Just thinking about a beautiful home theater at your own house probably gets you super excited. Trust us; you are not the only one.
No more waiting in long queues for your movie ticket – just to get a seat behind a tall guy whose blocks your view throughout the movie. No more being called out for putting your feet up too. Also, no need to buy overpriced popcorn and drinks! You can have all the snacks you like!
Does anything get better than this?
A home theater allows you the privacy and freedom of watching anything at any time within the comfort of your own home. You can invite friends, a date, or start a monthly family movie night.
If you have finally decided to get the home theater of your dreams, you need to consider a few things first.
This article will highlight the five things you need to consider before starting spending on your home theater.
1. The Room
Some people choose their basements, a spare room, or even their whole garage to convert into a home theater. Some even go all out and get a small room constructed in their backyards to use as a home theater. However, this is a costly option.
Firstly, you need to think about which location or room would be the best for being transformed into a home theater.
An ideal home theater location should have fewer or smaller windows to limit the light that comes through. The theater’s walls need to be soundproof or insulated to avoid noisy distractions. It needs to be wide enough to fit the number of seats you want without looking too congested.
The best option in most cases is using the basement if you have one. Since most basements don’t have windows, it limits the amount of sunlight and noise from coming in during movie time. This also allows you to enjoy a movie without worrying about being in someone’s way. It has seclusion and privacy, which essentially makes it the best home theater.
2. Your Home Theater’s Design and Layout
Once you have selected the perfect location for your home theater, you need to decide the kind of layout and design you want.
The objective here is to have a sitting arrangement that allows uninterrupted view of the screen from a comfortable distance while ensuring that all dialogues are perfectly audible.
You also need to consider if you want your home theater just for watching movies or if you also want to enjoy gaming in the room. The theater’s layout would be designed accordingly to cater to your plan.
The size and shape of the room and the position of the windows and door will determine what your home theater will look like. It will also help you decide which equipment is best to invest in.
For example, if your main wall is not that big, investing in an expensive big screen would be a waste. Not only would a big screen not fit, it would also require a 6-8 feet distance from the seats. If your theater room is not big enough to accommodate that distance, simply go for a smaller, better-fitting screen.
Moreover, if your theater room is quite spacious, you might have to invest in a surround-sound system for a good theater experience. However, if your theater room is not that big, placing too many speakers will only give you a headache.
Hence, measure out your selected theater location and invest in the right equipment and your ideal layout accordingly.
3. Lighting for Your Home Theater
Lighting plays a very important part in your home theater experience. If the windows of your home theater are not properly blacked out or covered, light coming through would affect your screen’s display and sharpness.
Hence, home theaters in a window-less basement prove most effective. Or you can invest in heavy drapes to blackout your windows.
Also, make sure your home theater does not have glass or shiny objects on the walls or in places where they would reflect light and hamper your movie-watching experience. Glass or a shiny object would reflect the projector light. This would either bother your eyes or affect the darkness of the room.
You would have to invest in getting some ceiling lights installed. These lights would help you settle into your seats or illuminate the room when you’re not using it to watch movies.
Investing in remote-controlled lighting with adjustable brightness is what you need to do.
4. Seating for Your Home Theater
Every person who invests in a home theater is always almost exciting about selecting their ideal seats. The number of seats you want to install will depend on how many seats your room can accommodate and your allocated budget for this.
You can find a huge variety of qualities and options to choose from. Some Chinese brands have theater seats for $800 per seat; however, the quality and comfort level might not always be the best. The chances are that you might have to reinvest in new seats in the future.
Many European and American brands, although expensive, offer great theater seats that have fine upholstery, robust material, and are very comfortable.
If your theater room allows you to have multiple rows of seats, you will have to invest more into constructing your theater floor to be elevated for the back rows.
Many theater seat brands allow you to customize your seats for any special needs, a specific color, size, etc. However, customizations do come with added costs.
5. Additional Features
Once you have your room, projector, seating, and speakers all set up, your home theater is ready to go. However, you can make your home theater as beautiful and functional as you like.
You can repaint your walls and add carpeting to make the theater look more lush – this also helps with soundproofing. You can get an air conditioner or a heater to make the home theater room super comfortable.
You can also set up a mini-fridge for drinks and a popcorn machine (a microwave would do as well) to enhance the overall experience.
Careful consideration of a few things, such as the theater room’s layout, lighting, seating etc., will ensure your investment is only one time.
So, pay attention to all that you need to consider and invest accordingly to build the home theater of your dreams.
