We live in a world where entertainment has become a lot more personal and because it is so easily accessible, it is something we can enjoy within the comforts of our own homes. Any private home entertainment design presents an opportunity to personalize a movie experience that is unique to each person. A lot of thought and strategy has to go into creating a personalized home theater design which is perfectly optimized for that larger-than-life viewing experience. Here are a few things to keep in mind when working on setting up your private theater.

Choosing a Theme

Always the safest bet as far as themes go is to go with the traditional movie theater look, but as nice as they always look, a private home theater is your chance to truly personalize your home entertainment space. One way to customize your home theater design is to pick a theme that expresses your personal movie preferences of experiences. For example, here are some popular home theater themes:

Classic American Drive-in: Design your entertainment space to look just like an American drive-in theater from the early days, complete with seats made from parts of vintage vehicles and comfortably sprawled in front of a giant projector screen.

Opera House: From the high-vaulted ceilings to the decadent red velvet seating, you can recreate the luxurious look of an opera house in your theater.

Your Favorite Movie or Genre: Whether you’re a science fiction fan or a die-hard lover of the classics, you can transform your private theater to represent your personal favorites. Love Monster movies? Get old posters, busts and statues to go with the décor of the space.

Lighting

You may want to use accent lighting to enhance the theme and décor of your home theater, but tread carefully. Nothing ruins a movie quite like having a washed-out screen, so be very careful when setting up the lighting for your home entertainment space. The ideal choice would be accent lighting that can be controlled remotely to control the brightness. A lighting control system makes adjusting the lights a simple process. The lights, speakers, screen, video projector, Blu-Ray player, and more can all be integrated into one integrated system which can be controlled by a tablet or smartphone.

Ambient light should be eliminated to keep your visuals on the screen vibrant and colorful. By placing sconces and floor lighting strategically, you will still have enough light to move across the room while not compromising on visual quality.

Clutter-free design

Having your A/V equipment cluttered around the screen is always an eyesore for any owner of a home theater. Your theater can be optimized during installation itself to hide away as much equipment as possible, including even the speakers. By using an acoustically transparent screen, you can conveniently hide the speakers away behind the screen without compromising on the quality of sound in the room. With a good A/V distribution system, you can access gaming systems, various media players, streaming services, and others without having to worry about where the actual devices are located.

It will be almost impossible to track down a bad cable once it gives up with cluttered wiring. So, always remember to organize your cables with cable ties and hide them away from common view. Use a label-maker or colored tape to mark each cable and keep them organized.

Common mistakes to avoid while designing your home entertainment space

Dimensions and location of the room: This is an important aspect because the room must ideally be large enough to fit all your entire home entertainment system and seating while also being isolated from the rest of the house to avoid disturbing everyone else at home.

Improper insulation: Many people don’t understand why insulation is necessary for a home theater space and often don’t pay attention to it. Well, proper insulation helps not only in keeping the sound from leaking out; it keeps sounds from outside from getting in too.

Windows: Windows and glass surfaces are highly reflective and will hinder your movie experience, so it is usually recommended to avoid installing your entertainment system in a room with windows, or choose block-out curtains that can cut out all lighting from outside.

Choosing the brand:  While it’s true that expensive technology is usually better, this doesn’t mean it is always the better option for you. Check the specifications and reviews and choose the kind of home theater system which is best-suited for your space and needs. Don’t make the mistake of always choosing more expensive brands or systems with features that you would barely use personally. Don’t fall for the hype, go for the experience!

Sound system installation: If you don’t install the speakers to calibrate depending on the space for the best sound, you won’t be able to enjoy the experience as it is designed for. In this case, we recommend calling a specialist. Otherwise, replacing the sound system or even changing the position of the speakers will get messy and ultimately, even more pricey.

Ignoring the little things: While budgeting for a home entertainment system, most people usually tend to include larger things such as room decor, furniture, and the technology to invest in. However, they sometimes forget the small but most important things like cables and accessories and these can be a big part of the budget.

As you can see, setting up a home entertainment room can be quite costly, but there are so many solutions and innovative designs that can be implemented to make significant savings. This is definitely an investment worth making since you end up with a special place dedicated to a high-quality entertainment experience!