The Five Designer No-No's of Home Theater Design
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You wouldn't design a kitchen using a Coleman stove — so avoid the urge to design a home theater with inferior equipment that doesn't answer the purpose of the room. A truly great home theater by definition requires high fidelity loudspeakers and high-definition large screen video displays. Instead of sacrificing quality for 'invisible' components and minimalist décor, look for ways to stylishly integrate the sound and video equipment into the layout, design and performance of the room.
1. Reflective Objects
Avoid large expanses of shiny wooden floors or reflective tile. As gorgeous as beautifully finished hardwood or tile floors look, they can cause too many visual and audible reflections that distract attention from the movie experience. The cure is simply some attractive area rugs, which will help absorb excessive sound reflections as well as soaking up any ambient reflections. Not using reflective materials also applies to high-gloss or lacquered frames on plasma and LCD flat screen displays. Shiny fabrics are also a no-no, for the same reasons. You should also avoid large expanses of uncovered glass. Like a mirror, uncovered glass windows will cause distracting sound and light reflections. It's simple enough to fix: Just use draperies or attractive wooden shutters and/or blackout curtains.
2. Lighting
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| This under-tread lighting allows guests to see their way out of this home theater without distracting overhead lights. |
No matter which type of video display is to be used, it's important that ambient light and distracting reflections be avoided. Likewise, any object that reflects light (mirrors, large glass-framed paintings, mirrored sconces and so on) will also cause sound reflections that may degrade the clarity of movie and video dialog. Don't go overboard with skylights or light wells unless there is provision for suitable covering materials or mechanisms. Large movie-like screens with projectors must be viewed in darkness for great image quality, so blackout curtains or heavy draperies are essential with that set up. On the other hand, user-controlled lights in a variety of settings will vastly improve the home theater experience; consider lighting options that allow guests to see their way out of the room during a movie (perhaps lights tucked under a chair rail or stair tread). Don't forget an options to allow the home owner to see their remote controls without turning on overhead lights.
3. The Minimization Obsession
Fifty percent of the home theater experience is the audio - thundering footfalls, tinkling raindrops - these are all things you hear in home theater surround sound that make it more exciting and involving than the old-style TV set. In order to get the most convincing sound in a home theater, don't try to hide speakers in the ceiling. There are excellent in-wall or cabinet-quality loudspeakers available on the market today, so there is ample opportunity to work speakers into your design either as showpieces or as disappearing-into-the-wall options. Provide high-definition sound to match a hi-def picture, and leave in-ceiling speakers for kitchens, bathrooms and other less critical audio listening rooms.
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| These electronics are attractively displayed in a custom wall niche, with a glass door to enable infra-red remotes to work. |
Avoid any cabinetry or armoires that don't have lots of room for electronic components. Don't leave equipment storage as an afterthought. Some clients may not want them “hidden” out of sight. In fact, they can even be attractively displayed using a custom wall niche. If the components are to be housed in an armoire, remember that they should not be stacked one on top of each other. All generate heat and need to be spaced apart by at least 2 to 4 inches to allow for air flow and normal cooling by convection, or using an ultra-quiet “muffin” cooling fan. If you put electronics in armoires or niches, make sure there is provision for infra-red communication from the remote controls to the equipment.
4. Budget
A couple of mistakes are commonly made on budget: First, spending all your budget on the video display and not leaving enough for high-quality speakers and electronic components. Here's a useful sample budget for a high-quality home theater including a high-definition video display:
• 35 to 40% of the equipment budget to the 7.1-channel home theater speaker system —about $3,500 to $5,000.
• 30% to 35% for the High Definition video display (rear projection, or front projector and screen, flat-panel plasma or LCD, plus associated controls) -- $3,500 to $5,000.
• 20% to 30% for the electronics (audio/video receiver or audio/video processor and amplifiers, DVD player)-- $2,000 to $3,000
• 5% to 10% for cables, wiring, and miscellaneous --$500 to $1,000
As well, beware of spending too much of your money on decor - fancy seating, vintage movie posters, lighted marquees - instead of focusing on the experience when the room is in use.
5. Not partnering with a home theater expert
Clients expect a home theater to have a level of performance that matches the price they paid for it. By working with a home theater expert from the beginning, you can select the proper equipment based on room size and intended use that will create a 'wow' factor. Select the equipment and then select the décor around it - cabinets, placement and so on - so that the function and the design of the room work in harmony.
Need a hand? Our Audio/Video experts will be happy to help! Call 1-866-244-8796 to speak to one of them today, or send your project specifications to us via email.