An indoor home theater offers a good way to make sure you’re able to watch your favorite movies on the big screen from the comfort of your own house. With an indoor theater at home, you don’t have to worry about the weather or outdoor noise levels. You don’t have to hire experts to build a home theater for you. Instead, you can set one up on your own. From seating to sound systems and screens, keep the following tips in mind if you decide to do a DIY indoor home theater.

Choose the Right Space

Your indoor home theater should be in a dedicated space that you can use only for watching movies or shows on a large screen. If you’re in an open floor plan house, use a guest room or spare room that offers enough space. Being near the kitchen or living room in an open floor plan home makes it harder to control lighting and noise while also minimizing distractions. Your indoor home theater should provide room so that you’re able to sit back far enough from a projector screen or gigantic TV screen.

Control Household Sound and Natural Lighting

When you set up an indoor home theater, you’ll need to control sounds and lighting from other sources, such as household noise or natural light from windows. Light-blocking shades or other window treatments help keep natural light from shining onto screens. You can also block outdoor noises with thicker curtains on windows. For household noises, consider installing a solid wood door instead of a hollow wood door. You might also want to soundproof the room with sound-absorbing panels on the walls. This helps block noises from other parts of the house.

Install an A/V Rack

An A/V rack provides a convenient place to keep all the electronic components for your home theater, such as your Blu-Ray player and audio equipment. You can buy one of these racks or build your own, but make sure it has plenty of ventilation to prevent your equipment from becoming damaged.

Set Up Lighting and Sound

For a cinematic experience, consider installing recessed ceiling lights with dimmer switches. You can also add some elegance with wall sconces. Position speakers so that they provide the right level of sound on all sides. You can also ensure you have wonderful sound for watching movies by installing wall-to-wall carpeting, since this helps absorb sound rather than having it bounce or echo off bare surfaces.

Choose Comfortable Seating

Depending on your budget, home theater seating can range from reclining sofas and chairs to specialty seats made for these rooms. Arrange your seating so that everyone watching has an unrestricted view of the screen. If you’re going to have multiple rows of seats, you might put rear seats on a raised platform. This provides tiered seating that ensures unobstructed views.

Position the Screen

Whether you’re going to use a projector screen or an enormous TV screen for your home theater, it’s important to put it at the right height for viewing. Rather than placing it on a flat surface, suspend it from the ceiling or wall. This allows you to adjust its position as needed for the best viewing experience.