Current equipment

The goal of this project is to get up and running as quickly as possible and continue fleshing out the room later and upgrade current components when the room is finished.  Right now I'm going to use my computer (1100 amd, 16 gigs ram, 5770 gpu, Essence ST sound card, HD 600 headset, lots of media) and eventually replace it with an htpc laptop (so it can be used as mobile working with wifi when I'm not at home), along with a dedicated blu ray drive, along with whatever else media might come in that someone might want to watch (I can only thing of VHS tapes currently).  I think I'll still want to stick with headphones and not speakers (no soundproofing spare room) and get a splitter in case I have company. 

This setup also works well for me that I don't have to invest in an expensive speaker system (though will invest in better headphones), don't have to worry about wiring, don't have to worry about soundproofing, or worry about noises a projector or the equipment might make.  I can also turn up the volume without worrying about it disturbing anyone else in the house. 

So, here is what I'm hoping to buy before Christmas to turn a spare bedroom into a killer exercise room/home theater.  The order listed is how I'll buy it.

1.  Curtains - There is one window in the room so will need something to block out the light.  For most other people getting something to help with soundproofing might be a consideration.  As this room is currently a spare room that is being used for storage, I'm not going to care as much about if the curtains are ever open.  They simply won't be.  So if I need to tape the ends up to the wall or stitch the middle so no light comes through that's fine, so long as it's not obvious and tacky. 

Searching for "home theater curtains" on amazon I find something called "blackout curtains".  That's what I want.  Now I need to choose a color.  2 main color thoughts are black and a dark red.  I was trying to look for famous movie theaters pictures but couldn't find anything.  Black is a good color because I like it and most of the home theater chairs I found are black.  It also kinda blends in so it will look nice without drawing attention.  Next color is a dark red.  I've seen a few theaters that have a nice dark red velvet curtains.  Problem is, while it looks really nice, I think it will draw more attention because it's not a standard color here.  I think it will look nicer and more of a theater color (to me) than black, however, if it draws attention it will make the room look more obvious that it's not a real home theater.  I think black will be my color of choice.

In the future, if it doesn't block out all the light, I'll put some screen tinting thing on the windows to help a little.  Again, the window isn't used so won't care much about it.  Also I typically watch movies after 5pm when it's getting more darker out.  I might even start watching main movies (ie blu rays on movie night) after 9p to have late night movie watching while everyone is asleep.

http://www.amazon.com/Maytex-Velvet-Blackout-Panel-Curtain/dp/B002E1AXV4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1312141786&sr=8-2

40" wide each so 2 should cover the window. 

$48 for the curtains + if I need to find more creative ways to help block out the sun during the day time.

Introduction

I've been obsessing over a home theater for a long time.  I used to have a projector and screen and it was a fun way to watch movies.  I've also decided Friday night is movie night.  I have an idea of what I want to do, but don't have a lot of money and space.  But I want something that's going to be really nice quality movies, and something that looks halfway nice (emphasis on halfway) and that performs as a theater (nice and dark and a room I'd want to be in). 

So the criteria for my personal home theater (pictures to come by end of the year as I get the room more set up).

1.  Really big screen.  The room I'm going to be putting it in is 10 feet by 12 feet.  A 120" screen should just fit along the 10 foot wall.  A seat 12 feet away is a good viewing distance (maybe a tad bit close, but who cares?).  I was able to find a projector with a small throw that if I attach it on the back wall (room has a ceiling fan so wall will do) it will fill up about 110". 

2.  Good quality picture.  It's movie night so want it to be nice.  If I could afford a better projector I'd learn of other things to look for.  Again, I was able to find a projector with a small throw that will almost fill the screen and is a 1080p.  Potential for 3d was a goal, but couldn't find anything and I couldn't find any movies in 3d I'd want to watch.  If I was gung-ho for 3d I'd look for throw + 3d and see if any in my price range then look to see best resolution in my price range. 

3.  Low light levels.  I don't care for noises so much because I'll actually be using headphones instead of a speaker system.  So I need black out curtains for the window figure out what to put to block out light from the hallway through the door crack.  I'll probably find a nice thick rug or towel to put in the hallway so the door can still be openened and to conceal cords from computer in next room. 

4.  Half way decent looking.  I'm buying a tripod screen because it's cheaper, more convenient for me, and I'm hoping I can get the 3rd leg inside the closet behind it.  Either way, just a tripod right there isn't pretty.  So I want to put some storage cubes in front of it to hide the bottom of the screen.  This part of the room won't be used anyways.  And instead of just storage in front, which will look tacky, want to cover it with curtains to make it look like a mini stage.  I found a nice light movie poster frame that you can change posters while hung.  So going to start buying the movie posters of the movie series of the week.  Just for pure decoration just to make it more of a theater room instead of what it really is - a room with a projector screen in it.

Problems with room

Frankly, it's not a spare room.  It is supposed to be an exercise room.  A bowflex will be put together before the room is complete.  A treadmill is waiting for the bowflex to be put together.  Buying a dumbbell rack, a door gym, etc.  So the room will double as a home theater and an exercise room.

So how am I hoping to combine the 2?

1.  The treadmill folds up.  This will be a goal for future items in the room.  Equipment that can take up less space, can be moved out to another room if need. 

2.  Looking to add equipment that can be used below the level of the projector so I can get a workout, when I want to, while watching movies.  Maybe this will be a long term goal, but at least it will have the option to use both parts at the same time.  Thinking of a recumbant bike and a rowing machine.  Heck, a yoga mat and just focusing on exercises that can be done sitting/laying on the ground.

3.  I was thinking of a really nice theater chair.  The room won't accommodate multiple seats and it is really a personal theater.  So I'm thinking a really comfortable bean bag chair.  This can be used against the back wall and when not siting to watch movies it can be used as a chair in my room.  Not quite as stylish (personal 1 person home theater), but it just makes more sense and I actually dig bean bag chairs. 

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Please note:  If you happen to come across this page, I'm including links to what I'm buying.  No way am I profiting from the links in any way.  I'm writing this when I have the idea of what I'm hoping to do, so now I just need to save up money for a couple months.  Also, the links aren't meant to show the cheapest prices, though that should be a goal.  The order of the items is I think the order I plan on buying. 

Will the theater turn out good?  I hope so.  But I don't know.  Now to buy a digital cam and start taking before pictures along with pictures along the way.

Final 2 thoughts:

1.  If you happen to stumble upon this while the room isn't complete and have some tips/idea/etc, please comment.  I'm always trying to research what to do.

2.  I'm not including things like what hardware to buy.  I'm using my PC in my other room, which means either I can view my downloaded library whenever I want or have to go in the other room to swich out the blu ray.  I'm bringing a 50 foot usb cable to have a trackpad in the home theater to navigate, a 50 foot headphone extension cord (I know this will make the sound less good but I have a nice $300 set of headphones and a $200 sound card), and a 50 foot htmi cable to connect the projector to my pc.  In time a goal will be to create a dedicated htpc, but I'd rather do this way first, start watching movies sooner, and build the computer when I'm happy with everything else in the room.