It’s not just another TV room!

Jess and Peter have a great room off of their home office.  It was initially built to be a bedroom, but we can think bigger than that. After a little brainstorming, we decided to create a home media room so Peter, Jessamyn and their various house guests can enjoy TV and movie watching to the fullest.

Lounge and luxury is what I am talking about! That means adding, among other things, comfy seating like a sofa with a chaise. Because this is a separate room, we can really have fun with the seating, and not worry if it the set up “matches” with the décor in other areas of the house. Luckily, Jess and Peter found the perfect piece for just this purpose; a stylish sofa with a chaise with an extended footstool so you’re feet come up and you are ready to relax and enjoy the show.

Next we had to think about the appropriate lighting for the room – there are varying levels of lighting such as overhead, task and ambient. We had to think about placing the overhead lighting on a dimmer, in order to control the brightness of the media area. Task lighting includes items like table lamps, and are great if they allow three-way bulbs so we can have low, medium and high light settings. Ambient is the mood lighting, or indirect – like candle light and up-lights in the corners of the room. These help to create the atmosphere you’re looking for.  Now all these options do not have to be in use at one time. I personally recommend selectively choosing which one to use in your room, but lighting really is all about options and the ability to change the room according to how you feel.

So, our next task was to decide what to put the TV on. The options here are really incredible with the invention of the flat screen TV; these eliminate the need for big and bulky entertainment centers. A low-sitting console will put the TV at the right height for optimal viewing pleasure.  Did you know that most TV's aren’t placed at the right height? Flat screen and HD's should be at “sitting eye level” to capture the full potential. Hooker Furniture has some outstanding TV consoles. The low profile console in the Kendra line has a great, clean look with loads of storage and style. Others include open shelving for a more contemporary look and bookcases for storage and display.  The best thing about these units is the organization of the components and the ability to hide all the cords. Electrical cords can create the biggest mess when it comes to audio visual rooms.

Now, I told you Peter and Jess have a great room and here is the reason why. This room has a closet that can be converted to hold all the media storage you will ever desire. All at your finger tips in the room they are to be used in, which is another reason we chose to make this the media room. In addition to VHS, DVDs & CDs, this closet needed to house a large board game collection.  We just added shelving that was 18-20” apart vertically, which allows for storage containers or baskets that are readily available.  Adjustable shelving allows for the height of the supporting shelf to change based on the type of media being stored on that shelf.  Everything now has its own place and can be found without any hassle.

If two people are sharing the closet, look to use two different colors or types of storage container.  This makes it even easier to find what you are looking for. There are many online closet organizer sites available. I use easyclosets.com. The site lets you come up with your own ideas and easily browse ideas. It really gets your imagination going!

Last but not least, the color on the walls really plays a role here. Look for something that is soft and muted like a gray blue or sage green. Even a Khaki color will give that relaxing feeling. And don't forget the flooring! Carpeting is great for the acoustics, but if you have hardwoods a nice area rug or bound piece of carpet will help control the sound.

Well now we are all set. The sofa's in, TV is on, sound checked and the lights are low!  Just add the popcorn, a nice cold beverage, and it is viewing time! ENJOY!
 

• Laura's blog