Home Theatre

Dream Makers Home Theatres and Audio Solutions

A Guide To Design Your Home Theater

Designing a Home Theater requires intimate knowledge of many industries. These include A/V, HVAC, Seating, Lighting, Construction, Acoustics and of course Interior Design. A precise integration of all these disciplines is required to achieve your ultimate Home Theater.

Our team members have a very good experience in designing, manufacturing and installing Home Theaters. We’ve have encountered and overcome just about any challenge thrown at us.

Beyond our technical and creative expertise, you will enjoy working with us because our number one goal is to connect with you. This connection allows us to fully understand your vision of your theater.

Having an intimate understanding of your project allows us to anticipate any potential problems. It also lets us provide you with creative solutions that will elevate your theater to the next level.

Step To Create A Successful Home Theater

Step 1 – Create A Budget For Your Theater

Create a realistic budget. Once you have a comfortable range to work with you then need to determine how you want to allocate your budget. Break this down into the following 3 categories: A/V, Interior Design/Acoustic Treatments and Theater Seating.

You then need to determine how you want to prioritize your budget. If sound is the most important part of your theater, you may invest more money in your speakers and Sound Control products. Other people may be more interested in having the best and largest screen possible and will invest heavily in a projector and screen. Furthermore, some people want to create a really elegant design for their theater and will prioritize these element in their budget.

At the end of this step you should have a good idea of how much you want to spend on your equipment, décor/acoustic panels, and chairs.

Step 2 – Home Theater Dimensions

Many clients first question is often “What size should my theater be?”. If you are building a new home or adding on a room, you may have the freedom to determine the precise size of your theater. In this scenario, determine the number of chairs that you want and how much space you need behind the chairs for a counter top, bar, storage etc. If you want two rows of 4 chairs without anything else in the rear part of the theater, then you really don’t need a theater much larger than 14′ x 21′. For each additional row of chairs and/or bar counter, you should add 6′-7′. But remember, the longer you make the room, the wider the room and screen needs to be. The width of the theater doesn’t necessarily need to be more than 36″ – 72″ wider than the width of your seat configuration.

If you want to be extremely precise with your dimensions, there are several “Golden Ratio’s” rules you can use as a guide to your theater dimensions. The rule that we like is to use the height of your room as the base figure. In this scenario the ideal width would be 1.6 x height; Length = 2.6 x height. So for a 9′ ceiling your width would be about 173″ and your length would be about 250″.

If possible, try to avoid a square shaped room, this is acoustically the worst shape to have. This is one of the reasons to use Acoustic Panels. In most cases it's unrealistic to think that you can be that precise with your dimension and that’s OK. The acoustic panels will cover up the imperfections in your theater’s shape and size.

You can design an amazing Home Theater from just about any size and shaped room. You just need to work with an experienced and creative Home Theater Designer to maximize the potential of your room.

Step 3 – Select your A/V Equipment

Now that you have a general budget and room dimensions, you should consider the equipment for your theater. The screen size is very important to your overall theater experience. The optimal viewing distance is about 1.5 x the diagonal length of the screen. So a larger room will require a wider screen. If the room isn’t too long, don’t purchase the widest screen available because you will be seated too close to the screen.

You should consider purchasing in-wall or ceiling speakers for your surround sound. These can easily be hidden behind acoustic panels or placed in columns. Speakers that are mounted on the walls are an eyesore and usually interfere with the design concept of the theater.

As previously stated you need to determine what is most important to you. A true audiophile will focus on the Audio and Sound Control products of the Home Theater and allocate a larger percentage of their A/V budget to these elements. Other people may place more emphasis on their viewing experience which will be reflected in a better projector and screen and not spend as much on their Audio system.

We Sivaji Group will be able to get you the best A/V equipment as per your requirement and budget.


Step 4 – Theater Design Concepts

At this point your focus should be on the interior design of your theater. Your choices are limitless, so start by considering if you want a Traditional, Modern or Thematic Home Theater.

Many people believe their theater decor should be consistent with the rest of their home. That’s fine, but your theater is the one room where you can express your true personality and passion.

We create your best Acoustic Interior Design for your home theater room as per your requirement.

Step 5 - Acoustic Interior Design and Home Theater Installation

Once the initial phase of wiring and construction is completed, we can now start installing the acoustic interior design and A/V products that will be visible in the theater.

Interior Design:

Acoustic Panel, Columns, Wood Trim, Sconces, Proscenium, Stages, Curtains, Carpet, Chairs, Fiber-optic Ceiling and any other custom architectural products for your theater.

​Electronic:

Speakers, Audio Equipment, Lighting Control, Projector, Screen, Step lights, other lights in the room.