Floor Lighting....just like the real thing

I always liked the appeal of the real movie theaters...but without the distractions of cell phones, etc. I also wanted a way for a viewer to leave the theater quietly and safely without disturbing others -step lighting was the answer. And as it turns out, the stuff I installed is the same stuff you see in your local theater. This is something that could have been easily overlooked, but it really made an impact on my design.

Zoned Mood Lighting: Wall lighting, ceiling lighting, etc

Proper lighting was essential. Lighting sets the mood. My goal was to have several zones of dimmable lighting that I could configure for different settings; bright when people enter, dimmed when watching previews, and different levels of dark for watching a movie vs watching TV. Lighting design is huge! Controlling it from my seat was also a very important design.

Seperate Equipment Room with easy access

Equipment. It's noisy, creates heat/light, and can be a distraction. Although it looks cool to see a large rack of organized equipment stacked neatly, I wanted it out of the way yet very accessible. A rear equipment room was the perfect solution...with a hidden door. I was able to design a door that blended seamlessly with the walls and trim and when opened it first appears to only be a rack of components in the wall. However, the rack is wheeled and can be pushed back easily allowing entry into the equipment room from the theater. I also wanted to vent this room to exhaust all the heat and design this room as both the theater's and entire home's distribution center / server room. This room often goes unnoticed as was my intention.

Infra-Red Distribution

Technology. A theater can become complicated to operate. Turn on the projector, DVD player, computer, lights, switch sources, etc. A well thought out design is often overlooked. A infra-red distribution system is the backbone that allows a device, usually a remote control, to control all the devices that are out of sight in the equipment room. It is not as complicated as it sounds, but it requires some wiring, so incorporating this into the original design was important.

Conduit for Wiring

Wiring....lots of it. I wanted to be able to pull and add new wires at any time. As technologies change I want to be able to swap out audio and video cables as required. HDMI will surely be replaced eventually and I want to make sure that my theater can accomodate the latest technolgies that a new projector or speakers will throw at me.

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