Hello all,

Though I don't post very often, I visit the forums frequently and have advertised regularly my website for blackout fabric, www.carlofet.com, here at AVS. As such, I could think of no better place to ask for assistance as I design my new theater/fun room/building.

So here's the story - my wife and I bought a house back in August, and while we're both very happy with our new abode, I feel very inadequate in that I have no space inside to have my home theater. It's a 100+ year-old farmhouse, so rooms are small and windows are many, and after a few months here, I've come to the conclusion that there's just nowhere to put up a screen.

When the weather was warm, I would hang a screen on the side of our deck and enjoy some movies outside, but living in Wisconsin, the warm season is just too short to get my fill, and further, winter is the best movie-watching season!

So, I've decided that the best solution is to construct an extra building on the property and add all the features that my house is missing. The building I'm planning is a sort of miniature barn, where the lower half is split between a shop area and a spa area for my wife while the upstairs is dedicated to a theater and a game room.

Here's what the theater area is probably going to look like:

http://www.carlofet.com/images/theatertop.jpg

The dimensions of the room will be 16'x32'x8'. As you can see, there will have to be a stairwell coming up that I figure will be good to separate the two areas of the floor.

http://www.carlofet.com/images/ISO.jpg

Beyond that, I'm looking for general suggestions as to what I should plan for the building. Seating, lighting, audio - not to mention flooring, paint, etc. are all up in the air. I already have a decent projector and plan to build a screen, but other than that, I'm hoping to get ideas for things that I need to plan on incorporating into the room.

So what do you think?

Since you are starting with a clean slate I'm not sure I would plan an open floor plan for the second floor. Having an open plan myself If I had to do it over I would create more defined space to better enhance the surround sound experience.

If the second floor is intended to be an entertainment party room you need to plan a wet bar/ mini kitchen.

Lastly I would have a 1/2 bath somewhere in the building if possible.

Thanks for the feedback -

The open vs. closed floor plan is something I've had a real hard time deciding on. I could divide off the theater area entirely and, as you mentioned, it would wind up being a better theater experience. On the other hand, I imagine myself spending just as much time just playing pool and watching a football game or the evening news all at once. Further, I want to be able to use the audio system to play music while in the other half of the room, so I think I'm going to need to keep it open.

The wet bar/kitchenette is definitely something I had in mind. But first, let me explain the plumbing situation. Being that our house is rather old, it has a matching septic system . . . that is, a 500 gallon tank with a drywell, both of which would have to be replaced if I add any plumbing to this building, as the tank is too small and the drywell is almost full. My plan for now is to add rough plumbing to the building and at some point in the future (when the septic tank fails or when I decide I have enough extra cash to just replace it), connect the building to the water supply and septic system and have a .75 bath and a kitchenette added. For now, the future bathroom will be designated a "changing room" in the spa downstairs, so I just have to figure out where to put a kitchenette.

As you can see, I'll have some attic space along the sides of this room, and I'm hoping to be able to take advantage of that. Since this room is going to be built as an attic room right into the trusses of the building, I'll have at most 24" between trusses to add a little minibar or something. On the other hand, I might decide to just put some counters or something against the wall with the window.

I'd plan at least a small refrigerator and microwave (popcorn).

As for news watching while playing pool, with the price of flat panels dirt cheap I would mount one on a wall in the game room area and tap the source material from your theater equipment stack. You avoid firing up the big gun and chewing up bulb life.

My home office backs up to my theater and I run an LCD panel in my office and control my shared Direct TV Sat receiver with a RF remote.

How much theater seating are you looking for? I wonder if the stairs will limit your seating options (or in effect, screen size).

With such a clean slate, and the opportunity to either get it perfect... or not perfect at all, you should make a modest investment in a designer. Seriously, this is a small cost to get it perfect.

Dennis Erskine is here on the forum all the time. He's also been here for a decade.

I'd plan at least a small refrigerator and microwave (popcorn).

As for news watching while playing pool, with the price of flat panels dirt cheap I would mount one on a wall in the game room area and tap the source material from your theater equipment stack. You avoid firing up the big gun and chewing up bulb life.

My home office backs up to my theater and I run an LCD panel in my office and control my shared Direct TV Sat receiver with a RF remote.

Yeah, I'm thinking I definitely need a place to keep beer cold and have ice for drinks, and actually a stovetop/hotplate would be preferable, as I make my popcorn with a Whirley-Pop (http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-Farms-25008-Whirley-Pop/dp/B00004SU35) (one of my favorite wedding presents and most-often used appliance in my house).

The separate flat panel is certainly something I hadn't thought of, but I would then also need another set of speakers for music. Further, although flat panels are getting nice and affordable, for the size they're still a bit more than a new bulb for my projector, for which I already have a spare. Most importantly, though, I'm worried that if I have a bunch of friends over, the whole gathering would feel separated from each other. I think I'm willing to sacrifice the drop in audio quality for an open area.

How much theater seating are you looking for? I wonder if the stairs will limit your seating options (or in effect, screen size).

So far, I have two couches in mind for seating, stacked stadium style. My initial plan was to build a platform onto which a rear couch could sit, and in that platform I would install two 15" speakers to build one hell of a subwoofer. I also thought about having the couch on a platform and two or three chairs on the floor -- all easily expandable for adding real theater-style seats in the future (when the initial cost of putting up the building is no longer hurting my wallet . . .)

The actual dimensions of that stairway are still pretty flexible, and I plan on making it as wide as possible so that it's easy to move stuff. Obviously, I plan to get a pool table up there, so I figure everything else should follow fairly easily.

With such a clean slate, and the opportunity to either get it perfect... or not perfect at all, you should make a modest investment in a designer. Seriously, this is a small cost to get it perfect.

Dennis Erskine is here on the forum all the time. He's also been here for a decade.

I have been considering just that - I'll have to get in contact with him to see what that cost might be. I'm also very interested in talking to someone about designing the spa area, as I'm totally clueless on that part . . .

Depending on distances, I could see putting the first row of seats against the knee-wall of the stairwell... and the riser on the OTHER side of the stairs. Kind of like how some theaters have a few rows in the front, a big aisle, and then the stadium seating starts, raised way up.

Might not leave enough room for the pool table though.

As new construction, and a clean slate, why do you have the stairs in the middle of the space?

Just one note to self. If you are going to do some serious popcorn popping in this space you really need to think about a kitchen exhaust fan.

I overlooked this small detail and now every time I do a batch in my popcorn machine I have to open a window and put in a window fan to clear the air.

It's on my list of corrective measures.

Depending on distances, I could see putting the first row of seats against the knee-wall of the stairwell... and the riser on the OTHER side of the stairs. Kind of like how some theaters have a few rows in the front, a big aisle, and then the stadium seating starts, raised way up.

Might not leave enough room for the pool table though.

That's exactly the sort of idea that I was hoping to hear -- the type I hadn't thought of at all. However, the pool table is a necessity, so I'll have to do some figuring to see if that could fit.

As new construction, and a clean slate, why do you have the stairs in the middle of the space?

Well, there's two reasons. First, because the room is going to be built into attic trusses, the stairway has to rise up in the same direction as the trusses, which is how I have it arranged in the screenshot. I could make the opening shorter by making it a 90-degree turn on the first floor, but I figure if it's there, it's there, and moving stuff up a turned stairway is a royal pain. Second, on the first floor, underneath the theater area is the spa area, so I can't put a stairway in there. Underneath the wall with a window there will probably be a garage door, so I can't put a stairway there. One of the things I'm considering is moving the garage door to one of the long walls so that the stairway could be up against the wall with the window. It would make things a lot more convenient, but I think the exterior would look a little goofy that way. So, for now, I have the stairway bumped up against the wall that divides the first floor into a spa and a shop.

Just one note to self. If you are going to do some serious popcorn popping in this space you really need to think about a kitchen exhaust fan.

I overlooked this small detail and now every time I do a batch in my popcorn machine I have to open a window and put in a window fan to clear the air.

It's on my list of corrective measures.

What, you don't love the smell of popcorn exhaust?

A couple years ago, when I was living with an old friend in college, he had one of these in our living room:

http://www.manleypopcorn.org/images/ManleyPopcornMachine-model49.jpg

It was our main lighting source for the room! Boy did we make a lot of popcorn, and boy . . . did it put out a lot of popcorn fumes . . . delicious . . .