Home Theater Design 101: A Complete Guide

You’re designing a home theater? Congrats! By this point, you’ve already a film fanatic and love to watch movies with friends and family.

But the real question is, what are you going to put in your home theater?

In The United States, spending on home projects increased by 2.3 percent in 2018. With more Americans investing time and money in home theaters, the time to design is now.

For those looking into home theater design, here’s a complete guide of everything you need to know.

Read on to learn more.

Home Theater Colors and Flooring

Paint the walls of your home theater as dark as possible. When home theater painting, avoid bright colors that reflect screen light and are distracting during the movie. Try media room colors without gloss sheens. Consider colors such as:

Browns
Tans
Olive
Eggshell

Add carpet to the floor to help absorb the sound and further the classic theater feeling. Consider adding personal touches to the walls and floors such as:

Movie posters of your favorite films
Rope light lining the seat aisles
Dimmable wall sconces

Think about remote options to control lighting from right where you sit!

Home Theater Room Dimensions

Starting from scratch? Remember to create a realistic budget before you get started. Decide which things in the budget you will prioritize and don’t forget to divide up expenses.

Determine your home theater seating number and spacing between each chair. Don’t forget to consider the space behind the back row of chairs where things like countertops, bars, and storage may exist.

Pick a rectangular room to help blend the sound harmonies. Place the main speaker set along one of the short walls for the best sound projection possible. Try a room dimension of:

173-inch width x 250-inch length x 108-inch height

Remember in a larger room you will need a wider screen!

Stay away from too many windows. They distort the audio and provide more avenues for light and reflection on your screen. Try tinting any windows you may have to help seal out light.

Avoid concrete and concrete blocks. Try adding installing studs and drywall if you’ve got concrete walls. Consider acoustic wall panels to help absorb the sound and prevent echoing in the space.

Necessary Sound Equipment

Try adding surround sound to incorporate a full range of sound effects in your space. You may have to do trial and error with speaker placement depending on which theater room dimensions you chose.

Ideally, you should be sitting equidistant from each speaker in the theater room. Don’t forget to place your subwoofer and main speaker in the front of the room!