Home Movie Theaters

<I>We wired the room, installed the equipment, and calibrated the system ourselves&mdash;and we couldn't be prouder.</I>

Having lived in our home since 1979, we are the third owners of this tiny 750-square-foot, 1.5 story, 1943 frame bungalow. In 1998 we decided on some major interior and exterior modifications, which I designed and we had done. The exterior changes gave the house a fresh, neomodern look without spoiling the home's original character lines, allowing it to still fit in with our neighborhood. The interior changes opened up our main floor plan. I have since caught the carpentry bug and now design and do my own work.

<I>A reader finds home theater inspiration in his first theater, giving him the craving to upgrade.</I>

Although it took a total of two years and six months of hard work, an equity line is what really helped me finish my theater. Home Theater magazine, Audio Video Interiors, and the Internet were my main sources of information. The room's dimensions are 13.5 by 19 by 8.33 feet, with a closet in the rear that houses the component rack. I gutted the room to the studs, even the ceiling, and installed a dedicated power circuit for audio, video, and lighting. I ran all the wiring for low voltage in the crawl space and for high voltage in the attic. Some crossing was unavoidable, but, at 90-degree angles, I've had no problems. To begin color selection, I started with the ceiling. I simulated the night sky with Ralph Lauren flat paint in magistrate black. I took a paint chip with me to the garment district in L.A. and found curtain fabric. With those colors to work with, I picked out the wall and trim paint and the carpet to match. I already had the black leather furniture.

After several years of reading about the home theater experience, my family and I finally decided to convert some unused basement space into our own dedicated theater. Since I enjoy doing home-improvement projects, I chose to do most of the construction myself and to hire a reliable company to provide and integrate the audio/video components. I had constructed a small, built-in entertainment center a few years before in our home in Cincinnati, Ohio, but had never done a project as large as this.

<I>Everything I needed was online. </I>