Home Theater Decor:
Build and Design Your Theater With Flair!
Adding home theater decor to your media room is by far and above one of the most exciting highlights of the design process, whether you just finished your project or you're looking to give the room a makeover. Decorating your home theater gives you the opportunity to express yourself and put your ideas and creativity on display. The decor you use goes a long way to setting the mood and thematic elements to your overall home theater experience. This is your space and chances are you have a lot of time and money invested in it -- so you want to make it as fun and inviting as you can for you, your family, and your guests.
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Personally speaking, next to watching some cool, high definition content on my big screen, decking out my theatre with home theater decor ranks right up at the top. However, decorating can also become the proverbial double-edged sword due to the fact that I often get frustrated by the limitations of my home theater room! I always find I want more space! On walls, on shelving units, around the perimeter of my room....If you've got a lot of cool stuff to display, you've got to be creative in order to make the best use of and maximize your available space.
If you're looking for ideas about how to decorate your home theater, then you've come to the right place. In this article, we're going to run through a host of ideas you should consider for your decorating your home theater.
Movie Posters/Poster Frames/Lightboxes
Movie posters are essentially the core element of home theater decor. For the most part, they can be considered interchangeable wall art, meaning you can swap out rather easily with most mass market poster frames. You could choose to display posters of your all-time favorite movies, upcoming or recently released movies of interest, or a mixture of both.Bear in mind that official movie posters are quite large (most are 27" x 40", but some are 27" x 41"), so unless you have a lot of real estate to work with, you may limit the variety of stuff you put on display in your home theater. Also, if backlit movie posters are part of your home theater design concept, you should carefully plan for the placement of the lightboxes not only from a logistical perspective, but electrical, as well. It's nice to conceal power outlets and cords to create a seamless, professional look. Be on the lookout for future articles we'll be posting to our site revolving around movie posters and custom backlit poster frames.
Signs/Displays
Marquees are a staple among movie theaters and often become part of the home theater design concept for enthusiasts, as well. These signs are a great way to create a grand entrance into your theater. I'm addicted to signs spanning many different flavors and use them often in my lineup of home theater decor. For those who are integrating a concession stand into the mix, signs that display fictitious (or real) items offered and their prices further add to recreating the movie goers experience. Mylar lightboxes (see our article here) is another way to add to the realism, highlighting the movie currently being showcased in your home theater.If you haven't seen one of these yet, I highly recommend taking a closer look at purchasing a DVD Marquee for your theater. These products are practical, functional, and relatively inexpensive. Essentially, these products provide a neat display piece for showcasing the movie you're watching in your theater using the DVD's case. The unit will be themed to the movies (often accompanied by text such as "Now Playing" or something to that effect) with an opening in the middle so the front of the DVD case can show through. To add to the presentation, some of these products come illuminated. Typically, they can either be sat on a shelf or mounted to the wall.
Movie Reels
In today's realm of digital theater, movie reels can seem somewhat nostalgic. Nevertheless, they are very versatile and can compliment the decor of any home theater, regardless of the theme, color scheme, or other elements you've selected as part of your home theater decor and design concept.You can find more information about movie reels on our site by clicking here.
Art
Displaying art in your home theater can take on many different forms. In addition to some of the things already mentioned in this article, you could choose to purchase movie themed wall art that is often available in thrift/discount stores or hobby shops. Alternatively, you could make your own art, such as finding some unique way of reusing advertising or other promotional items you've come to posess from your favorite movies. Perhaps you could create a montage of all of the ticket stubs for every movie you've went to see at the movie theater.I personally favor creating my own art as it adds a unique, personal touch to my home theater. But whether you make or you buy, incorporating art into your home theater decor is simply another way to personalize your home theater.
Standees
Although these are typically quite large, standees can add a new "dimension" to your home theater, both literally and figuratively. Most often used as to promote interest in upcoming movie releases or to promoted product sales, standees are designed with a 3D effect in mind. They are usually made of cardboard and portray a character or group of characters from a particular movie. The cardboard is cut in a way make it look lifelike. Some can even serve some useful function in your theater (such as additional shelf space for DVDs).If you ask, you can often get these items for free. Yep, that's right -- free home theater decor! Most retailers will often throw them out after they've been used unless one of the employees has expressed interest in keeping it. eBay's online flea market has a plentiful assortment of these things, mostly for newly released movies (whether in the theater or on DVD).
Autographs/Memorabilia/Collectibles
I've attended several conventions over the years and have been fortunate to obtain several autographs of various television and movie personalities, either on a photo or on a poster. These items now grace my home theater and are some of the things I most admire in my collection. One of the things that I would like to note is that you can frame these things in a variety of ways. If you've taken a photo with the person, you can double up the autographed photo with your own personal photo to make a cool display piece.What home theater decor would be complete without memorabilia/collectibles of your favorite movies? Many movies mass market a great many products geared toward both children and adults that not only make for a lot of fun, but also fantastic display items for the most proud aficionado. Personally speaking, I have an ever-growing collection of toys (action figures, Legos, playsets, etc.), statues/busts, pins/buttons, and other things among the decor in my home theater. I can certainly advise you that this can become both an expensive habit and logistics nightmare, but it's certainly worth it as I love the effect this has on my theater. I enjoy surrounding myself in paraphrenalia from the movies I love the most, even if it means I get called a "geek" every once in awhile.
Themed Furniture
While it's not that prevalent in the open market, you can sometimes find a handful of retailers (mostly online) that carry furniture geared exclusively for home theaters. Be forewarned though -- this stuff is really expensive to the average consumer. If you're planning on going this route, you should give careful consideration to what impact the home theater decor you've selected will have on your budget.Director's chairs are common to the product offering and add a nice touch to your seating arrangements. Custom home theater tables are also offered to go along with your seating, and probably represent the most diverse product offering of all themed furniture. The design features of the tables often incorporate something like a movie reel or filmstrip.
Acoustic Wall Coverings
Aside from the benefits these coverings have on the acoustic properties of your home theater, many are designed in such a way that they can almost be considered a piece of art.Novelties
If you still clamor for more as part of your home theater decor, a wide assortment of novelty items can be found to further add to the persona of your home theater design concept. If you're into whimsical, there's probably a little of that here also.- Clapboards
- Award Statues
- Theatrical Clocks
- Switchplate covers
- Die-cut Wall Sconces (great for adding additional lighting)
- Wallpaper Borders
- Pillows/Blankets/Throws (excellent choices for enhancing room acoustics)
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