It occurred to me the other day that I’ve never officially shown pictures of Matt’s home theater on the blog.
I think he’s noticed, too…so it was time to fix that.
While it doesn’t look like the rest of our home (who’s seen a white home theater?), we love it and Friday family movie nights are becoming a regular happening around here.
Matt did most of the work himself…
It’s come a LONG way, baby.
I answered some questions on the attic renovation here (back when I began this blog and my pictures were quite lacking). In case you missed that attic reno process, we put in the plywood floor down when we built our house, and added a stairway so we could finish it out one day.
That attic renovation was mostly what started this blog.
That and my desire to talk it all out.
The insulation/unfinished part you see in the before is where the theater sits. Our air conditioning unit was moved (we hired that out–and the basic construction of the theater, playroom, and writing room) and Matt and I did most of the finish work ourselves (laying the floor, adding bead board, lighting, baseboards, etc.)
And, of course, the decorating.
Matt built the risers (I definitely held one of those massive things on my back while Matt wired it all for rope lighting), the screen, the sound box, and the LED star field.
Yes, he did pull hundreds of led lights through tiny little holes in the panel he built (he + 2 more buddies)…and then hung it from the ceiling.
He’s such a handy man.
The seats were purchased on clearance in the scratch and dent section at Rooms to Go.
That Christmas, we didn’t do many gifts…I did get him the popcorn machine and some movie posters….movie room essentials.
We rarely get to fill every single seat, but four of the chairs are used quite regularly.
By the way, via the movie room, The Smurfs is my new favorite.
*other after’s in this post were taken by our good friends, Kevin & Layla Palmer
Wow it looks pretty amazing! I’m quite impressed
Thanks, Sarah!!
shaunna
This room is 2-die-4 and needs to be in everyone’s home. Overall, it is cheaper in the long run than going to a movie based on the prices and drink and popcorn. This totally rocks.
Thank you, Terry!
shaunna
That is amazing!!! I really want to make my basement into a theatre room, but hubby and I like to cuddle so we will probably just get a big sectional. Do you have a large TV or a projector?
Matt ordered a projector from eBay…I think. But it’s definitely a projector and Matt bought the items to build the screen himself. Hope that helps…go for it!
shaunna
Wowwee Zowwee!!! That is so super cool! I have to show my husband this, not that he has the skills to even build a square box, but he will just think it’s so awesome. If you’re having trouble filling up the chairs, I’m always willing to come over for mObie night…
Wonderful job your husband did on this!
Um…movie night”, not mobie night…lol…whoops!
You will never go to the theater again. Would love to do that. The wall color fits that space perfect.
what size TV is that? My husband and I keep debating about what size we should get for our basement/movie room
So, Lesley, this is Matt, the somewhat lesser known member of the West family, the screen is 120″ I did get it off of ebay for about $200 and put it together myself, which saved $$$! The projector is a Sony VPL-HW15 which I saved up for and used some Amex points as well, and got it for about half price. As far as size goes, I say it can never be big enough! The company on ebay also has 130″ and a new 150″!!!! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330650158577#ht_4409wt_1413
kinda crazy, but awesome! Just think, the 130″ is like for 70″ TV’s all stuck together!!!!
I know that is more that you really wanted to know, but I had to get my geek on for a minute! Thanks for your comments!
Matt
WOW! I thought you were going to say maybe a 70″, 120″ is crazy but it looks awesome and very well proportioned. My husband may now like that I read blogs all the time. I kept thinking a 55″ would be large enough but I can see now that he has won this debate and I will let him choose whatever size he wants.
Does hi-def work on projection screens? I don’t know much about them. We primarily watch sports and HD is a must. However with a screen that large maybe it doesn’t make a difference.
My husband would die! What an amazing theatre room. And I love how you have the candy and popcorn displayed in the back
Super cool! Who wouldn’t want a theater like that in their house?! Now our Friday family movie nights are going to seem a little less cool…
If I only had the space…one day! Where did you get the old wooden coke pallet…I’ve been on the hunt.
Ok. Now, I don’t know what the heck is going on down there in Alabama but OMG OMG OMG. I thought this was your inspiration photo and as I kept reading, I’m like, “you have got to be kidding me” “this is her theater”! WHAAAAAA? My husband would DIE for a room like this. I might actually like to hang in there also and I’m not a big movie buffer! Girl, what the heck have you been hiding this for…… ummm, hello, this is amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing!
What other rooms in that house of your s are you hiding!!!!!?
Thanks Jessica, this is Matt, and you just made my night!
Wow, that made me want to pop some popcorn and watch a movie!!!!
wow…quite a room! Very comfy seats! What fun! Thanks for sharing!! But, I am not showing my hubby…..
Please, oh pretty please… any chance of a post on how to build the screen??? I’m the handy one here and my husband would go nuts if I built this for him! I think a lot of ‘home theatre’ rooms come off as either a little over the top, or else they look a little TOO ‘DIY’ – but this is absolutely phenomenal! What an amazing job! WOW!
Hey, Jennifer, This is Matt, the one who tricked Shaunna into marrying, thank you so much! I commented to someone else that I bought the screen from ebay, yes I kinda cheated on that, but I had build one out of sheets that I had sown together before, which worked ok, but this one was awesome! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330650158577#ht_4409wt_1413 This is the link for one that is a little larger than ours, which was a 120″, but they have them range in all sizes. You still have to put it all together, which takes a little work, but not bad at all, you’ll just need a screw-driver and a couple of pairs of hands to help stretch the screen properly. But it is better that ones that are 3-4 times as much $. I have a buddy that decided to use some special paint and paint either the wall or some canvas, I can’t remember which, and that worked too, if you are trying to save every bit you can. But I will say that the ratio to which this screen reflected the light, and the velvet border which absorbed the light was an amazing value! Sorry for the Geek talk, but if you find that you need more information on the light reflection and absorption rations, you know where to find me…Good luck! If I can help anymore, just let me know!
Holy cow!!! Now THAT is a home theatre! I couldn’t imagine ever leaving the house to see a movie again. And hey, you don’t have to smuggle in snacks!
Shame on you for keeping this from us! What an incredibly handy man – what a team you two are. Keep each other.
)
Melinda
http://javatalkme.blogspot.com
I am so impressed (and envious) of your theater room, with all its little touches and yes, the LED lights. Way to go Perfectly Imperfect Family!
Holy Macaroni! This is just awesome. Matt – you rock! I’m loving those LED lights on the ceiling. Amazing!
Very fancy. Nicely done.
That is so cool. How long did the whole project take. From the photos it certainly looks like all the effort paid off.
That is an incredible set up! I don’t think I will be able to watch a film at home again without being reminded of this set up. Now just need to empty my box room…
Wow,
Beautiful home theater. I would love to watch a movie there.
Wowsa! My hubby wants one…heck, I want one! We won’t even talk about our teens! What kind of budget does one need to do this?!
WOW! It’d be great to watch movies here…but I still might like going out to a movie every now and then. This is fantastic!
So amazing and like some other people have mentioned you have me wondering what else you’re hiding from us in your home?! Love it and how fun!
AMAZING! I love everything about your home…. I dare not share this post with my husband because he’ll be wanting his home theater sooner rather than later!
Very nice! We have a media room set up very similar to this and I’m loving your choice of brown paint! Can you tell me what you used?
Thank you
Beautiful beautiful theater! It is all perfect! What is the approximate size of the room and how far away is the first row of seats from the screen? Thank you!
Wonderful!!!
AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!!! Thanks for sharing your wonderful space, as others have stated my DH would be in heaven if he had a room like this!! Matt, thanks for sharing your tips. Great job..
Wonderful! I love it….so where did you find the leather chairs? That is our big issue, the price on those…Thanks!!
whoops, just saw the comment about the clearance place! Thanks
You have given me so many Ideas. We are getting ready to start a Home Theater room we dont have as much space but it do able
. So Glad I came across you site.
Great result! Nice job.
//Matt @ the Custom Home Theaters
Looks excellent. Wonderful DIY job!
What a great idea, that is awesome !! For a long time I really want one of my rooms could be a theatre room, but it is not affordable so far…