Avoid These Important Mistakes in Home Media Room Design
Follow these tips to keep your customers happy and make sure your project is done on time and on budget
There’s a lot that goes into a successful home media room design project. If you want a happy customer and minimal hassle, you have to consider elements beyond simply what TV or speakers the client wants (not that those things aren’t important). It’s crucial to consider aesthetics, spacing, wiring, and other features; in fact, these factors are more likely to cause headaches down the line than whatever electronics you install. If you’re a builder, interior designer, architect, or other professional working in the Georgetown area of Kentucky, we at Rely Technology have some ideas that may help with your next project.
SEE ALSO: How to Create the Ultimate Sonic Experience in the Home
HOME THEATER VS. MEDIA ROOM
The first and most important element to nail down when designing a media room is this: Does your client want a media room or a home theater? These terms can be used interchangeably, especially among those not in the building or design trades, but you want to be sure what your client wants. A home theater is an isolated room with minimal outside light sources designed exclusively for watching visual media, while a media room is often a multi-purpose area with different space and lighting considerations. Be sure your clients know the difference between these concepts and understand which type of room they’re asking for.
LIGHT SOURCES
Because media rooms are often placed in common areas of a home, you’ll likely have to contend with outdoor light entering the room. Your clients won’t want to have to wait until evening hours to use these rooms, so be sure your design accounts for potential issues with natural light or glare. One easy solution here is motorized shades, which easily integrate with many home automation systems and let your client block out light with a single button press.
SOUND AND SPEAKERS
A media room is usually centered on the TV, which in most cases means everybody watching will have a good view of the action. However, just because everyone can see what’s happening on screen doesn’t mean they’ll be able to hear it clearly. The right speaker setup is a crucial component of media room design, both aesthetically and practically speaking. For smaller rooms, standing floor speakers take up too much space and don’t project sound well toward the back of the room. On the other hand, a larger space may require speakers with more power than a network of small wireless devices is capable of. Bottom line: You want to create a soundscape where everyone in the room has a pleasant experience.
HIDE THE WIRING
Let’s face it: visible wires are an eyesore in any room. This makes obscuring the wiring to the electronic components in your media room a vital part of your design process. Fortunately, there are relatively simple solutions to this problem. Wireless speakers can be an excellent choice for some rooms, but it’s also easy to simply hide wiring in the walls. You can take this one step further and hide the TV behind a panel or in specially-designed furniture, ensuring the room is both functional and pleasing to the eye.
GO WITH A PROFESSIONAL
If you’re looking for someone with design expertise when it comes to home media room design, Rely Technology has you covered. To learn more about how we can help you with your next project, visit us online, or call us at (859) 402-1413.