Tips for Creating a Home Theater in a Small Space
Many homeowners dream of the day of having a home theater where they can relax and watch their favorite movies in style. However, chances are that your space for a home theater is a bit smaller than what you really want. A home theater can go in a room that is any size as long as you know the following tips for working with a room on the smaller side.
Set Realistic Goals
You may be limited to how big of a screen you can put in the room, how many seats you will have, or how many speakers can be placed. Try creating a layout to roughly sketch out what the room could look like so that you know what limitations you have. You may discover that sacrifices must be made to find a good middle ground for the home theater’s design.
Select Space-Saving Seating
A home theater is fun when you can share the space with others. As much as you may want to use huge couches, the small space may limit how many seats you can fit in the room.
Space-saving seating, such as loveseats or compact recliners, can maximize your seating capacity without sacrificing comfort. You can even use nice seating options for family that uses the space daily and more compact options for guest when you need the extra capacity.
Wall-Mount Equipment When Possible
Anything that you can do to mount equipment to the walls will save you space. This is especially true for televisions that would normally sit on a bulky stand and speakers that have a big floor stand that can be tripped over. Getting the items off the floor will help reclaim some square footage and make it easier to walk around in the space.
Create Recessed Shelving
Many AV components can be hidden away and controlled with a remote. However, there are still many components that you need to access regularly. This includes a video game console where you swap out a physical cartridge, a Blu-ray player that utilizes discs, or a dial to quickly change the volume when the remote cannot be found. Consider recessed shelving to get these components out of the way and into a space-saving area.
Hide Wires in Walls
There is no reason to have wires visible in a small home theater since it is a potential tripping hazard as people navigate around the room. Always try to hide wires in the walls when it is possible to do so. Conduit can be placed behind walls to make it easy to fish wire to electronic components and allows you to switch out cables when necessary in the future.
Use Multi-Functional Furniture
Multi-functional furniture includes recliners with built-in cup holders or trays, which can prevent the need to have end tables or TV trays to eat in the space. Storage ottomans can also double as a place to store extra remotes or video game controllers when not being used.
You can even purchase artwork that functions as an acoustic panel, which lets you decorate the space while providing some much needed sound control when you have limited wall space.
Install Automated Shades
You likely want to block out as much light as possible when the time comes to watch a movie in your home theater. Automated shades mean that you can control the lighting and not have to worry about the shades being easily accessible. Place furniture where it needs to be since you can lower the shades with a remote or voice controls when necessary.
Reach out to A Tech for assistance with building your home theater.