There has hardly been a more obvious product of modern living than the concept of a “media room”. This novel idea has evolved over the first two decades of the twenty-first century into a multi-purpose entertainment area
equipped with an enormous flat-screen TV, possibly a console or two, and several extremely cozy seats with mobile coffee tables for drinks and snacks. This is a place where guests are entertained and where families
spend most of their time. If you plan to introduce such a space into your own household, here are some design considerations for a custom media room.

Think size and flexibility

Let’s get one thing out of the way first – a media room is not the same thing as a home theater. It actually entails this concept and far more than that. A media room needs to be a place where the whole family can have fun
and socialize at the same time. This means you’ll need a bigger room for this purpose and you need to consider reserving more space for it than you’ve originally planned because space needs to be flexible.

Chairs and tables need to be mobile, on wheels, easily adjustable. A media room also entails elements such as board games and music, so you’ll need to be able to create a dance floor as fast as you can. The most important design advice when creating a custom media room is to purchase pieces of furniture that can be attached and detached according to your needs – and which will still look good no matter how you arrange them.

Sound-absorbing appeal

Since this is a room where most loud music, bangs and explosions will reverberate, you need to think about good acoustic insulation and aesthetics. In other words, you need to consider fluffy furniture. Sofas that are big, fuzzy and comfortable, accompanied by thick curtains and some carpeting can do the trick. Acoustic paneling can add a certain degree of style to the media room, so look into that.

When it comes to the screen

Since the screen will be the centerpiece of the room and the main focal point towards which the furniture will be arranged, choose the biggest screen you possibly can and place a minimalist shelf on the floor below it – this is where you’ll keep your gaming consoles, CDs, maybe some extra speakers and other equipment. Make sure the shelf has drawers or another way to conceal all the items, so the area doesn’t look cluttered.

Now, if you are not particularly apt at choosing and installing components, it’s always a good idea to hire professionals to do a custom home theatre installation. They will have all the answers to the logistical challenges, from preliminary home theatre ideas and approved designs, to the final installation.

As far as lighting goes

Lighting is a crucial element of your media room. By far, the best type of lighting fixtures is the one that allows gentle dimming – the ambient type. This is very important when you watch movies or play games, as subtle lighting can help with the eye strain without compromising the quality of the picture. Of course, a little bit of lighting also goes a long way when you’re watching a horror movie.

Furthermore, these remote control dimmers can be quite useful if you are playing board games, talking or simply having a full-blown party with loud music. If you added a disco ball to your ceiling, nobody would blame you.

What about art and ornamentation?

Try to keep your media room clear of any art and ornaments. You don’t need decoration in a room that has such a clear and focused purpose, and it could only be a distraction. As we spend years living in a house, every now and then small memorabilia slip in – a boat model ends up on a shelf, a picture or a painting ends up hanging on the wall. If you want to keep your media room de-cluttered, clean, and yes – stylish, avoid adding any
unnecessary details to it.

In this space, the only frame that should be hanging on the wall is a TV frame. Appropriately, make sure the thick curtains are of the color that gels well with the rest of the room. As far as walls are concerned, you can go with white or a gentle hue of cream, sandstone or silver. However, it’s important to note these are not the rules. If you are imaginative enough, who knows what you can come up with.

Conceiving and equipping your own custom media room is an exciting endeavor. Once you are finished, you and your family will have a designated place where you will enjoy countless hours of fun. It’s not exactly a home theater – it is meant to be a modular space for experiences of shared entertainment. There is a social element to it that makes it a much more reasonable and welcoming addition to the household.