Home Theaters - It's Time for Movie Night!
Home Theaters - It's Time for Movie Night!
One of the perks of spending more time at home is that it gives homeowners an opportunity to focus on creating the truly relaxing and inviting home they've always dreamed of. For movie buffs, their vision of a perfect home likely includes creating their own home movie theater room. Thanks to advancements in home lighting, electronic equipment, and even furniture made especially for movie theater rooms, it is absolutely possible for homeowners to create a home movie theater area that actually surpasses traditional public movie houses.
Make it Relaxing and Cozy
Today's home movie theaters have gone far beyond simply setting a large TV and couch in a room and calling it a home theater. Today's homeowners are making their home theater rooms especially cozy by including comfy chaise loungers or recliners for each family member, along with a generous amount of pillows and blankets to accompany each lounger or recliner.
For intermission times, designated snack areas are becoming all the rage, complete with popcorn maker, soda dispenser, and candy display -- all designed to pay tribute to traditional movie theater going. Another popular trend is displaying posters of classic movie shows on walls throughout the room, also mimicking the tradition of movie theaters displaying posters of classic movies, as well as posters of upcoming shows.
Select a Style
Real movie theaters have been around for generations and each movie era has their own particular design style. When it comes to designing a home movie theater, it's important to select the overall style and theme of the room. Some movie buffs may want to pay homage to the classic movie era and design their home movie theater accordingly. Other homeowners love contemporary design and style their home movie theaters to suit their modern taste.
Authentic Movie Theater Lighting
Of course, one of the key components of setting the mood for a movie night is to include all the right lighting fixtures. To start, before the movie even begins it's important to have sufficient lighting in the room so people can easily make their way to their seats, the snack area, etc. Recessed lighting provides a great foundational layer of lighting so there is sufficient illumination in the room, both before and after a movie.
After it's "lights out" and during movie time, public movie theaters use special lighting features for guests who want to visit the snack shop or the restroom during the movie. An authentic home movie theater can also offer these helpful types of lighting, with the installation of low-light wall sconces and/or stair running lights. These types of lighting fixtures are designed to provide just enough illumination so people can safely move around in a dark theater room, without disturbing fellow movie watchers.
Practical and Fun
Even if a movie theater room doesn't include stairs, it is still possible and practical as well, to install running lights along the baseboards of a movie room. That way, movie watchers will still have a small amount of illumination in the room if they want to take a break, get more popcorn and soda, etc. Some homeowners also decide to customize their movie room even more by including an authentic-looking neon sign aptly-named, "Refreshments" or "Snack Shop" above the popcorn, soda, and candy counter.
Another great option is to install track or recessed lighting directly over movie posters or other movie memorabilia within the room. Not only does this highlight each item for viewing, it also gives off the vibe of an authentic movie theater.
Summary
Adding a home movie theater room is a fun way to spend more time with family and friends, without the hassle of driving through heavy traffic and standing in line at a public theater. With the right design, it's possible to create a theater filled with so much authentic movie character that everyone in the family will look forward to movie night at home.
If you would like more design tips on how to illuminate your home movie theater room, please contact us!
