Integrating a Home Theater with Existing Decor

Home theaters are a popular investment. It provides an excellent way to watch movies and play games in the comfort of one's own home. But once they're in your room, what can you do about all of the elements of the home theater - how can they be made to fit into your existing decor? There are many different ways to fit home theater systems seamlessly into any room - as many ways as there are decorating styles. This article will explore some ways to accomplish this task, with varying difficulty and expense.

First step - decide whether or not you want your TV visible. An invisible TV can be a high-cost option, but can provide seamless integration in a formal living area. The Mirropane (PM Bedroom Gallery), Mirror Image (ad notam), and MiraVision (Phliips, not yet available in the US) are all ways to hide the TV itself. Flat-screen TVs can also be framed to match existing decor. These are offered by Mahalo, Frame My TV, and Westinghouse (available later this year), among other companies.

In general, though, it's not the TV, but rather the speakers, wires, and components that present a problem.

One option for components is to install infrared sensors. These sensors allow the components to be invisible, yet still controlled with a remote. Popular Mechanics offers a wonderful tutorial on this process. An easier option is to choose a TV table or component cabinet with doors that can be opened when the system is in use, and closed again when the movie is over. Many popular retailers sell cabinets and tables that meet this requirement.

For surround sound speakers in rooms with tile ceilings, the wires can be run up the wall and through the ceiling very easily. This process takes an afternoon (or less, depending on the type of ceiling) and effectively hides all of the wires from the rear speakers. A slightly more time-consuming job is running the speaker wires through the walls (be sure the wire is rated for this), which can be accomplished as noted here. Speaker wires can also be run along the baseboard, depending on the set up, and some surround sound speaker sets on the market today are wireless, eliminating the need for wires entirely. One of the more difficult and costly options is to use in-wall and in-ceiling speakers (see this site for more information.

What about the speakers themselves? There are quite a few easy ways to make them stand out less. First of all, try to find speakers that mesh well with your existing room. Secondly, pay attention to placement. If you are mounting them on the wall, make sure they aren't the only things on a bare wall - they will just stand out more. Speakers placed on shelves will blend in better when surrounded by books.

For the easiest, least expensive ways to integrate your home theater with existing decor, follow these simple steps:

1) Choose components that blend well with your existing colors
2) Plan carefully how you will set up your home theater system
3) Run wires through a drop-tile ceiling or along the baseboards of the room
4) Make sure your speakers aren't isolated