Maybe you like watching movies with your family or friends? Perhaps you’re looking to create a better gameday experience? Whatever the case may be, you’re considering setting up a theater room in your home.
The trouble is, you don’t know how to set up a home theater. Fortunately, however, we do. So, without further remark, here’s how to build a custom home theater.
Table of Contents
Find an Appropriate Room
First and foremost, you have to find an appropriate room. After all, you can’t set up a theater in the middle of your kitchen. You must find a room that you can dedicate solely to the theater.
The room for your home theater should be a decent size, as it will house a theater screen, theater seats, and a variety of other accessories.
Generally speaking, a room of at least 12 feet x 12 feet will suffice. Note, though, that ideally, the room will measure around 20 feet x 15 feet.
Don’t have such a room readily available? If so, there are a number of things you can do.
One option is to section off a portion of an existing room. For instance, if you have a large basement, you could create a room within it and use it for theater purposes.
The other option is to simply add on to your home. Note, though, that this could be exceedingly expensive. Adding another room to a home will cost somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000.
Add Adequate Insulation
When creating a theater room, you want to disconnect it from the rest of the home. Ideally, you’ll do this in terms of geography, but, more importantly, you’ll also want to do this in terms of atmosphere.
How? By adding adequate insulation to the room. Insulation will block out external noise, providing the room with its own individual environment, one which is not affected by the goings-on of the rest of the home.
You should use insulation on all sides of the room, including the ceiling, the walls, and the floor.
We recommend insulation with an R rating of at least 30, though the higher the R rating, the better off you’ll be.
Wire the Room
There are all sorts of things you’ll need to wire in your home theater. These include but aren’t necessarily limited to speakers, a projector, and lighting.
Though you could leave wires bare on the outsides of your walls, your room will look much better if those wires are hidden.
Curious as to the different types of wires you’ll be dealing with? That’s highly dependent on the equipment you buy.
There are all sorts of configurations that you might have to deal with, and you’ll want to assess those on a piece-by-piece basis.
Plan the Layout
Next, you’re going to want to plan the layout of your theater. This way, you’ll know where to place the screen, chairs, and other necessary entities.
Remember to keep plenty of space between the screen and the seating area. Ideally, you’ll just push the seats as far back against the wall as possible, with the screen pushed as far back to the opposite side of the room.
You’ll want at least 8 feet of space between the screen and the front row of seats. If you have space, you can add additional rows of seating. If not, you’ll want to keep the seating to a single row.
It’s important to also consider the positioning of accessories like side tables and popcorn machines.
The better you plan now, the more you’ll be able to fit into the room later. Poor planning will lead to wasted space, thus turning your theater into a shadow of what it could be.
Buy Appropriate Seating
In a lot of ways, the seating you choose can make or break your home theater.
After all, no one’s going to want to watch TV or movies whilst sitting in an uncomfortable position. As such, you’ve got to get this part right.
When choosing seating for home theater purposes, you’re advised to pick options that provide plenty of cushioning.
These could be recliner chairs or couches or love seats or, if you can find them, actual theater chairs.
Regardless of what you choose, make sure it fits comfortably inside your theater room. And remember: it’s better to err on the side of too much seating rather than not enough seating.
Consider Your Lighting Options
Another thing to think about in your home theater is the lighting. Sure, you might be satisfied with a ceiling-mounted fan light or a corner lamp, but if you want to get truly nuanced with it, you’re going to have to install different lighting solutions.
For instance, maybe you want to be able to utilize different levels of lighting. If so, you’ll want to install a light fader.
Perhaps you’d like to bring some ambiance to the room by making use of colored light or black lights? Again, you’ll have to spring for the necessary equipment.
In the end, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to settle for the basics. Yes, a corner lamp will get the job done. But it won’t propel your home theater to its maximum capabilities.
Give It the Final Theater Touches
You’ve got your seating, your screen, your fancy lighting, and your projector. You’re all set to live the theater experience.
However, you don’t need to stop here. You can take your theater to the next level by instituting a variety of other entities.
For instance, you might consider raising your second row of seats so that they sit above the seats in front of them.
You might also consider adding a pathway between the middle of your seats. Adding theater carpet on the floors and walls would be a nice touch as well.
Now That You Know How to Set up a Home Theater . . .
Now that you know how to set up a home theater, you might be on the search for related information. If so, you’re in the right place. Our website has all the information you seek.
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