How to Decorate a Movie Room or Home Theater

Homes are now being equipped with high-tech gadgets such as home entertainment centers complete with surround sound. Families love to spend time together, watching movies or their favorite shows. Some families allocate a room specifically for movie watching, commonly referred to as a home theater, media room or movie room. In this article we will show you how you can decorate this room.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Home entertainment center
• Home theater system
• Movie theme accessories
• Movie posters
• Stencils or wall arts that are movie theme
• Paint
• Room darkening blinds or window coverings
• Seats: sofa, recliner, love seat, chairs or bean bags

1. Location. Decide on a location or room in your home that you will designate as your home theater or movie room. It should be a room that has ample space to accommodate enough seating, not too close to the bedrooms to avoid disturbing others if you want to watch late at night. Another room you do not want to put the media room too close to is the home office, especially if it is being used to conduct business whereby any conversation can be interrupted by the loud sound coming from your home theater. A basement is one of the best places to designate as a home theater. It is away from other rooms and is not too bright which is so conducive to movie viewing even in the day.

2. 
   A home theater. (image credit: ProjectroPeople/Flickr_CreativeCommons_NoDeriative2.0Attribution)

   Placement of Media Equipment. After you have decided the room or location, check the lay out of the room. Decide where to place your media equipment and the screen. The screen should not be in a traffic area or directly facing the window to prevent too much glare from outside light. You have to decide where you will put the seats and other furniture you may have. Having a layout will guide you before you even buy your equipment and furnishings.

3. Paint. For a true theater experience, paint the room a dark color. Black or dark purple can be really conducive to movie watching, eliminating absorption of light. If you have the movie room in shared space, like a family room, then you may want to paint it in a color that would match the adjoining space. Paint color blocks in different colors for a more fun take in painting your home theater. There is not written rule that you have to only paint in dark colors. Use stencils to add movie theme designs. Stencil a motion picture camera, a take clapper and reels of films.

4. Installation. Start installing your equipment. Place media equipment in a hidden place. Start drilling holes for connections. If you are not that handy, hire a media installer. Hiring a professional to do the installation can guarantee that the equipment and wirings are done correctly. So it is best to include that in your budget. You may want to have a projection screen for a bigger movie experience, or you may decide on a 70-inch plasma TV. Either choice is great. Make sure that the screen is placed securely. Put the projector where it cannot be disturbed by others. Commonly this would be directly hung across the room facing the screen, then hung higher on the wall to avoid being blocked by people. Make sure all wirings are nicely tucked away to avoid tripping. You can also set up the home entertainment center which can house your TV which can also keep the DVD and VHS as well as hide the other media equipment. Next, install all speakers. For a more theater-like surround sound experience put them on all corners of the room.

5. Lighting. Add wall sconces and ceiling lights with dimmer. If you want to go over the top, add floor lights as well so people won't trip in case people need to get up and walk. The floor lights will allow people to see what they are stepping on without turning on the lights and interrupting others just like at the real movie theaters.

6. Window Coverings. Install room darkening blinds or dark colored draperies that would block out the natural light in the day. Choose thick drapes so no light can filter through. A black, dark red or deep purple colored velvet are great options.

7. Furnishings: provide ample seating for you and your family, as well as guests. Choose seats that are comfortable. Nowadays you can get sofa recliners with cup holders that can seat 4 to 6 people. If you will have several rows of chairs, make sure to elevate the seats behind the front rows, then elevate higher as you add more rows. You would want people to see the movie and not other people's heads.

8. Accessories. Add movie theme wall art. There are used film reel wheels that you can buy that can be hung on the wall. Buy movie posters, frame them nicely and hang them around. There are some authentic popcorn machines that you can buy that can be used as display as well as cooking popcorn.

Tips & Warnings

• Soundproof a movie room or home theater by adding additional padding on the walls.
• If you need to re-wire your electrical connections aside from adding the media wiring, ensure that you turn off the power. Again, it is best to hire a professional electrician to do the electrical work to prevent future accidents or fires.

[favefive]

on 9/13/2008 Hi LJMT, you can hang the movie trailer films on the wall like on the picture above. If you do not want to risk damaging them, you can frame them in picture boxes before hanging.

[LJMT]

on 9/13/2008 What can I do with movie trailers (the film)? A friend who works at a theatre gave me some since my son is a movie critic. I would love to make him something special and creative!

[thenannysden]

on 9/5/2008 Excellent! Great job writing this!

[1citygirl]

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