Home Movie Theaters

Acoustical treatment is an essential part of any great sounding entertainment space but most people look to hide it or subdue it with panels that blend into the room, often masquerading as modern artwork.

Then there are people who crave the unconventional — in this case, a home theater with unique aesthetics instead of the stereotypical designs often seen in Sound & Vision and other magazines.

This installation, by Ed Gilmore and Gilmore's Sound Advice of New York City, is notable for its open, multi-purpose layout and clever concealment of audio/video components when the system is not in use. In its resting state, the main room is a stylish, comfortable loft area, complete with brick walls from the original industrial building and floor-to-ceiling windows that peer out onto NYC's Tribeca neighborhood.

It’s no secret that there are a lot of fans of HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones who watch the show religiously. But for some, simply watching the show is not enough. We’re talking superfans who want to be transported directly into the world of Westeros, surrounded by the excitement and consumed by the atmosphere — every sound, every visual, and every emotion. Just ask Jacob Abbott, president of Nashville, TN-based custom-electronics design firm Visual Concepts, who worked with a GoT superfan to bring his dreams to life through one truly unique home theater.

Brace yourself for a tour of a most remarkable home theater, built in a 4,000-square-foot basement with an adjacent movie set that celebrates the owner's childhood.

Nestled among the rolling estates of northcentral New Jersey is a recently completed 22,000-square-foot mansion on 11 acres that represents the height of luxury. Among the usual features associated with such homes—the large and well-appointed kitchen with industrial-grade appliances, the sprawling master suite with grand bath and giant hisand-hers walk-in closets, the fully equipped gym area, the climate-controlled wine cellar, the multi-bay garage complex stocked with one or more exotic cars, the attached pool and cabana, and, of course, the dedicated home theater—is the extraordinary media/entertainment space you see here. Dubbed the Sports Room by the homeowner, it’s one of the still rare examples of a commercial video wall used in a residential application, and it is indeed the ultimate game day oasis.

Located in a 10,000-square-foot apartment that comprises the entire 52nd floor of The Point condominiums in Panama City, Panama, this 26 x 16 x 10-foot home theater adheres to the recommended proportions for well-balanced acoustics and good sound distribution.

The owners of this house were building their dream home, with the expectation of fully integrated systems throughout the house, which would include 12 televisions, multiple zones of music, a dedicated theater, interior and exterior lighting, security, and more. This kind of complex whole-home project is nothing new to Electronics Design Group (EDG), of Piscataway Township, New Jersey. However, the challenge here was that the house was over 100 years old and was being rebuilt to keep its early 1900s aesthetics.