How to Turn Any Room into Your Personal Home Theatre – Part 1
If you’re a film enthusiast, having your very own personal theatre at home is probably at the top of your renovation wishlist. What better place to breathe in every scene of your favourite films and discover new moments each time? Well, you can definitely make that a reality if you have a spare room in the house.
Ideally, you’d want the room to be in a rectangle shape. Ever wondered why cinema rooms are designed in a rectangle shape? It’s done that way because sound travels in waves. A rectangular room has a much easier time funnelling the sound in one direction as the waves bounce off the side walls. Even if you don’t have a rectangle room though, there are other things you can do to turn it into your personal home theatre:
Soundproof walls
First off, the walls should definitely be drywall. From there, you have more advanced options depending on how important soundproofing the room is to you (i.e. if you have tenants or light sleepers in adjacent rooms). You can go DIY and stick carpet tiles or even egg cartons on the walls. Or you can go for the top-notch solution by installing special sound absorption panels on the walls.
Stadium levels
This is a great feature to have if you want to have two or more rows of seating in the room. Although usually found in large rooms, stadium levels can also work in rooms that are too narrow to squeeze all the seats into one row. You can then build a slightly raised platform for the second-row seats to rest on. This set-up gives everyone a clear line of sight to the movie screen.
Carpet flooring
Yes, carpet floors are harder to clean, but they add so much to the feeling of a cozy home theatre. On a more practical note, carpet also helps with soundproofing the room even more – especially if you choose the thicker variety with a cushiony feel. As for the colour, go for a lighter shade to better contrast the wall colour choice, which we’ll get into next.
Dark, neutral-coloured walls
The key here is to minimize the chance of the walls reflecting the flickering light of the screen, which can be distracting when you’re trying to enjoy a movie. The lighter and more colourful the walls are, the more chance of light bounces. The safest option is to go with the darkest shade of neutral you’re happy with in the room. And all in matte finishes, of course!
Blackout blinds and motorized blinds
Light pollution from the windows is another big distraction that pulls you away from a movie. Blackout blinds are your best friend in this regard. They’re designed to fit snugly to the window frame so that you can achieve a true blackout in the room when you want one. One extra feature to add is turning them into motorized blinds that are operated by remote control. That way, you can close them at will from the comfort of your seat.
This first part sets the scene for your personal home theatre. Stay with us next week for the second part where we make the room come to life with other features.
