[sok454]

Well the wifey has agreed to change the wall colors of our theatre room that is in the process of being finished. Its about 16x13x9.


I am going to go w a light grey for the walls instead of the light tan we have now. Our ceiling is white... how much of a difference oes the having a black ceiling make???

 

[mizedog]

I choose a very dark blue (nearly black). With the cans on full blast, and with low, 7'5" height, the ceiling still nearly disappears to the point that you can't make out the transition between the ceiling and walls. I do still get some reflection from the screen while watching movies. It's not at all distracting. But, a lighter ceiling would reflect way too much, I'm sure.


I was really concerned that a dark ceiling would make the room feel smaller. But I don't feel it does because of the fact that it seems to fade back into the distance to become obscure. My room is a dedicated room so I'm fine with the dark ceiling.

 

[sok454]

Just checked out your basement project... looks awesome man!


Nice work!


The wifey said its ok to paint black...but i'm just worried she'll freak out.

 

[MatthewH]

Is it going to be a dedicated room? You will not regret painting it black. I used my projector on a white colored wall before construction began on our dedicated room. Once the room was completed it was a night and day difference with the ceiling painted black and the walls painted red. You will be watching with the lights off anyway so it is not going to "close in" the room. Take a look at my thread if you have any questions and good luck.

 

[sok454]

its a dedicated room. Going w/ a grey wall.


Where is your Thread at?

 

[mutheater]

My compromise, with my wife and myself, was to paint the underside of the soffit black as you can see in this picture. The flash washes out the black to some degree....then the inner part of the ceiling is painted a light brown.


I'm still chewing on the idea of painting the entire ceiling black. However, I'm still contemplating a star ceiling so until that is settled I will leave it alone. I will say, painting the underside of the soffit black made a BIG difference near the screen.

 

[sok454]

Awesome

 

[Iusteve]

Go black and DONT look back trust me. I have black in our dedicated theater and black in our basement family room and in all honesty it makes the room feel larger. It makes the ceiling disappear. It is a MUST.

 

[MatthewH]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sok454 /forum/post/20893778


its a dedicated room. Going w/ a grey wall.


Where is your Thread at?

Matt's Basement Theater


It is on the first page of the dedicated forum.

 

[tulsaweather]

My walls are a fairly middle tan, and I painted the ceiling the darkest shade of that tan I could get from Sherwin Williams.


Results are good, but not as good as flat black.


That said, you can get great results from non-black, but go as flat and as dark as you can....

 

[sok454]

Does it need to be primed w anything first? Ours are already painted white but didn't know if they should be primed w/ gray base or not.

 

[tulsaweather]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sok454 /forum/post/20894523


Does it need to be primed w anything first? Ours are already painted white but didn't know if they should be primed w/ gray base or not.

You'll always have better luck covering with less paint if you prime first. That said... I did not prime and it took two coats rolled on fairly thickly to go from the base ceiling butter tan color to the very dark tan.


If your ceiling is white, I'd be inclined to prime with tinted primer.

 

[gsearles]

Also I recall seeing lots of theaters with most of the ceiling a lighter color, but black at front near the screen. Apparently even just doing that part black makes a huge difference. I will likely do walls tan, ceiling darker but not black, but have dark carpet/velvet on a front stage, with a soffit over top that matches the shape of the stage, very dark. Anyone have pics of such a setup?


Greg

 

[Iusteve]

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF BLACK............REPEAT DO NOT BE AFRAID OF BLACK IT IS IS YOUR FRIEND!!!


You will be amazed how much it helps improve your PQ.

 

[MarkDub]

Go black paint at least on the ceiling. My wife was worried at first too, but actually liked how everything came together. You will not regret it, but on the other hand you might regret very much the annoying reflections the ceiling will produce if you don't paint it black!

 

[energyfun]

Echo all the other votes for BLACK CEILING cannot tell you how much difference it makes. Is a thread somewhere on here where guy put up black cloth or painted just the first 4 feet out from screen and made huge difference in picture quality. My whole ceiling is black and made even bigger impact as always get refelctions if have light color anywhere near the screen--it has to reflect all the way from screen back to you so making to the ceiling is a piece of cake.

Also looking at just your screen in a black hole (ceiling, surrounding walls all black) will bring a BIG smile to your face and looks cool too. I used Mickey Mouse Ears black from HD. Only trouble is painting second coat is a little hard to see where you painted on a black ceiling he he.

 

[Tedd]

I'd start by asking what lighting in this room? How many fixtures, any mixed lighting, wattage, dimmers, zoned....?


A white ceiling and light coloured walls (including the grey) is negatively impacting on your projector's performance. But by how much, is dependant on the screen. (A high gain screen will be throwing most of the light back at the viewer.)

 

[mizedog]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sok454 /forum/post/20893028


Just checked out your basement project... looks awesome man!


Nice work!


The wifey said its ok to paint black...but i'm just worried she'll freak out.

Wow. Thanks. I didn't expect that since I'm not finished and there are so many other awesome projects posted here.


It looks like a black ceiling is getting alot of support. I think black and tan work well together anyway.

 

[sok454]

Wifey saw pic of black ceiling in our basement... Loves it.

 

[finishingtouchcu]

I used a little black

in my theater and have NO regrets...
https://picasaweb.google.com/mahler007/TheatreRoom#