Transform Your Home: How to Create the Best Home Theater

By Graci Woodworth, Storage.com

What’s home, sweet home without a sanctuary for binge watching all of your favorite films and shows? Movie junkies and Netflix enthusiasts, unite! Compiled in this post are some of the best tips for transforming any room into the cozy home theater you’ve always wished for.

1. START WITH THE SCREEN


When it comes to choosing the type of big screen that is ideal for your home theater, the endless selection of options and styles can get overwhelming in a hurry. Between LED, Plasma, and Projector screens, each of these top-of-the-line displays come with their own advantages and disadvantages. If the room you’re transforming falls on the smaller side of the spectrum, you can optimize picture quality by going for an LED TV. On the other hand, larger spaces tend to solicit projectors (check out this list of recommended models). Making your renovations on a tighter budget? Plasma is the way to go. When it comes down to it, there’s no wrong or right here— it’s all about working with the amount of space you’ve got, and letting it help to guide your vision.

HOW TO MAKE A HOME THEATER A REALITY

2. SPLURGE ON SOUND


What some would consider the most important component of a home theater, a quality speaker system is a must. While you can easily snag these theater accessories with a few clicks online, it’s usually best to go give them a listen for yourself in person (in a room similarly sized to the one you’ll be using them in, if you can). Make sure to do some preparatory research beforehand to help determine the type of system or accessories you’re looking to purchase if that aspect is still undecided. For example, there’s not much need for tower speakers in a smaller sized home theater, leaving extra room in your budget to upgrade the brand or specific features. If your home theater will be a gathering spot for family and friends, consider a receiver with a user-friendly interface to cut back on the headaches of lengthy tutorials. Don’t worry, tangled webs of electrical wires don’t have to be the trade-off to an impeccable sound system, either— hide unappealing wiring with a few of these simple tricks, like installing plastic raceways above trim.

3. CUSTOMIZE YOUR THEATER SEATING


They layout of a home theater room is really a blank canvas for your creation—whether you want a giant, leather sectional for group-watching, or plush recliners and separate theater seats. For spacious areas that offer a lot of room to work with, look into sectioning out two or more rows of stadium-style seating to make sure each family member or guest has a prime viewing spot from any position in the room. You can even dive into DIY options for row-seating, like this lounge area made from wooden pallets and body cushions. Still need some examples to help guide your vision? Take a peek at a few of these incredibly decked home theaters to inspire seating arrangements of your own!

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THE THINGS YOU SHOVED ASIDE
TO MAKE ROOM FOR YOUR AWESOME HOME THEATER

4. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!


Contrary to popular belief, the lighting in your home theater doesn’t have to be complicated. Before scrapping the room’s current lighting set up, try installing a dimmer switch to the lights that are already installed—you’ll be shocked at how big of a difference this can make! Swapping outdated lighting for recessed lighting is also a quick-fix for attaining instant theater vibes. If you’re committed to a total home theater renovation, then this DIY tutorial of installing crown molding with LED ribbons will be right up your alley.

5. ADD PERSONAL TOUCHES


Once you’ve chosen your picture-perfect screen (pun intended), ideal home theater speakers, and comfortable seating arrangement, it’s time to stock the room with all of your favorite movie-theater qualities. Add personal touches, like framed posters of your favorite films, an old-school popcorn machine, or even a full-on snack bar. There’s no better place to implement the Bat Cave you’ve always dreamed about, or serve butterbeer in a Hogwarts-styled den (golden snitch and all).

THE BEST PART ABOUT HAVING A HOME THEATER IS…


Have any more tips we missed? Share all of your home theater transformation experiences in the comments below!