Home Cinema/Media Rooms

Dim the lights and sit back to enjoy the ultimate big screen experience without leaving home…

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5 Basic elements to create the ideal Home Cinema

1. Site 

A home cinema should be dedicated to screening related activities. These days screening means far more with streaming services, video gaming and conventional TV.  

With most home renovations or new builds our focus is always on adding more natural light. Home theatres are spaces of ambient light, whether natural outdoor light or light from other rooms.

Light-bleed kills video projection images and it even makes flat-screen viewing less than enjoyable. If there is ambient light that cannot be eliminated, this can be mitigated by a projector with a high lumens rating. 

2. Sound

Home theatre audio bounces around the walls, ceiling, and flooring. Limiting that bounce is key to achieving perfect sound. Even if wall-to-wall carpeting isn't your thing it reduces audio-bounce. The difference between a living room and a home cinema is the quality of surround sound. 

A sound bar requires three walls in order to create that immersive sound experience, but the effect won’t be the same in an open plan room. Wall mounted speakers can produce high quality surround sound as does the optimal placement of the sub woofer. In reality sound reverberates better off a solid brick wall than if it’s directed into an open space.

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3. Screen

Viewing needs to maintain a proper distance from the screen. This is especially important with video projectors. At the extreme end, a projector needs roughly a 4.5m throw distance in order to cast a 3.8m diagonal picture, although short-throw projectors are an option if space is limited.

If you’re aiming for a more minimalist look, the perk of a drop down screen is that it can be tucked away when you are not watching. Flat Screen TVs on the other hand are a permanent visual component. Movie screens can be lowered and raised manually or at the touch of a button.

When choosing a screen, bigger isn’t always better. While projectors certainly give the room that cinematic look and feel, the image quality usually cannot compare to high-definition televisions.

The deep contrast of Plasma televisions creates the best image quality in dark rooms, whereas the brightness of LED LCD screens is best suited for daytime viewing.

4. Seating 

A movie or gaming marathon simply cannot take place without comfortable seating. Unless you like the feeling of icy leather brushing against your elbows, leather sofas should be avoided at all costs. For obvious reasons recliners are usually the first choice for home cinemas.

Tiered seating is a true luxury and one that can only be accomplished in a dedicated cinema space. Even a modest 18cm boost can be enough to clear sight lines. Home cinema seat tiering is relatively simple to build with a framework of joists of two-by-six or two-by-eight boards set on edge. Half-inch interior grade plywood forms the top with a carpeting covering.

Select soft high backed seating for ultimate comfort and plan for snacking. Many seats in home cinemas need built in cup holders and a flat surface for convenience access to other types of snacks.  

5. Style

What’s your vision of a home theatre? For some it's the classic look with plush, red walls, sconce lighting, tiered seating and a popcorn machine. For others, it's a more hi tech version of this. Indulge your fantasy, we can make it happen.

Canterwood Partnership offers full service custom integration of design, construction and installation of signature home cinemas. From the initial discovery phase to the design and construction of the project we have a keen sense of how to apply the ultimate in design and technology to enhance your lifestyle.

We create cinema rooms to reflect the ethos of easy living. Designed for comfort while oozing style, they feature luxurious and comfortable seating, lavish soft furnishings and more.

We also understand that our clients are highly tech-savvy and are looking forward to creating home cinema/media rooms beyond even their expectations.

Ready to get started?

We combine the experience of a seasoned management team, gifted designers, technical expertise and highly skilled craftsmen to create unique signature homes for discerning clients.

Talk to us about making your new home theatre a reality.