An entertainment room is often a living room or family room, though this isn’t the only place in a home where a dedicated entertainment room might be found. Gaming rooms, screening rooms, and man caves are all popular types of entertainment rooms. They are designed to let you stretch out, crank up the sound, and bask in an immersive experience.
Of course, a great entertainment room is more than just a big screen TV, a blaring sound system, and a recliner. Lighting, furniture, and other special features make all the difference in transforming a spare room in your home into a cool, modern entertainment room.
The following are popular features you might want to employ in a custom entertainment room that matches your own amazing vision.
Comfortable Seating For Your Home Entertainment Room
Couches and recliners used to be the standard piece of furniture for an entertainment room. Though they have since evolved to meet a wide range of comfort needs.
Theater Seating
There are a staggering number of theater seating options to consider. Most of the best theaters take the comfort features of a recliner back and footrest integrated with other features like built-in cupholders and electronic controls. A few even have USB ports and other tech features built in to let you do things like charge your phone or pair your MP3 player to the entertainment room’s audio system.
Chaise Lounge
The ability to put your feet up and soak in a movie or relax into a great gaming session is something everyone can appreciate. A chaise lounge does just this and most of the best models are comfortable enough that you can take a nice nap.
Modular Furniture
This is one of the new concepts in functional upholstered furniture. This is a system of multiple single frames and components that you can change into chairs, couches, chaise lounges, and even integrated coffee tables, in just a few minutes. This is a great option for setting up your entertainment room to your tastes on your average weekday. Then when you want to have people over for a movie or an in-person gaming session, you can quickly switch things around to maximize the seating and comfort needs of the group.
Lighting
Lighting is another key factor in a custom entertainment room that speaks to a modern, cool, custom experience. Many of the coolest entertainment rooms have multiple forms of lighting that let you change the ambiance to meet your every conceivable need.
Recessed Lighting
Sometimes referred to as canned lights, tucking the light fixtures into the ceiling gives the room a clean look, while also giving you more control over how that light is used. It also tends to give the room a more-clean look without having to deal with any hanging light fixtures and the shadows they often cast.
Track Lighting
Track lights can be hung from the ceiling or positioned in key locations. They can be used to spotlight artwork and other features that you want to show off, or simply let you add light to the room without creating glare on the TV screen.
LED Lights
Light Emitting Diodes can be used to create directional light. They’re a great option for accenting display pieces, entertainment areas, and shelves. They can be tinted to any hue of the rainbow which allows you to enhance the ambiance of the entertainment room.
Digital Picture Frames
With the advent of cutting-edge photo technology and wireless connectivity, digital picture frames are a great way to display your art, family photos, or graphic creations. They also add ambient light to the room and the image can often be switched at a moment’s notice.
Fireplaces
Electric fireplaces are an increasingly popular alternative to old-fashioned gas or wood-burning fireplaces. They can be just about any size and installed directly into the wall, or another piece of furniture.
With an electric fireplace, you can set it up to just produce light, which is a great way to add ambient light or enhance the ambiance of the room without having to add heat to the room. This is a great feature for the summertime when you might want to feel like there’s a natural fire in the room while watching a movie, without competing with the air conditioning system.
When the mercury starts to drop outside, you can just as easily switch the heat on. This is a great way to warm up your entertainment room on a cool fall evening without having to turn on your home’s furnace.
Choosing Between A Flatscreen TV And A Projector
High definition 1080p and 4K flatscreen smart TVs are all the rage these days for their connectivity and interactive special features. Though high definition short-throw projectors are quickly rising to compete with flatscreen TVs in gaming rooms, man caves, and modern-day entertainment rooms. Of course, projector technology has also evolved from the sketchy image quality in the office meeting room.
Price
The price of flatscreen TVs is coming down steadily from the nosebleed price tags they had when they first appeared on the marketplace. Though when you compare a projector of the same image quality, you will likely find a short-throw projector to be more affordable.
Resolution
These days the cutting edge of screen resolution resides between 1080p and 4K ultra-high definition. The current state of technology means that you pay a little more for the 4K resolution with a flatscreen, but it is the inevitable wave of the future.
A lot of short-throw projectors are capable of accommodating 4K resolution. Though their natural resolution is usually in the 1080p range. This difference matters more for gamers than it does a small family that wants to cozy up to enjoy a Saturday movie night or a man cave to watch the big game. Especially when nearly all sporting events aren’t even recorded in 4K.
Size
This is a major factor where flatscreen TVs and projectors start to divide. The biggest flatscreens tend to be around 70-inches and tend to be expensive. To the point that many people choose to go with a 50 or 60-inch flatscreen, which has a more comfortable price.
With a short-throw projector, you are can generally get a much larger image. Some have impressive throw ratios that let you develop a massive image in a short distance. Of course, you have to make sure that you have enough open wall space to accommodate it. The color of the wall can also be a factor in image quality and brightness.
Ambiance
With a flatscreen TV, you can be in a fully lit room or a dark one with the shades drawn and you can still clearly make out the image. While brightness technology and resolution have improved in short-throw projectors most give you the best image quality in a dark room with the lights off. This might be just fine for gaming, but it can get a little gloomy for a family movie night where you want to watch back to back movies.
Refreshments
All of the coolest modern entertainment rooms have some type of refreshments on hand. After all, the last thing you want to do is run back and forth to the kitchen for a snack or to pour a drink. There are a few options to consider adding to your entertainment room to provide you, and your guests with a truly immersive experience.
Popcorn Maker
This is a great option for families that love a good movie night. They’re available in a wide range of sizes. Not to mention the ambiance that comes with freshly popped popcorn and melted butter on movie night.
A Home Vending Machine
There are vending machines that can be installed into your entertainment room that you can stock with all manner of snacks. It’s a great option for letting family members and guests choose their own snack options. With thoughtful stocking, it might even be a great way to encourage your kids to eat healthy foods.
A Mini Refrigerator
This is an increasingly popular option for keeping beverages chilled. Mini fridges have evolved in recent years from being cold boxes destined for a life in a dorm room to be very sophisticated refrigeration devices and wine chillers.
A Home Bar Or Liquor Cabinet
A nice cocktail or glass of wine is something a lot of adults appreciate when watching a movie or gathering with friends. A small, well-stocked station with trays and matching drinkware certainly adds a touch of sophistication. A locking liquor cabinet might also be a wise idea if you have teenagers in the house.
Wine Preservation System & Dispenser
When you open a bottle of wine air naturally rushes in and can start to oxidize the wine, altering the flavor and character in less than a day. A wine preservation dispenser lets you insert your favorite bottle or two to keep on hand for single glass pours. Some of the best wine preservation dispensers have internal temperature controls that let you set it just right for the vintage.
When you want a glass a small, surgical grade needle pierces the cork and extracts some wine, while simultaneously filling the void with stable argon gas, to prevent oxidating the remaining wine left in the bottle.
