A home media room is essential for those who want to experience movies, games and music in optimal conditions. For others, a media room serves as a gathering place for friends, other loved ones and guests.
Regardless of whether your goal is to host movie nights in a home theater or get in some quality gaming time, you can set up a media room perfect for your every need - even in a small space.
Here are some space-saving media room design tips to help:
Sound
Proper sound design and setup is the first step in creating an excellent home theater or media room. While it might be tempting to default to the classic “surround sound” approach, there are other options for audio equipment setup.
One of the best tiny media room ideas is to invest in a bar-style speaker or soundbar. These efficient devices pump out an impressive amount and quality of sound, and take up less space than most surround sound speakers. They also provide more freedom to pursue your media room decor ideas without the hassle of multiple speakers and messy cables.
Seating
If the focal point of your media room is a television or projector screen, you’ll need to arrange your seating accordingly. It’s also important to find the right balance between comfort and smart use of space, which can be tricky in the case of small media rooms.
Sectional sofas are a great way to provide ample cozy seating options while working with the size of your room. Another space-saving option for seating are “zero wall clearance” recliners, which extend out into the room rather than back.
This saves you precious square footage when the seats aren’t in use, and also prevents needing to drag the chairs back and forth for optimal positioning.
Storage
Media rooms offering a dedicated environment for multiple forms of entertainment can get cluttered quickly. All your gaming consoles, stereo equipment, speakers, DVD and Blu-ray players all need surface space. Plus, they all come with their own connection and power cables.
Luckily, there are plenty of clever ways to store and arrange your media equipment without getting lost in the chaos. One option is to install floating shelves to keep components easily accessible while out of the way. This will also allow for adequate airflow to help prevent your devices from overheating.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to media room design ideas. Whether you want to create a home theater for watching movies complete with stadium seating, or a cozy atmosphere to immerse yourself in virtual worlds, you can use these tips to accomplish your media room goals in any sized room.
About the Author
Ryan Mandigo
Ryan Mandigo is an award-winning professional broker associate with Omni Real Estate. Originally a native of New Hampshire, his love of real estate began 30+ years ago while swinging a hammer on a framing crew. He has always had a strong passion for helping people, whether it be assisting a couple in purchasing their first home, finding a home that fits a growing family's needs, or downsizing for those with an empty nest. He strives to build strong personal and professional relationships with being a true believer in the power of positive thinking and always willing to lend a helping hand.
He is also a co-founder and board member of the Swing Fore the Kids organization. A local charity that is 100% nonprofit and their sole purpose is to help needy children and young adults within Horry County communities. He finds great satisfaction and pleasure in seeing how working hard for a great cause and raising funds can help others in need. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Waccamaw Youth Center in Conway, where their mission is to provide at-risk youth "A Place To Call Home"
When he is not working, he enjoys music, working around the home, spending time with family and friends, turning wrenches on vintage vehicles, getting some wind therapy on the Harley or chilling with their dogs.
Some quotes he lives by - "Do what you like and like what you do" - "You have to be odd to be number one" - "Dreams don't work unless you do" And one of his favorites. "Positive and enthusiastic thinking in all you do"
