When renovating your home, many people decide to convert their basement into a home theater. The open space and lack of windows make for the optimal viewing experience. While creating a home theater may seem like an overwhelming task, there are really only a few items that you need to purchase to help make your dream a reality.
First and foremost you’re going to need a TV. LCD and plasma TVs are certainly the most popular choice due to their space saving nature and exceptional picture quality. Once you’ve chosen the perfect TV, then you’re going to have to decide how you want to present it.
TV wall mounts are a popular choice, however most basements have cement walls which can make for a difficult and costly installation. In most cases a TV stand is a more practical choice. The key is to find a stand that matches the décor of your room, while still offering the support and storage capabilities you need. Some TV stands come with component shelves for your DVD player, cable box, and other AV equipment. If your TV stand does not offer these features, often times you can add shelves and other options as they become necessary.
Choosing the right home theater seating is also an important decision. In many cases a couch or loveseat will suffice, but if you are intent on enjoying the genuine theater experience, than you may want to consider installing authentic home theater seating. These seats are similar to those found in movie theaters, but are obviously much more comfortable and often times made of quality leather.
Adding surround sound speakers is yet another great way to add depth to your new home theater. Speakers can be placed strategically around the room to offer the ultimate stereo sound. This is particularly enjoyable when watching action movies, where explosions are plentiful.
By adding these simple items to your renovated basement, you can help convert a once dark and dreary storage room into a wonderful escape from everyday life. From movies, to music, to video games, you can be the envy of your friends with the best home theater set up in the neighborhood.
Tips for Turning Your Basement into a Home Theater
10 OF THE BEST BASEMENT DESIGN IDEAS
There are so many different basement design ideas that it is hard to know where to start. Here are then, in no particular order, are a collection of some of the best basement ideas:
1) Basement Home Theater - With the proliferation of reasonably priced LCD flat screen TV's now, this basement design idea is one of the most popular. If you turn your basement into a movie/TV room you can set up great speakers and have a great movie experience whenever you want. It may even save you money on movie tickets!
2) Basement Workout Room - More and more people are buying tread mills, weight sets, and elliptical machines and what better place to put them than in the basement. Do up the room nicely and you have yourself your own private gym!
3) Basement Workshop - If you have enough lighting and door space to get things in and out, a basement workshop might be right for you. Working in your basement in the cold winter months would be a lot nicer than in that cold garage.
4) Basement Bar - If you don't have enough space to entertain upstairs, you might consider moving the party downstairs. This is a great idea for some smaller houses. If you can put in a mini kitchen in the basement and some fun furniture you are ready to party with your new basement bar!
5) Basement Office - Many people need to work at home in today's modern world and moving the office downstairs to the basement is a great idea to separate work from play. Making a basement office also frees up a bedroom or the den where the office was.
6) Basement Game Room - Put in a pool table, poker table, or a ping pong table along with a big TV and you have yourself a game room for everyone to enjoy. Adding a pinball machine will really add to the ambience of the game room!
7) Guest Bedroom - Turn your basement into the guest bedroom and free up a room upstairs for yourself. This will work best if the basement has a bathroom and a shower of course.
8) Basement Storage - If you positively can't think of anything else to do with your basment, you can always use it for storage. If you do though, make sure you are able to keep it dry. A cold, wet basement is not a good storage place as the things you store might get ruined.
9) Basement Wine Cellar - A cool basement is the perfect place to store wine. Wine is becoming very popular now that it has been acknowledged that it is healthy and so now is the perfect time to turn that unused basement into your own wine cellar.
10) Basement Sauna - A sauna needs a special place and a basement is perfect. If you like saunas you know that extreme heat can make you feel great. Putting a sauna in the basement is several steps up from just getting a hot tub!
TURN YOUR BASEMENT INTO A POKER ROOM
If you are trying to come up with some good basement ideas, how about turning your basment into a poker room? Poker is at an all time high in popularity and people all over the country are including poker as one of their recreational activities.
The basement is a perfect place to set up your poker room or cool basement game room because it is removed from the rest of the house and people can stay down there late at night and not disturb those trying to sleep. The basemtn is also a place where you can decorate it just the way you like and not worry about it clashing with the design of the rest of the house.
If you are going to play poker in your basement, you can set up the room to include a professional poker table, large flat screen TV, a bar or refrigerator for all the refreshments, and maybe even a pinball machine. Put a good pinball machine in your basement poker room to take out your aggressions on after a bad beat!
If you are going to set up a room in your house to play poker in, the basement is for sure the best place to do it in. The basement is the best place to get away and have your own personal poker part. Cool finished Basement ideas like this will make your house the fun house on the block!
Basement Design for Do It Yourselfers
Today in 2008, basements are no longer viewed as that extra area under the house. If a basement has the right interior design, it will add extra space for you and your family to use. It will also add significant value to your home. Some creative basement design ideas will help you find the right solution for your unused space in the basement.
The most important part of remodeling your basement occurs well before you ever touch a tool. In your planning it is best to view the unfinished basement as an empty canvas and be able to freely create anything new in addition to your basic living needs.
Are you a do-it-yourselfer interested in getting help planning or designing your basement? Several designers have made a career out of basement design and it is big business today, but you may want to design the room yourself.
One of the first things you have to consider in a basmetn idea or redecoration is the lighting. Not enough overhead lighting can spell doom for the design and the room. Since basements do not normally get a lot of natural lighting, you might want to make sure your basement design has plenty of overhead lights so the basement is not so dark when you are trying to enjoy that area.
You will probably want to carpet the basement floor and the stairs that are accessed from the inside of your home. This will make the basement feel more "livable". When finishing or remodeling your basement, make sure you paint the interior surface of the basement wall with a high quality waterproof and mildew resistant basement wall paint. Basement design ideas point out the suggestion of using bright colors for the walls, furniture and accessories.
The best basement design idea will make sure that the end result is a room that does not look like a basement. Remember, that great basements improvement design can increase the value and ambiance of your home and the quality of you life.
Basement Ideas – Basement Home Theater
This is becoming one of the more common basement ideas as new technology makes it cheaper and easier to build. Now that LCD flat screens along with awesome stereo sound is easy to find, a basement home theater is the dream of many.
Make sure you pick a flat screen that is proportional to the size of the room. LCD has overtaken Plasma in popularity now because the prices have come down and LCD flat screen tv has a longer life expectancy than Plasma. Remember, you want to buy a flat screen that is big enough to keep you happy for many years.
Many people forget that the screen is only half the experience of these basment ideas. If you get a great screen but have poor sound you will find you and your friends are highly disappointed. You need to get a high quality stereo surround sound system that will take advantage of the high-end sound capabilities of today’s DVD’s. Some of these systems are fairly expensive and you need to consider this before you dive in. For the best sound, make sure you mount your surround sound speakers on the side and rear walls.
Don’t blow all your money on the flat screen and speakers. Any basement home theater needs to have comfortable places for everyone to sit. Soft couches and chairs are a must to make this the room everyone wants to hang out in. A nice plush carpet also goes a long way in making the room visually appealing and comfortable. Basement ideas like the basement home theater are what make your home a special place to live. If you do it right, you will be rewarded for years.
