Cinema in the Next Room: The Importance of Finishing Home Cinemas

Entering a beautiful room, slowly sinking into a comfortable chair, and escaping from the world for a couple of hours thanks to the magic of cinematography – these are the feelings that a properly equipped and decorated home cinema gives to its owners. But it is very difficult to achieve the ideal balance so that the room pleases not only with a pleasant finish but also with a gorgeous picture with the right clear sound. In our company, several people work on this task at once: the customer, the designer, the acoustics specialist, and the AB architect.

The cinema hall must be homely. This word already creates an idea of ​​something as familiar and cozy as other rooms in the house, so modern technologies in this room should be combined with comfort and beauty.

What to Use for Home Theater Finishes

We have already found out that the home cinema is a harmonious continuation of other living rooms. And this means that for its decoration it is possible and necessary to use the same materials as in the rest of the house. The walls can be covered with paint or wallpapered, the floor can be carpeted, parquet, or laminated. Hang sconces on the walls or install special lamps. Paint the ceilings or order stretch ceilings. There are no restrictions at all in the decorative design of the hall: luxurious furniture reminiscent of secular living rooms of past centuries, or the restrained interior of a Gothic castle, paintings by modern masters or long-established artists, elegant tapestries or ornate bas-reliefs – any fantasy has the right to be realized.

However, it is necessary to choose the design wisely and accurately and take into account the features of each interior item, which we will discuss further.

Basic requirements for finishing

The main rule of finishing home cinemas is to maintain balance. It is important not to make a mistake with the placement of special acoustic panels for sound absorption or dispersion. They look very peculiar, so they will most likely have to be hidden behind a special sound-permeable fabric. It is necessary to carefully distribute hard surfaces around the room that will reflect the sound. If you neglect this point, you can end up with not very pleasant “special effects” such as a fluttering echo. Where possible, absorbing panels can be replaced with panels made of a material similar in acoustic properties. For example, our company uses perforated acoustic veneered panels BonitaCasa in wooden finishing.

You shouldn’t decorate the cinema room with shiny glossy surfaces and you can’t use mirrors. Reflections distract from what’s happening on the screen and don’t allow you to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the film. You should also avoid glare walls and ceilings, as well as noticeable massive decorative elements near the screen itself – this also distracts from the story!

Basic principles of rough finishing

Have you ever heard the sound of a spoon rattling in a glass of tea when you are riding a train? On the road, this sound goes well with the steady clatter of the wheels, it is good to think about the past or the future and look at the changing landscapes outside the window. But it is impossible to contain irritation when the same sound appears in the hall while watching a movie. The reason may be insufficiently rigidly fixed decorative finishing elements such as sconces or moldings, which at a certain moment resonate with the soundtrack of the film. This nuisance can spoil the impression of even the most box office blockbuster or sophisticated art house, in which the shortest glance and barely noticeable sound can turn out to be powerful artistic techniques.

To dampen unwanted vibrations of finishing elements, special damping materials can be used as spacers between different parts: NoiseBlock 2A, acoustic foam, and polyurethane sealants. Also, after completing all installation and finishing works, it is advisable to run a special sinusoidal signal in the range from 10 to 5000 Hz through the cinema hall’s audio system – the most dangerous frequencies in the resonant sense.

What is worth using

Let’s figure out what materials are advisable to use in the decoration of the cinema hall to get the most pleasure from watching movies:

1. Choose the darkest possible colors for all finishing elements, especially near the projection screen;
2. Lay a carpet or rug with a long pile and back on the floor;
3. Buy fabric panels that will cover the working acoustic surfaces, especially on the ceiling. There should be a working space of at least 10 centimeters deep behind the fabric;
4. Hang matte wood acoustic panels with perforations;
5. Use uneven relief surfaces such as decorative stone;
6. To “break” the geometry of the ceiling and walls in a special way for better sound reflection.

Main finishing mistakes

1. All decorative elements are made in light colors;
2. There are reflective surfaces near the screen;
3. The floor is covered with tiles, laminate, and other hard materials that reflect sound;
4. There are large surfaces without acoustic treatment: walls with wallpaper, simple wooden panels, etc.;
5. A flat ceiling that cannot become part of the hall’s acoustic system;
6. Use of acoustically opaque fabrics;
7. Excess of sound-absorbing materials;
8. Incorrect use of decorative acoustic panels;
9. Cabinets and shelves with glassware (yes, the beloved wine bar, unfortunately, will have to be moved);
10. Images behind glass.