Family room
Get the seating right. Great seating can make or break a media room. The key is making sure everyone has an equally good view of the television — sectionals often accomplish this while providing ample space. “Today’s electronic recliners and wedge-shaped sectionals mean every seat is the best seat in the house,” says Wiener. “Many recliners require 'zero wall clearance,' meaning they recline forward into the room, instead of back against the wall, which makes them a perfect choice in a tight space.” Wiener suggests installing floor receptacles beneath electronic seating for wirefree walls. If your space is carpeted, cut a channel in the padding to run wires invisibly to a wall outlet. A small slit in the carpet can allow the cord to run to the chairs.
Perfect your acoustics. Consider all the hard and soft surfaces you want in your media room and how they will affect the quality of the sound. “You can easily improve acoustics with a thick carpeting and soft Roman fabric shades instead of hard blinds to help control the 'echo chamber' that large rooms with hard surfaces often suffer from,” says Wiener.
The number-one question when choosing an end table: How tall should it be? The rule of thumb is that its surface area should be equal to or just below the height of the sofa arms. For a standard sofa, that's around 25 inches, but get out the measuring tape to be sure (I did, and it's a good thing — the arms on mine hit 28 inches). Most end tables are between 22 and 30 inches. If you can't find tables you like within your target height range, err on the side of shorter rather than taller. Styles that jut above arm level not only can look awkward, but they also can make it hard for people to set down a glass or pick up a book.
Bonus: a second look at separate. Sometimes the best way to deal with these two focal points is to separate them. This design makes great use of an angled wall while still making it easy to enjoy the fireplace and the TV at the same time. fireplace and TV Design tip: Connect your fireplace mantel visually to the main shelving. In a design like the one shown here, you also could carry over all three shelves to create a triple mantel.
AFTER: A clever storage system and ceiling-reaching stonework now surround the fireplace. Mounting the TV above the fireplace would've set the screen too high for comfortable viewing from the sectional, so Carlene had it hung at eye level to one side and the components put in a cabinet underneath. Cables running through a Smurf tube in the wall connect the components to the screen. And she made sure to leave enough room for a larger TV in the future.
The TV-over-the-fireplace debate was settled here with a compromise: The mirrored doors simply open on hinges to reveal the screen. The homeowner runs an upscale audiovisual company, so the TV is connected to centralized equipment stored in a closet under the living room stairs. Signals are piped through a high-end smart-home system, called Crestron, to TVs and speakers throughout the house.
Hang artwork at the right height. Galleries and museums hang artwork so that the midline (center) of each piece is 57 inches to 60 inches from the floor. (The average human eye level is 57 inches.) And you should do the same. In a room like this, where the ceilings soar, there might be a tendency to hang the art higher. But remember: It needs to relate to human scale, not the structure’s scale. If you’re not sure, take a picture. It’s remarkable how much a photo can reveal. Print it out or use Photoshop or an app to draw on the photo. This can give you a sense of whether a larger or smaller piece of art is needed or a tall plant might be best to fill a vacant spot.
Online design servies: ny choose to turn to design professionals for help. Of those hiring a professional for their project, 33 percent plan to hire an interior designer or decorator to help them from start to finish. Meanwhile, 32 percent said they would seek a few hours of consultation, 23 percent said they would hire a professional for a design plan and 12 percent said they would use online e-design services. The latter is a growing trend among homeowners seeking decorating advice. Many design professionals now offer online consulting services in addition to full design services. Catherine DiVirgilio started her e-decorating company, Blondiesloft, three years ago. She operates out of Madison, Alabama, but takes on clients all over the U.S. For $145 per room, she offers inspiration boards, design consulting and DIY tutorials, all exclusively online. She has her clients send her photos of their room, then she makes suggestions on furnishings and decor. When she finds a piece of furniture she thinks will work, she has her client use painter’s tape to measure out the piece in the room and send her a photo. If the scale looks right, she gives the go-ahead to purchase the piece. ...
Link multiple screens. If you have multiple TV screens, then it’s likely you’ll want to have access to the same channels, content and films on each screen. Traditionally, this required multiple (and messy) set-top boxes and complicated subscriptions, but now centralized TV distribution offers a more elegant solution. It allows you to store all of your television sources and subscriptions in a separate A/V rack. The content can then be sent directly to any screen in your home in high definition.
RC272-088 Name: Recliner Description: Leather: 088 Valor Chocolate G/S Inside Dimensions: 21 1/2"W x 21"D Seat Height: 21"H Arm Height: 24 3/4"H Dimensions: 40"W x 31"D x 41 1/2"H Weight: 110.00 lbs. Volume: 29.56 ft3 Product Specifications Manufactured By Hooker Furniture Sold By Benjamin Rugs and Furniture Width 40" Depth 31" Height 41.5" Designer Hooker Furniture Category Recliner Chairs Style Transitional Ready to ship to the Continental U.S. in 3 - 5 weeks
Features: - Requires 75% Less Labor to Assemble than Conventional Fans. - 11.5" Total Height - Ideal for Low Ceilings - Integrated White Opal Glass 100 Watt Halogen Light (Bulb Included) - 3 Taupe Concave Blades - 14 Degree Blade Pitch - Airflow CFM 4,600 - 3 Speed Hand held Remote Control with Full Range Light Dimming and Reverse - Cap for Non Light Use - UL Indoor Rated - Lifetime Warranty Specifications Sold By ALCOVE LIGHTING Width 44" Depth 44" Height 11.5" Category Ceiling Fans Style Modern $289
Technology increasingly helps. The devoted minimalist can stream movies from the Internet to be played on a big PC screen, rather than buying separate PC and TV hardware plus a DVR, cable box, smart TV box and all the rest. Or, better yet, buy an HD-TV projector system, like the Epson MovieMate 85HD. It’s a powerful, bright, high-definition projector with a built-in sound system. You can play movies, DVDs, TV shows or Internet content on any bare wall or any purpose-built projector screen. That means if you have a party, you can take the system outside. Or you can carry it from the living room to the bedroom. Or you can even take it with you on vacation. If you move to a different house, you'll have a lot more options about decorating without having to worry about where to place a big-screen TV. $895
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