Lifestyle home theaters are the most common type of home theater. Not every home was built and designed to have a dedicated home theater room in place and because of that the Lifestyle Home Theater was born. This type of home theater is generally placed in a multi-purpose space in the home such as the living room, a basement game room, or even outside on your patio (Hyperlink this text to outdoor theater page). More often than not, these types of theaters have large flat screen TV’s and in-wall or in-ceiling architectural speakers instead of a projector and large floor standing speakers. The idea is to bring the home theater into the space as a compliment to the use and décor of the room without compromising or taking over the room.
TV and Speaker Placement Options
Lifestyle Home Theaters can be tricky when it comes to the placement of your equipment. Ideally, your TV will be located around the main focal point of the room such as a fireplace in a living room. Mounting a TV above a fireplace is an attractive and popular solution and can usually be done without having to do any major construction or repair in the room. If you have a corner fireplace, consider mounting the TV on one of the larger walls on either side of it and then use the fireplace as a compliment to the room. By placing the TV on one of the larger walls in your space, you give yourself the ability to properly place and distance your home theater speakers from one another around the room. Both in-wall and in-ceiling speakers are ideal for this type of home theater because they allow you to bring HiFi sound into the space without compromising the look and feel of the room. Your subwoofer can easily be hidden in a cabinet or tucked into a corner. Remember, the worst place in the room for your subwoofer is in the middle of the room or high up on a shelf. We also have in-wall subwoofer options available if floor space is at a minimum. Our trained staff can help you every step of the way to make sure your speakers are placed in the best possible locations.
What About All That Sunlight?
If you plan on using your Life Style Home Theater during the day for more that casual TV watching, be sure to consider how sunlight will play a role in your room. Controlling light, whether natural or artificial, is a key element in any type of home theater. On top of controlling the ceiling lights in a room, we also need to consider the amount of sunlight coming through the windows. The glare from sunlight can wash out a picture or cause reflections that can make TV watching difficult. It’s very easy to fix this problem with window treatments, blinds, or even elegant and impressively quiet motorized shades.
How Do You Control All This Equipment?
This is a common question and the answer is simple – a universal remote control. A well programmed remote control can make the biggest difference of all when it comes to the enjoyment in your home theater. After all, what’s the point of installing a home theater if you don’t even know how to turn it on? Universal remotes take the worry out of controlling the high tech equipment installed in your theater room. Just by pressing a single button, your theater room will turn on and select the desired source for you. It’s really that simple! What you may not know is that you can even use your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, or Android Phone or Tablet as a remote for your home theater via an application such as the Control4 Mobile Navigator. Be sure to ask us about the many different control options we have available so that we can find the perfect fit for your home theater.
The Ultimate Media Room
Imagine a room with a medium sized flat panel TV for casual daytime viewing. When evening movie time arrives, one simple button push on your remote control causes motorized shades to descend as your lights dim to the perfect level. Your theater screen quietly lowers from its ceiling hiding place at the same time. The screen is filled with bright, crystal clear images from your hidden projector, as music from the soundtrack envelops you, creating a complete motion picture experience. Our design team can help you create this ultimate media room experience in your home and help make your other home entertainment dreams come true!
