How to Decorate a Media Room

People involved in building and remodeling homes will tell you that the room most often requested in America today is a media room. This room was virtually unheard of mere decades ago, and it remains high in demand. Of course, design and décor are important to this room as with any room in the home. Learn how you can decorate your home theater so it is both functional and beautiful.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Decide what equipment will be used in the room and choose furniture and décor that will hide the items that do not need to be seen. A media room is a great addition to any home, but walls full of components and wires are simply unsightly and diminish your enjoyment of the room. Find ways of hiding as many of the parts and pieces as possible so you can get back to the more interesting aspects of decorating your home theater.

2. Select dark colors for the ceiling, walls, floors and furnishing. It not only is a means of accentuating a theater like atmosphere in your media room, but it has a purpose. The darkness of the room will make the television screen stand out better, which in turn enhances viewer pleasure. Dark shades of red, black, blue and brown work well when decorating your home theater.

3. Determine how authentic you want the experience to be. Some people want to imitate the theater experience in their own homes. Others want theater quality with the cozy comforts of home. Keep these things in mind when decorating your home theater, particularly when selecting the furniture.

4. Use old or new movie posters in poster frames in order to enhance the theater like effect of the room when you decorate. Other great decorating items for media rooms include shadow boxes filled with movie memorabilia, old concession stand signs and area rugs in a theatrical theme.

5. Keep lighting low within the room and make sure that no outside light is allowed to enter. Ideally there would be few or no windows in an authentic media room but that isn't always possible. If you have windows, use blackout curtains to prevent light from pouring in. Rope lights are excellent to have along the walls and sconces with dimmers are another authentic type of lighting for your home theater decorating needs.

Tips & Warnings

• Have fun when decorating your media room or home theater. This room is supposed to be fun and entertaining for the family--don't lose sight of that when selecting the décor.

[1citygirl]

on 8/18/2008 here is another good article I found on decorating a home theater room. Good article. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/841529/how_to_decorate_your_home_theater_room.html?cat=30

[DIY-man]

on 5/23/2008 Good tips on finishing and decorating a media room or home theater. The color is very important as you don't want reflections or ambient light from the TV/Projection Screen reflecting off the room walls.

Add some decorative sconces and light dimmers to control them. LED night-lights make great aisle and stair lights.

Throw in a few movie memorabilia items, such as a movie clapboard, old-time popcorn machine, post and rope, theater pillows and blankets, and add a personalized cinema sign for the finishing touch!

There's a free guide to setting up a home theater here: http://www.htmart.com/pages.php?pageid=12