How to Decorate Your House Like a Movie Theater Without Painting

Make your theater experience more intimate at home.

Why pay $15 for a theater ticket when you can relax in your own recliners at home? Spruce up your home theater room until it makes you feel like you're in a real theater. If you're the type of person to screen films for your friends, an updated home theater is the perfect accent to your home. There's no need to paint your walls to make your home seem like a theater. A classic red and black color scheme will bring to mind the glamor of old Hollywood and get guests ready for the theater experience of a lifetime.

Things You'll Need

• Red carpet
• Dimmer switch
• Movie posters
• Frames
• Spot lights
• Curtains
• Paper or foam board

Instructions

1. Place the screen or TV at the far side of the room in the center. If you don't have a large television, consider purchasing a projector and screen to make the screen the focal point of the room.

2. Roll a red carpet out from the main entrance of the room to the screen you're using to play films. It should stop at the screen.

3. Install a dimmer to gradually lower the lights before the show. When the lights grow dimmer and dimmer, guests will feel more like they're in an actual theater.

4. Frame posters from your favorite movies. Use plain black frames, red frames or -- if you want to invest more money into the project -- theater frames with dim lights around the edges. Hang them on the walls along the red carpet, starting at the entrance to the room and ending just behind your seating. If you have lots of wall space on either side of the screen, hang one poster on either side as well -- but don't use lighted frames next to the television.

5. Mount focus lights above each poster so a beam illuminates the poster in a dark room. With some clever wiring, you can also make the lights all brighten or dim at the same time, so you only have to hit one switch to darken the room even when all the posters are lit.

6. Hang long red or black drapes that sweep to the floor. Use them to block light from the room during daytime screenings.

7. Attach paper or foam to one wall and let friends dip their hands in paint and leave their prints and signature on the wall -- just like the cement prints at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to serve treats, consider installing a glass case with boxes of candy and theater popcorn buckets. A soda machine, cooler or popcorn machine will make the experience more real, too.

References

• Decorator Secrets: Theater Decor Basics
• She Knows; Lights, Camera, Decorate!; Laura Williams; May 2011