A home theater can give you an exciting place to enjoy new movies or binge the new season of your favorite show. It can also give you a completely customized experience from the sound and visuals to the starry-night light show that sits above your theater seats. Whether you’re renovating an existing home theater or considering how you could fit a new one into your current home, we’ve prepared some ideas for how to make practical and intentional designs that give you the luxury media room that you want.
What makes a home cinema luxurious?
Luxury is all about creating an environment that’s beautiful, practical and comfortable. It’s the feeling that nothing is missing and every feature that is present is placed in a spot that makes sense. No more fussing with an old projector or straining to catch visuals that are too dimmed to compete with the overhead lights – when you get down to the definition of luxury, it’s ease of use. That’s what makes modern home theaters so enjoyable compared to the traditional constraints of a living room.
What makes a home theater luxurious?
It’s customized to your exact wants and needs. Just like you might have to remodel a home to get the kitchen or bathroom that you want, you might have to remodel a dated home theater to better incorporate the latest and greatest in home tech. In some cases this might be an entirely new space – the best locations for this usually include basements, unused bedrooms or storage areas.
It’s a clean design, with necessities hidden. Just because you need lighting and a speaker system doesn’t mean they should disrupt an otherwise luxurious design. Recess lighting or hidden speakers under a sound-friendly fabric can keep all eyes on the screen; all AV equipment can be easily controlled from a touch panel or tablet.
It’s a convenient, flexible layout. Having comfortable seating with high-top countertops in reach will help you keep food and beverages near while ensuring the aisles stay clear of seating or tables. Convenience is also about flexibility – where the rear seats would be perfect for catching a sporting event with neighbors, the front row would be ideal for weeknight Netflix watch parties.
It’s modern and multi-use. If you’re craving a more modern design, that could mean lighter colors, cleaner sightlines, and a multi-use space that leaves room for daytime hosting or even exercise or work. That could also mean choosing a large LCD display or an LED video wall over the traditional projector and screen pairing.
It’s vibrant and without distraction. If your current projector isn’t wowing you, consider other options. Larger screens that display brighter images are much more common than the dark home theaters of the recent past. With ambient light rejection, the movie will be the brightest feature in the room, no matter what type of lighting surrounds it.
It’s 100% immersive. When the acoustics of the space are planned to perfection, it reinforces the authenticity of the luxury media room environment you’re trying to cultivate. With full bass response and no noise pollution floating in from nearby rooms, you can truly get immersed in the film and enjoy your theater to the fullest. New overhead speaker layouts dramatically improve the immersion experience.
It’s a multi-use entertainment space. This space was designed from the beginning to be not just a media room, but a multi-use room that happens to incorporate a world class theater – and that’s exactly what many homeowners want over the traditional home theater floor plan. With thoughtful acoustics, black-out shades, careful equipment selection and automation, you can have that 360-degree viewing experience that you’d hope for in a traditional home theater.
It’s attention down to the last detail. If there’s any kind of reflection, whether that’s from the actual film or just a hint of the light from elsewhere in the room, it’s going to distract from the viewing experience. That’s the reason why big box movie theaters have walls covered in an acoustically-treated, carpet-like material – no reflection, no problem! Consider this as you choose the room and color scheme for your soon-to-be luxury home theater.
And no luxury media room is complete without the best seating in the house – when you invest in the space, don’t fall short on seating comfort and quality. If you’re not comfortable, the space won’t be used often or even stand up to the average movie marathon.
It’s simplicity. Recess lighting and well-lit aisles or exit points can be easily added to your design and improve how you enjoy the theater. You can simplify the rest of its function with one central control panel – work the lights, the sound and the visuals right from your seat. The system can automatically raise the lights when you pause the movie for a break and dim them back down when you return.
And finally, luxury is choosing a space that feels most like home. Your custom theme can run from the floor to the ceiling – with a sparkling, starry night sky above your home theater, you can give the room a bold distinction, while sports memorabilia and classic theater themes can take elements from the rest of the home and use them to transport you to another time or place.
Finally, consider how any theme might fit in with your current design – do you want the home theater to feel like a continuation of the surrounding home? If so, keep the design modern and clean. If you’d rather step into your home theater and be transported to another time or place, choose a brand new theme that’s calling to you. No matter which theme you choose, it can still be both luxurious and practical – when you meet with a designer that specializes in home technology, they can help you get the best of both worlds. Book a call with one of our designers today so we can get acquainted and learn a little more about your home.
