Home Theater Or Hybrid? Which Space Is Right For You
Posted on: 10 February 2016
If you are a homeowner who wants to remodel one of the rooms into a home entertainment center, you are facing a big decision. The stereotypical home theater system often includes a room that's dedicated to audio and visual entertainment, and nothing else. However, this means the room is used for essentially just that, and it can affect your home's ability to sell easily. One option is to make the room a hybrid room that combines all of the features of a home theater with a regular living space. Here's a look at how each style could affect your use of the room and your home's future.
Visual Effects
With a dedicated home theater, you don't have to worry about hiding equipment or sound proofing. People know it's a theater and expect to see special walls and lots of speakers and a screen. You can also really go to town with decorating and make the room look exactly like a movie theater if you want. Everything that you choose for the room, from seats to the color scheme, can be theater-specific. You can also have lots of equipment in there, from multiple screens to surrounding the room with speakers, and you can arrange the furniture to suit the acoustics in the room.
However, that does mean the room is going to be known as -- and probably used only for -- audio-visual entertainment. While there would be nothing stopping you from using it for other things like parties or general living, it wouldn't look like a room meant for general use. Guests might be afraid they'd accidentally damage equipment, or people could be distracted by the screens and start paying more attention to any TVs in the room, rather than other people.
One more issue is home value. A well-built home theater in a large home with multiple spare rooms can be an asset, but if the theater is in the only spare room in the home, it may make the home a more difficult sell should you try to move later on. You'd need to find buyers who are willing to have a dedicated home theater or who don't mind remodeling.
Hybrid but Hidden
On the other hand, a hybrid room -- a home theater that's disguised as a regular living room -- works well if you have limited space in your home. The room looks like a general space, so people can sit in there and read, chat, work, or do anything without feeling like they're in a movie theater. At the same time, those walls can hide excellent soundproofing material and screens hidden behind panels. But that means the construction cost of the room will be higher because you'll have to hide a lot of the equipment.
You'll also have issues with acoustics. The acoustics in these rooms can be excellent, but the rooms need to be carefully designed so that the furniture placement looks natural while still allowing listeners to hear great sound.
A room like this could be a great asset if you decide to sell. The buyers wouldn't have to use the equipment if they didn't want to, and they wouldn't have to remodel the room if they weren't interested in a home theater.
If you want to see examples of both regular home theater and hybrid rooms, talk to home entertainment system companies. They can show you floor plans, photos, and equipment specs so that you know what each type of room would require.
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