Why should you waste time figuring out colors when you have so much to consider for the home theater construction? Because picking the wrong color will break the whole project.
Tell me. Have you ever walked into a movie theater, where the seats, the walls, and the surroundings were white? Yes, that’s right. Home theater rooms are as dark as any cinema around the world. And there’s a reason for that.
You see, the colors in the room – and not just the walls but also the floor, the trims, the seating, affect the viewing experience. Pick a light shade or the wrong color and see how this distorts the image delivered by the home theater projector. Should we dig into the darkness of home theater color schemes?
Home theater colors: how dark should you go?
Simply put, the darker the better. The most neutral should be as light as burgundy. Even if you want to bring in blues and greens, they must be dark shades. Black is often the norm, while brown colors bring in some warmth as well. Overall, you need dark colors. But it’s also the question of how you use the colors in the room. Do you use only one color or a combination of colors? And how do you find the best combination?
• Going monochromatic is the best course of action. That’s when you use the same color throughout the entire room. If you want to lighten up the home theater design and make it a tad more interesting, you can play with colors of the same family. For example, you can combine black with dark grey.
At one point, this color mixing creates an analogous design. This happens when you stick to the same hue family and don’t go strictly monochromatic. But here’s where we come to ask this very important question:
This is strictly a home theater room, isn’t it?
As it’s often the case, a home movie theater room is not used strictly for watching films. This is often an entertainment room, where the screen is the focal point, but the usage extends to many more activities. Of course, in such a case, we don’t talk about home theater rooms but media rooms. And in this case, you are free to choose colors from different hues. Yes, it’s still important to keep the room’s colors dark. But now, you can go for a combination of colors that complement each other to make the room beautiful and interesting, apart from ideal for viewing.
How to make the theater room interesting without risking the viewing experience?
As a theater man would say, it’s all in the props. You need to choose dark home theater curtains, avoid textures and intricate patterns, and focus on the suitable lighting. In other words, you need to focus on the home theater décor so that when the bright lights go off and the curtains close, you will still have a great cinematic experience.
How glossy can the home theater walls be?
The type of paint you use for the home theater walls is as important as choosing the appropriate color. As for glossy, forget it. Anything that may reflect light doesn’t belong to the home theater room. Even if you decide to install wallpaper, you need the color as solid as possible and the finish not glossy at all. Same if you paint the walls. You need matte paints.
You can make color combinations, choosing black for the home theater chairs, and burgundy for the walls and flooring – for example. But whatever you do, stay away from anything glossy and sheen.
So, when you are still in the stage of home theater planning, think of the colors – possibly, some combinations, never finishes and hues that would reflect light. That’s actually one of the very first things to consider from day one.
