I am still trying to plan my screen wall. I have most of the room done. I haven't done anything on the sides because I want them to match the front.

My screen is about 9ft. wide. (104" diagonal) and my room is 16.5ft wide. This leaves me almost 4ft on each side of the screen to 'fill in'. To me that is too much to cover with just fabric. I was thinking about putting in a 1.5-2ft. wide cabinet and staining it a dark color. I don't want to distract from the screen to much. ie. avoid high gloss finish, etc...

Any other great ideas for up front?

No, I don't want a bigger screen. Yes, I have seen the 'show us your screen walls' thread. :)

Why the need to fill it in at all?

The lights are off in my HT 98% of the time and whatever's there wouldn't be seen anyway. If it could be seen, it would be distracting.

I plan on having a stage and hiding my speakers behind some fabric. So, there will be at least something up there. Want to make it purty. :)

Well, if you've seen the "Screen Wall" thread ,you saw my equipment cabinets and stage w/ drawers up front.

While many find equipment up front to be taboo, it was a deliberate design consideration for me to make the entire space somewhat more general purpose. With the side finished in flat black, I don't find them distracting at all, and rather like the "inset look" of the screen.