Building a home theater can be a passion project, a weekend task, or a months-long job. Either way, once you’ve finished adding walls, running electrical, and installing floors, decorating time has approached. Today, Home Theater Mart has created your perfect guide to home theater decoration perfection.
Step One: Pick a Theme
What’s your idea of a home theater? Is it a classic movie theater or something more modern and sleek? The first step in decorating your theater will be to complete your mental vision of the space.
A classic theater might have velvet walls and sconce lighting. Something more modern might have slate grey walls with leather chairs. On the other hand, you could want something fun and playful and choose bean bags and bright movie posters.
Write out your vision; try using Pinterest to create a vision board. Whatever method you choose, it will help you decide what you can get and what you need.
Theme Inspiration
If you have no idea where to start, you’re in luck! We’ve come up with a few themes that should at least give you a place to start with your own personal home theater.
- Classic Theater: Think red velvet walls with sloped floors for tiered seating, sconce lights, and a popcorn maker. All in red, of course.
- Modern Theater: Think grey walls, black ceiling, inset lighting, leather chairs, and a sleek bar with snacks and drinks.
- The in-door/out-door theater: Try out a star-filled ceiling with a metal wall behind the projector, walls painted with a nighttime skyline, concrete flooring, and converted muscle cars or trucks for seating.
- Favorite Movie Theme: Do you have a favorite movie? Maybe Star Wars is calling your name. Grab black paint, red and blue lighting, and themed decor, and you have yourself a perfect fan hangout.
Step Two: Determine a Budget
If you have not yet planned out a budget, now is the time. While your vision might want hundreds of decor items and two popcorn machines, your budget might not allow for that. Being realistic will be vital in making sure you have money for movies when all is said and done.
Pro Tip: Don’t Overspend
You might think about putting a lot of money onto the credit card. We advise against that! While you will end up with the movie theater of your dreams, the bill you’ll be stuck with paying off could be too much to handle. Remember, you can always add more to your theater after the space is complete.
Step Three: Make a Final List
With your budget and theme in hand, it’s time to make a list of the items that you need and can afford to start your home theater. If you can’t get everything at once, focus on a mix of big and small things so that the room still looks complete, even if it doesn’t have everything.
Final List Inspiration
To help you get started, we’ve created a quick list of the top things you have to have in a theater. You may already have one or two, and that means you’re off to a great start.
- Paint
- Flooring
- Controlled lighting
- Sound System
- Projector
- Seating
- Snack area / Snack bar
- Fridge / Cooler
- Movie posters
Step Four: Find Your Items
With the list in hand, it’s time to find the exact things that you need to finish your space. This will take the most time of the whole decoration process - for a good reason! You need to find pieces that match your ambiance and theme.
We recommend waiting until you have every piece picked out before buying. If you buy one thing, then find that nothing will go with it, you’ll either have to return it or change your whole theme depending on how much you spent.
Pro Tip: Try HTMart
Take a look around at HTMart to find everything you need for your home theater decoration needs. We have everything from star ceilings to seating and concession stands. You are all in one shop. If you need help, contact us today, and we’ll help you pick out your decor!
Step Five: Buy & Install
After you’ve bought everything, it’s time to install your home theater. This could be as simple as telling people where to put things or as complex as getting on your hands and knees and bolting everything together yourself.
Final Pro-Tip: Bribe Your Friends
Think about who you want to spend time with in your home theater. Are they in that room with you working? If not, call them over! Tell them to bring their favorite movie for a party night and offer beer, pizza, and popcorn to go around. It’s a win-win!