Technology and interior design are both crucial aspects of any media room. If your home doesn’t have a dedicated space solely for TV binges and movie nights, you’re not alone. Many households integrate the TV into a larger living room. It’s important that you design this space to ensure a fully functional and comfortable experience as you tune into nightly news and everyday entertainment. Here’s a rundown of some of the key features to consider.
Integrate surround sound technology. In order to take your media space to the next level and replicate a movie theater experience, you must first focus on the acoustics. Investing in surround sound will immerse you in the action on screen. Strategically place speakers around the room on nearby console tables or end tables and add a subwoofer if your budget allows.
Recessing speakers into your walls or ceiling will help them blend into the room and create an invisible, yet powerful effect. However, this can be expensive and hard to configure with existing drywall. A more manageable solution is to purchase a speaker system that matches your aesthetic and style. These electronics have come a long way since their classic black-box days and can be found in a range of colors and designs to fit into your room design perfectly.
Consider your lighting setup. Lighting and film have always been two sides of the same coin, so it’s no surprise that they’re equally important in media room setups. The right lighting is not only essential to set the ambience of a room, but also to make sure the screen is visible without glare. Professionals recommend LEDs, dimmers and recessed lights for an ideal setup. Contact a professional to get them installed in a glare-free way.
Natural light is welcomed in every room of the house, but you’ll want to keep glare in mind when positioning your TV in a room with windows. Blackout curtains might be helpful if there are limited locations for the TV.
Invest in sufficient media storage. With all the speakers and lights discussed above comes an issue of wires. Having eight speakers is great unless you’ll be tripping over and tangling up cords just to get to your seat. Recessed storage is an optimal solution, but it requires leading wires through walls. Thankfully, there are other ways to conceal wires and devices.
You can keep all your wired electronics hidden behind the door of a well-ventilated media cabinet or storage closet. This would be most useful if you have multiple accessories beyond a TV and speakers, such as a DVR, digital media player or video game console. Mounting the TV above a cabinet instead of placing it directly on top would also free up space and allow you to store supporting electronics on the top surface.
Lastly, commissioning a built-in media wall to fit all of your media components would give each of them an organized and structured home while creating storage space for movies, games and other decorations.
Plan out your furniture setup. This is the step that interior design comes to play in the most. Make sure that there is enough seating for everyone to sit and see the screen from their position. Sectional sofas are great for large audiences and you may even want to stock up on foldable chairs. Be sure to choose comfortable upholstery fabric since you’ll want something soft enough that you can sit through for hours during a movie marathon.
Consider placing a rug down on hardwood floors and switch out any wooden or hard plastic window blinds for fabric drapes. Avoiding hard surfaces is crucial to eliminating the “echo chamber” effect in many media spaces.
Lastly, pick the perfect coffee table for your space. It should be large enough to hold snacks, remote controls and even room for viewers to put their feet up if they wish to literally kick back and relax.