Planning to create a theater room in your home, or maybe upgrade your current one? Everyone loves a contemporary, on-trend feel in their home décor. But when it comes to rooms with very specific purposes, like a movie room or a home library, it can be difficult to break out of the standard image you have in your head.
Upgrading or remodeling rooms in your home is something that’s not only fun, but it’s sometimes necessary for a change in scenery and breathing some new life into your living areas. Whether you’re getting new, state-of-the-art chairs for your media room that reflect your ever-evolving aesthetic, or you’re looking to pick up some furniture on the cheap for your home theater to add a little bit of freshness to it, decorating is always entertaining and exciting. However you decide to go about decorating and designing, when you picture a private movie theater, what images come to mind? We’ll bet it’s either:
- Old-World styled with stadium rows of velour theater seats propped up with matching media room platforms, warm aisle and overhead lighting, and heavy velour curtains to match, all leading to a huge projector screen, with the projector at the back of the room.
- Modern-formal style with elevated rows of black leather movie recliners with blue aisle and underfoot lighting, all of the wine caddies and tray tables for your theater seating you can imagine, a ceiling-mounted projector, and a 4K screen that covers the whole front wall.
Are we right?
Well, now that online vendors of home theater equipment are a thing, homeowners everywhere are breaking the mold in their media room designs and finding what style of furniture for their home theaters works for them—with a wealth of resources in online shops and design sites that you just won’t find in media room showrooms, it’s not to get creative with it.
All of that inspiration for top-tier theater seating and home theater designs can sometimes leave folks wondering where to begin. Thankfully, as with all things interior design, movie rooms have certain layouts and key features that are on-trend, which is never a bad place to start—that premium seating with soft, tufted leather for your home theater is on-trend for a reason, right? So, if you’re looking for some fresh ideas for your home theater setup, there’s a lot of inspiration to be found. Here are the top 8 trends we’re seeing in home theater projects today:
Comfort is key.
More than design, people want movie rooms that are comfy. After all, what’s a good movie if you’re sat in a torture device? Home theaters are meant to be places to kick back at the end of the day and relax while watching a favorite movie or show, and the seating you choose for your media room should reflect that.
Ergonomic multimedia seating with features like powered reclining, or choices like theater-style sectionals and loveseats are changing the looks and layouts of movie rooms. With larger furniture pieces in your home theater like sectionals and loveseats, there’s plenty of room to lie down and get cozy—and don’t even get us started on the fabric or material your seating is made out of!
Opting for theater chairs crafted out of soft, cotton fabric—or microfiber theater seating if you want something really plush and soft—is a great way to ensure maximum comfort in your theater room. The best home theaters you’ll see online might even have some throw pillows added to their seating for an extra touch of coziness to really cement the feeling that this is a space people can gather in.
Streaming reigns supreme.
Gone are the days of ugly stacks of VCRs, DVD and Blu-Ray players paired with glass cabinets full of mismatched movie covers. Nobody is sad about that, especially the layout of your room—think of all the space you’ll have for more furniture without that cabinet, like media consoles for your home theater to house all of your electronics and more theater chairs with plush, microfiber fabric to have friends over for a movie night.
These days, streaming services are superior – not only do you not need all that hardware or those ugly cabinets, you literally have tens of thousands of movies, TV shows, sports games, and more, all in a little streaming device, or even built into your projector.
If you’re still hanging onto those DVDs and Blu-Ray discs for dear life, this is your call to action. If you enjoy having a physical copy of something, we get it. But, box them up, set them aside, enter the age of streaming, and get some of the greatest, most aesthetically-pleasing theater furniture to take that dreary cabinet’s place.
Atmospheres are immersive.
If you’re going to go all in on a home theater project, don’t stop at the one-yard line. Your home theater, complete with state-of-the-art entertainment sectionals, stocked mini-fridges, and games and movies galore, should be its own atmosphere—separate from the rest of your home and a sanctum that is chock-full of your favorite ways to unwind. Whether that’s sitting in some of the greatest chairs for your home theater you can get your hands on and popping on a movie, playing some pool or darts, creating an homage to some of your favorite films or games, or all of the above, the inspiration you can draw for your home theater is endless.
People are creating dedicated spaces that feel like a complete getaway from home; movie rooms you step into to instantly feel like you’re ready for a movie-watching experience that’s just like a real movie theater, but better, because you’re what makes your home theater unique—that’s just not something you’re going to get at your run-of-the-mill movie theaters. Rows upon rows of velour multimedia seating leading up to a big projector screen? Been there, done that.
Spaces are dedicated.
People with the room for it are making dedicated home theater rooms for exactly that getaway feeling we mentioned. Having that dedicated space to decompress, zone out, and relax, all while surrounded by some seriously awesome movies and theater chairs made out of impossibly soft fabric is important for tons of people—it offers a brief reprieve from the rest of your home and the stressors of daily life.
A dedicated space for a home theater allows for design that doesn’t have to conform to the rest of your home, and it gives the space an elevated feel. If your home is simple and pared back, but you want your home theater to have more personality with bright colors, abstract art prints, and theater chairs that have two contrasting colors on their upholstery, have at it. There are tons of ideas for more creative and daring home theater designs out there if you want to get a little wild with it—done right, even the most unique interiors can look luxury, and if anything screams luxury, it’s having a private movie theater in your home, no?
Or rooms are multi-use.
On the flip side, usable living space can be at a premium, and in today’s age, it’s entirely possible to have mixed-use rooms that still look good and don’t clash. Compact audiovisual tech and innovative home theater furniture design have made it possible to have it all – a living room with multimedia furniture, an entertainment room with a dedicated gaming space, even a spiffed-up family room.
Simply put, those multimedia chairs with red upholstery you used to sit in at the theaters might not look so theater-y these days, and they can easily blend into any regular living room environment. If you’ve got a grand idea for entertainment room couches in a living room to best take advantage of your space, go for it! While you might not be able to get away with rows of seating on home theater seating platforms in a living room (unless you’re into that), there’s a ton you can achieve in a multi-use room. A sound bar, big UHD TV and a home theater sectional sofa can take a living room from lived-in to elevated and high-tech.
Nostalgia is made new.
Okay, just because the Old-World velour vibe is traditional, doesn’t mean it has to be old-hat. The classic home theater was classic for a reason, and just because it’s a little outdated in today’s age, doesn’t mean you can’t expand upon it and bring it a little more up to date. People are taking that opulent décor to a new place with clean lines and grey and white leather entertainment seating—if you’re really wanting to pay tribute to velour theater seating, consider getting something made out of microfiber.
Like we talked about above, microfiber and anything lavishly comfortable is definitely in, and microfiber is just as plush and soft as velour, if not more. Heavy velvet curtains can totally still be viable pieces of décor for your home theater… just make sure to ditch the gold tassels. If you’re looking for innovative and modern ways to soundproof your walls, go with acoustic panels instead of gauche wall décor. With the right theater furniture design, you can have it both ways.
Convenience is crucial.
Just like zero out of ten people enjoyed fiddling with DVD cases, players, and menus, people also don’t like having to get up seven times during a movie to grab a beer from the kitchen or go pop another bag of popcorn. Enter the convenience of having a plethora of appliances and various other accoutrements for your entertainment room to make your experience vastly more accessible. In line with new-age nostalgia, we’re seeing retro popcorn makers in movie rooms, wine fridges, wine caddies for the theater seats, dropdown consoles, tablet control centers, and more. Gone are the days of having to pause your movie, get up off of that new cotton theater room sofa you just bought that’s oh-so comfy, and go grab what you need from another room—permission granted to sink into that couch and relax. Now just to figure out how to sit through a movie without needing a bathroom break…
Seating layouts are unique.
Yes, people still love stadium-style rows of theater seats in a movie room, but many people are moving away from that and into creative seating layouts. Multimedia sectionals, couches, sofas and convertible loveseats are on the rise. Multiple groups of seating like having individual entertainment room seating for 4 in one corner of the room with a luxe theater room sectional in another corner gives everyone options for where they want to sit—make it feel like a real room and tie the seating areas together with rugs too. Get a little side table for your media room, place it between some seating fill it with the essential snacks and drinks, and you’re set! Mix-and-match layouts are also popular these days, like a front curved row of recliners with a big sofa on a riser platform behind them. This would not only elevate the design of the room, but make it more versatile as well.
See? There’s a lot going on in home theater trends today, and we’re sure people will only get more creative as design trends change and home theater equipment continues to improve and proliferate. Don’t get stuck in a rut when brainstorming your media room design; mix it up and create a space that’s perfect for you and your family.