Hi. My house has a bonus room upstairs that we are using as a big closet. I'd like to realize a dream I've had of a home theater. Kids are in the plan for the future so I've been trying to come up with an idea for a dual purpose play/media room. The room is awkward...4ft knee walls with 30* ceiling that is flat at the top. There's not much room to work with so I'm not sure if my dream will become a reality with this room.
Currently downstairs we have a 55" TV with a 2.1 and Onkyo receiver. What we really want is a dedicated space to enjoy media with surround sound. I've laid out the room in Planner5d with 2 designs that I could think of; links below.
Any thoughts/ideas are greatly appreciated.
Note: I removed all pictures from this thread. Sorry for any inconvenience to those who could have found this thread helpful.
Well, I had a slant wall room to work with as well, so i feel your pain.
You say Home Theater, so not sure if you are planning for a screen or not. I see an LCD in the drawings.
What elements are you looking to get out of the HomeTheater? Is this going to be a dedicated space?, or multi-use? projector? some level of accoustic treatments? block of the window an option?
I have better pictures now showing all the seating I have to work with. The couch is 11ft from where I expect the screen to be.
Originally I was planning on an LCD but have since changed to a screen/projector. I think I can fit 106"; 110" would be pushing it. I have blackout curtains for the window. I was planning this to be a media room with space for a play room for future kids toys. Plus, the more dedicated I make this room the more money I see spending on it. What I want is big picture and big sound with room for 4 comfortably for double date nights.
My thoughts today are having a false wall in front of the door and the false wall will have a door that opens to gain access to the attic. I'm a DIYer but I need a design. There's a local group, Switch Audio Video, who consults for $125/hr...maybe I just need to call them.
Well, IMHO, forget the AV 'experts' . Since you are a DIY'er , i would definitely have more confidence in you delivering what YOU want, v.s. what others may think you want, and charging you for it. but if you have money to burn...
I think you will be able to gather some wonderful design elements from this forum if you're willing to put the time in to learn.
False wall is a good idea. At first, i thought the big man door in the room was where you entered into the space. Now i realize that the small door/ sideways doors leads to the strairs that you enter from.
I would set the false wall out about 36 inches from the door-wall. towards your couch. build it out of 2x4 lumber. This will give you room in the back of it to hide speakers and have room to manuever when you want to open the door. I would paint everything black behind the false wall, including the 2x4's. I am not sure how ofter you will need access to the door, however, i seen a couple of screens that were mounted on hinges that allowed it to swing open.
By using an AT screen, you'll have a nice clean looking screen wall. the other speaker locations for 7.1.2 look like it will fit nicely.
Unfortunately, I don't have money to burn. What you described sounds exactly what I want. Yesterday I thought an AT screen was out of reach until I found I could build my own . Atmos will come in the future when my receiver dies or I win the lottery.
4ft knee walls with 30* ceiling that is flat at the top. There's not much room to work with so I'm not sure if my dream will become a reality with this room.
What we really want is a dedicated space to enjoy media with surround sound. I've laid out the room in Planner5d with 2 designs that I could think of; links below.
I would take a different tack. It looks like the solid knee wall is taller than 4', more like 5.5'. I would center the screen and seating on the dormer and use the extra depth of the dormer for additional throw distance and to place all equipment, AVR, bluray player, etc. Basically pretend the room is 15' long centered on the dormer. If the knee wall is really 5.5', I would use the entire height by painting the 10' width of the wall to use as a screen. Either flat white if you intend to watch in the dark, or with an ALR paint formula like Silver Fire or AZ Grey Pearl if you want to have some lights on. That will give you a 135" image. It running all the way to the floor is not a problem even in a recliner if it is 11' away. Paint the rest of the room including the ceiling a medium gray to reduce light from the screen bouncing around the room.
I would place the rear channels on either side of the dormer and the sofa and loveseat 1' - 2' in front of the rear kneewall. I would place the front L&R to either side of the screen area and the center channel attached to the slanted portion above the screen. Place a sub in the front left corner and a second in the dormer alcove. R&L surround on the side wall with the closet door and the other on the stairwell wall, just EQ them to equalize the sound levels. Or go ahead and build a wall at 15' - 16' and close up the space with the area at the top of the stairs as a "lobby" with popcorn, drink fridge, etc.
You haven't mentioned a budget, but the Epson 2040 for $650 or the BenQ HT2050 for $800 are good entry level projectors that will work in that arrangement. The BenQ is quieter and has slightly better black details in a dark room, but the Epson is a bit brighter for use in a lit room and has less expensive replacement lamps.
I would take a different tack. It looks like the solid knee wall is taller than 4', more like 5.5'. I would center the screen and seating on the dormer and use the extra depth of the dormer for additional throw distance and to place all equipment, AVR, bluray player, etc. Basically pretend the room is 15' long centered on the dormer. If the knee wall is really 5.5', I would use the entire height by painting the 10' width of the wall to use as a screen.
You haven't mentioned a budget, but the Epson 2040 for $650 or the BenQ HT2050 for $800 are good entry level projectors that will work in that arrangement. The BenQ is quieter and has slightly better black details in a dark room, but the Epson is a bit brighter for use in a lit room and has less expensive replacement lamps.
This is a great idea. One knee wall is higher than the other, 72" to be exact and 60.5" on the lower side. I'm not sure I like the idea of the center mounted above the screen.
BenQ HT2050 fits the budget and I don't mind paying a little more on lamps if I get better black details. Plus, there's only a small window so the room is naturally dark. I'm going to buy a projector when work slows down so I can play around with these 2 setups.
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