BUILDING A MEDIA ROOM AROUND A TELEVISION SET

by Jessica Ackerman

Often, the television set is the largest item in a media room, so it is only natural to build your media room around it. 

Media rooms provide the perfect setting for enjoying movies together, or for playing video games and entertaining friends and relatives. 

Dealing with Wiring

With any television set comes a jumble of wires, especially since it is likely that you have not only a cable or satellite box hooked up to your television, but also a DVD, VCR, video game and more, all running from one space. 

Your media room will be more inviting if you can keep cords, wires, and other components hidden and out of the view of your guests.  Reducing the visual clutter of your media room may be as simple as selecting a good media cabinet with doors that close up to hide the television while offering plenty of storage.  A wireless speaker system will also help to reduce the clutter from wires and cords.

If your television is the size that can be fit easily into a media cabinet, go for it. This will also make the room more useful for other activities when you're not using the television. Of course, some televisions are "big screen" models that won't fit in a traditional media cabinet. If your television can be mounted on the wall and the wires hidden within the wall, be sure to consider that option.

Lighting the Media Room

Just like in a theater, you want to have optimal lighting for the media room to better enjoy watching television in this room. 

Consider room darkening drapes or shades so that you can view movies in the best light, even during the daytime.  Dimmer switches on other lighting fixtures allow you to turn the light "up" or "down" to suit your particular viewing style.

Audio

Making the room less prone to noise from outside may be as simple as installing an acoustic fabric wall that insulates the room. This also keeps the noise from your television and home theater setup from penetrating into other areas of the home. 

If you don't want to spring for soundproofing the entire home, considering soundproofing the wall that faces that part of the house that is often occupied. 

Consider a surround sound system for the most realistic theater experience. 

Seating

You can make viewing more pleasurable in your media room by installing the seating in the room at the appropriate distance from the television screen. Seats that are too far off certainly do nothing to enhance the experience of viewing but if seats are too close, the picture is distorted. This is particularly true of larger screen televisions.  Your television operator's manual will provide you with a recommended seating distance; some of the biggest televisions may require that you and your guests sit up to ten feet away from the screen.

Provide enough seating so that those who regularly use the room will have a comfortable spot to sit.

You might also want to purchase some bean bag style chairs that you can bring out when you have extra guests or stock the room with some floor pillows for times that your children might entertain their friends in the room.

Jessica Ackerman, designer and staff writer for WallDecorandHomeAccents.com, is quick to share his expansive knowledge of wine racks wall with anyone who wall hanging candle holders.

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