big room in terms of length, use of contrasting colors gives a cohesive look.
Black media room
Doesn’t it look like an actual cinema hall? When you have the advantage of space, you can even create steps to give the much needed elevations for the back row seatings.
The sports bar look
The sheer joy of watching your favorite football or cricket match on big screen with your favorite drink in hand, what are you waiting for? Get your media room designed like this 😛
The classic one
This one is my absolute favorite. What do you think of this?
Narrow media room
Even the narrow rooms make a great home theater room as they give you better viewing distance.
The white one
A simple and cozy one.
Green media room
This one reminds me of gold class. Notice the wall treatment?
The one with the pop corn stand
The brown one
So out of these 11 unique home theater designs, which one did you like the most?
Wonderful info Manasa… This will definitely help all the home theatre enthusiasts.. crystal clear and very handy information.. great job..
Really glad to know that Chethan 🙂 Thanks for reading.