If you love movies, you’ve probably dreamed of having your own home theater. Although it would be great to build an elaborate extension onto your house, you can turn an existing room into a home theater and spend a lot less. There are several elements you should consider.
Money
First, you need to have an idea of what you can spend. If you don’t have the savings that you’d like, you might want to look at ways to cut back on your monthly expenses. You could spend less on entertainment, shopping or other incidentals. You could also look into saving money on your bills. For example, if you have student loans, you could find out if you are eligible for a student loan consolidation. By getting a new term and interest rate, it could mean paying a lot less each month and over the entire life of the loan. You can then use whatever you manage to save and put it toward your home theater.
Audio
There are two aspects of the audio you need to be aware of. One is the acoustics and the other is your speakers. Acoustic boards on your walls and carpet on your floor are both inexpensive ways to maximize sound. Acoustic tiles on your ceilings can be added with a drop ceiling, another inexpensive solution. Get surround sound speakers, but be sure they are proportional to the size of your room. For most home theaters, they do not have to be very big. You’ll also need a receiver.
Video
For video, you need to choose between a projector and a large-screen TV. A projector is actually less expensive than a large TV although you’ll need additional equipment if you want to watch TV using the projector. This might be especially important if you’d like to screen sporting events or other live broadcasts. Think about what kind of lighting you want as well. Heavy curtains to cover any windows and a light you can operate with a dimmer switch so that it isn’t entirely pitch black in the room are a good combination.
Furniture
While there may be a nostalgic appeal to traditional theater seats, they can be expensive and they really aren’t the most comfortable choice. You may prefer a couch or recliners. You may want to build a platform to create two rows of seats, one slightly higher than the other. Red curtains hung on either side of the screen add atmosphere without costing much. The advantage of being at home instead of in a cinema is that you can make additions for your own comfort as well. For example, you might like small tables that you can set food or drinks on or even a small bar or popcorn machine in one corner.
Choose Your Style
If you go online and look at photos of home theaters, you’ll see a huge variety of styles and approaches. Keep in mind that you don’t have to do everything all at once—when you have the basics in place, you can take your time with other aspects of the room.
