Sights and Sounds and the Home Theater Experience
Any savvy home theater owner knows that atmosphere is everything when creating the ultimate home theater experience. Colors and textures can either complement your home theater or contrast with it. As a result, special considerations must be given to how light and sound can affect your overall home theater experience.
For the least distracting finish on home theater environment surfaces, a matte finish is considered the best. Whether paint on the walls or glass within art framing, a non-gloss or non-glare is preferred to prevent the bouncing of light from surface to surface. Matte paint finishes in either satin or eggshell help to mute the bright lights emitted from the television. With matte finishes, regardless of the movie being shown, the shine projected against the walls and the resulting reflections are minimized throughout the room.
A specific area of attention when creating a viewer-friendly home theater environment is the ceiling. There are suggested colors to use and avoid, and suggested finishes to use and avoid. For the same reasons that the walls of your home theater space need to be darker hues, those colors chosen for your ceiling must also be dark. Brighter colors will detract from the main focal point of your home theater system and distract your viewers. Lights are a possibility as long as they are a shade of brown. Bright lights defeat the purpose of the home theater and prevent the fulfilling of the need for the darkness of a theater. Nothing that increases the brightness, including wallpaper with patterns, should be included in your home theater design plans.
When it comes to making decisions among flooring options, there are color and material principles that apply. The ideal flooring surface is carpeting. It holds the sound in, while tile or anything hard will bounce right off the material and vibrate in the room. For a splash of creativity, you may opt for the style of carpeting found in old fashioned original theaters. The red diamonds is a popular and interesting print; but there is a lot of flat plush carpet that is also representative of the old fashioned theaters. For home theater rooms that do not have carpeting, it is possible to add an area as well as runners in front of seating areas. For a final touch of sound-absorbing interior design, consider adding posters or movie prints to add to your personal design touch.
A home theater is an investment both of time and money. To get the most out of your home theater and create the best possible home theater experience, it is imperative that you adhere to the basic rules of interior design for home theater spaces. Brighter colors are not favorable for a space that requires complete darkness. Therefore, focus your attention on muted darker shades of theater-friendly colors. Reds, blues, and greens can add color without adding unnecessary brightness. Soft surfaces help to absorb the sound from your home theater system and allow the viewer to enjoy the home theater experience without the bounce of sound or light.
Your interior design ideas are intended to enhance the best feel for your home theater. After all, your home theater is the focal point of your room rather than your color or your textures.
See No Evil, Feel No Evil: Color and Texture in Home Theater Interior Design
One of the most crucial decisions people make regarding their home theater is the color. Whether using paint or a fabric, and whether using a gloss or a texture, your home theater experience is affected by your interior design choices. To resolve any design quandaries, consider the services of a virtual interior design professional.
In a home theater you essentially have a giant spotlight with a bullhorn sitting at the front of a dark room shooting off light and sound. This light and sound reflects off of the walls, the ceiling, the floor, and everything else in the room as it travels to your seat. What it bounces off of along the way can make a huge difference in the quality of the picture and sound. Too much reflection of light and the contrast of your picture will be diminished; too much reflection of sound and the tone and the localization will be muddied. The advice of a virtual interior design professional can resolve the problems experiences from both light and sound reflection.
When contemplating color and how it affects your home theater experience, you naturally consider the color of your walls first. There are some colors that are better choices for your home theater space than others; and there are some colors that should be avoided. By soliciting the ideas and suggestions of a virtual interior designer for your home theater, you are better able to keep the focal point of the room on the television. Many virtual interior designers recommend that you keep the color subdued. Keep in mind that lighter colors tend to become a distraction from the television. Therefore, darker colors such as maroons or darker blues retain the mood of the home theater without overpowering the room. It is also suggested that home theater owners use a matte paint rather than a gloss. Because gloss reflects, anything that has a gloss finish needs to have a non-reflective look to it so that the focal point is the television rather than wall decorations. The darker colors and the matte finish both contribute to the true theater feeling.
When speaking specifically about color choices for your home theater, red and black are frequently primary theater colors. When many theater patrons think of a theater, many times they think in terms of red and black. For your home theater, you may use variations of red and black by leaning toward shades of red and dark blues. The personal preference of the home theater owner should dictate color choices, but the darker palettes should receive a higher priority.
To complete the warm feel of your home theater, incorporate the darker woods found in the older theaters. Maple and cherry are popular choices. The woods really warm up the room and make a big difference when used in crown moldings and the baseboards. The elements are tied together and give your space the feeling of a true home theater rather than just a big room with a television.
Your home theater space is as important as your home theater system itself. By following the professional advice of a virtual interior designer, you can maximize your home theater experience without maxxing out your home theater budget.
