5 Ideas To Turn Your Basement
Sometimes it’s simply not possible to share the TV. What is a family to do if one member is pulling for reruns of Seinfeld, and the other one is rooting for your Kardashians? If you are discovering that remote-control wars are becoming common in your living area, it can be time to change this unused space in your basement to a media room. On the rare occasion that everybody agrees, a media room may be the perfect home theater for movie nights.
We requested Deborah Wiener, owner of Designing Solutions, to give us her best pointers that will assist you start planning a media room in your basement.
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1. Plan your sound system. If at all you can, consider recessing speakers in your ceiling or walls. “This gets rid of any visible wires while providing a true ‘surround sound’ effect,” says Wiener. In this instance, speakers follow the same aesthetic of the built-in, integrating with all the room’s decor.
Pepe Calderin Design- Modern Interior Design
Messing with all the gutters to install recessed speakers is not necessarily an alternative. If not, select speakers in accord with your room’s design so they look more like decorative accessories compared to technical gear. These contemporary speaks possess a sculptural look which fits with the room’s contemporary design.
Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..
2. Think about your networking storage. “Design a small closet to maintain all of your media components, leaving the TV screen to star by itself without rival electronic equipment,” says Wiener.
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If a different storage closet doesn’t work in your area, alter the cupboards of a built-in to some space to house your electronic equipment. “guarantee a very long life for all electronic equipment using doors with screens or louvers to keep hot parts aired and trendy,” says Wiener.
More media storage options
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3. Get the chairs right. Great seating can make or break a media room. The key is making sure everybody has an equally good view of the tv — sectionals frequently accomplish this while providing ample distance. “Today’s electronic recliners and wedge-shaped sectionals imply every seat is the best chair in the house,” says Wiener. “Many recliners require ‘zero wall clearance,’ meaning that they recline forward to the room, instead of back against the wall, which makes them an ideal choice in a tight space.”
Wiener proposes installing flooring receptacles beneath electronic seating for wirefree walls. If your area is carpeted, cut a channel in the cushioning to operate wires invisibly into a wall socket. A small slit in the carpet can enable the cord to operate into the seats.
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4. Perfect your acoustics. Consider all the soft and hard surfaces that you need in your media room and how they will influence the essence of the sound. “You can easily improve acoustics with a thick carpeting and soft Roman cloth shades instead of tough blinds to help restrain the ‘echo chamber’ that big rooms with hard surfaces frequently suffer from,” says Wiener.
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If you prefer to not pay up your beautiful hardwood floors with carpeting, consider at least outfitting your media room with an area rug to help with the acoustics.
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Even light fixtures can make a difference when it comes to acoustics. Wiener suggests using cloth shades instead of glass or metallic fixtures.
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Fabric wall panels make a big difference when it comes to acoustics, also. Outfit your panels with light fixtures to flip them into an interesting visual attachment which goes beyond work.
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5. Stay connected. If you want an actual movie theater experience, hook everything up to a universal remote controller. “With one finger, you are going to be able to command the AV gear, dim the lights and even lower the window shades,” says Weiner. “You will have complete control right from your armchair.”
More guides to designing a Fantastic media room