You may not love the idea of spending time in your home theater, but it’s important to make sure that you are getting the most out of your space.
If you’re looking for ways to improve your home theater experience, read on. This article will give you some great ideas and tricks for making your living room into a place where movies can be enjoyed with friends and family.
You’ll learn how to choose the right seats, design a comfortable viewing area, pick out an amazing TV or projector screen that fits well into the space, find just the right lighting system for your needs (or create one yourself), and more!
So much can be done to create an enjoyable atmosphere – here are 15 easy ways to get your home theater off the ground and on its way to becoming a great place for watching movies.
15 Incredible Ways to Improve your Home Theater Experience
-
Space
Designate a space that is intended for watching TV or movies and spend some time thinking about customization options before beginning with any furniture shopping.
According to Colorviewfinder, If you’re building a room specifically for this purpose, consider creating a special cabinet or shelving unit that can hold all of your movie-watching equipment as well as house anything else that may need to go into the room (like snacks!).
-
Screen Size Matters
Consider the size of your screen and choose to seat based on how far away it will be from your TV or projector screen.
-
Seating
Make your seating comfortable – no one wants to sit in a hard plastic chair all night! While you can always invest in theater seats, consider investing in pillows or slip-covered chairs if you want to save some money.
If certain individuals will be spending much more time in your home theater than others (a teenager who loves watching movies, for example), then it may be worth buying extra comfy furniture just for them.
-
Clear Some Space
If you’re building a room that is intended for watching TV and enjoying snacks, don’t forget to leave enough space to walk around the couch so everyone can get up when they need something. Also, make sure the area near the screen has enough clearance so that nobody will accidentally bump into the screen and cause damage!
-
Ambiance
Lighting is important in any room, but it becomes even more important (and even essential) when you’re trying to enjoy a movie. If part of your home theater design involves installing some sort of lighting system, consider using several types of lights for different purposes. Use dim lighting near the television or projector screen to add ambiance without sacrificing visibility overall.
Lights above seating areas (like recessed lights) can provide more light if needed, while still providing an attractive solution for task lighting. Lighting inside cabinets and shelves can also help to add interest and create a better atmosphere for movies!
-
Don’t Forget about Surfaces
Make sure that you have plenty of surfaces in your home theater to hold drinks, snacks, and other items that you’ll need while watching movies.
The area near the screen (where people will be gathering to watch their favorite flicks) can serve as a great space for placing plates full of food, beverages like soda pop or juice, or even couches for guests who may arrive before the movie begins.
-
Surround Sound System
Although many theaters offer surrounding sound speakers, if you don’t want to spend any extra money on this type of equipment (or you’re not particularly interested in investing in this), consider standard stereo speakers instead.
-
A Keyboard is Essential
If you plan to use your home theater system for playing computer games, for example, invest in a wireless keyboard. This will make it easier to play games during movies when you want to pause the film! Also, consider using your home theater system for playing computer games – it’s great fun!
-
Hide all the Cables
Make sure that all of your cables are hidden or secured so that nobody trips over them by accident. If you have enough room behind the wall where the television is mounted, you may be able to run some wires out of sight and then through an outlet in another part of the room (two outlets are needed for this type of installation).
Ensure that cords are not dangling dangerously or interfering with any furniture or equipment.
-
Designate a Home
Create a space at your home theater where you can put all of your favorite movies, video games, DVDs, and other items. This is especially important if you have a whole library to store! Never lose track of any part of your home theater system again!
-
Lighting Outlets are Essential
Installing several lighting outlets in your home theater will make it much easier to access power sources when setting up new equipment or lamps for dim lighting.
You can even install some recessed lights or wall sconces above seating areas too; this type of lighting creates a more intimate environment for watching movies and makes people feel like they’re really “in” the movie (without using expensive surround sound systems).
-
Have an Exit Strategy
Sure everyone who enters your home (friends and family included) knows how to get out and where they need to go.
-
Clean Up!
Clean your home theater regularly – this will make it easier for you to use the system and ensure that all of your equipment is working properly (and also makes guests feel more welcome).
When you’re busy, there’s nothing like a movie night at home with some friends playing video games on your giant flat-screen television; although home theaters require a lot of set-up work, they’re always worth the time and effort!
-
Be Mindful of Time Limits
If children will be using your entertainment center or if people may enter and leave often, it’s important to consider privacy issues when choosing privacy filters for your television.
If you don’t want people to be able to see your screen, make sure that it is facing a wall or other area where the screen doesn’t face an outside window (or any windows at all).
-
Upgrade Your Speakers
When buying speakers for your home theater system, consider upgrading from basic stereo options and purchasing surround sound instead (if you like this type of equipment). You can buy retrofit kits that allow you to convert your current stereo speakers into surround sound easily and cheaply!
Conclusion
The home theater experience is an important one – especially when you’re hosting friends and family members.
This article has provided you with 15 tips to improve your home theater experience. Whether you’re looking for ways to ensure that the space is comfortable, want to create a private viewing environment, or are interested in upgrading speakers, this list of helpful hints should have something for everyone.
If there’s one thing we hope readers take away from these quick and easy-to-follow pieces of advice it would be this: Have fun! Your home theater system should make life more enjoyable (not take all the joy out). Ultimately, if any part of this sounds difficult or costly – don’t do it! It might not work well based on what you need.
