My Dream DIY Media Room

Welcome, YouTube viewers! Scroll down to the end of this page for the shopping list for this space. Thanks for visiting!

Then and now...

The transformation of our little-used upstairs bonus room (before, above) into a media room with 100-inch Big Screen TV is complete! I surprised DH with an HGTV-style big "reveal," and from his reaction, I knew he hadn't peeked during the 3 month reno (short video here).

Thanks to "malansmithii" for posting his amazing DIY Chrismark Theater (at right) on Rate My Space, and giving me the inspiration to create my own.

My goal was to do a Candice Olsen-style space for a lot less than she spends. My "buyer's guide" & techie info is at the end of the post. Take a short video tour of the finished space here, or at the end of this post. Rate this space on the Rate My Space website here.

Welcome to my favorite space!

Sherwin Williams' "Toasty" flat paint warmed up the 17 x 19 foot space and made it seem even bigger. The Sopranos and Jack Bauer flank the 100" screen. I did all the work myself with some heavy lifting assistance from several neighbors.

(For you "24" fans, my desk lamp from IKEA was the official lamp of CTU and my techie hero, Chloe.)

A Panasonic LCD projector and Stewart Firehawk screen allow viewing with some ambient light in the room, great if you love daytime sports. But the 1080p picture is simply awesome at night in the dark, when the room truly becomes a theater.

BTW, men and women love this room! American Idol was like being there.

Two colorful club chairs from Rooms To Go really make the room. They tie in all the colors from the custom-framed art from AllPosters.com. They're the perfect size for the space. We don't have room for theater-style recliners, which don't look great in a non-dedicated theater room, IMHO.

I created a snack bar out of 2 IKEA kitchen cabinets and a 15" beverage cooler. A granite remnant forms the countertop. The 3 puck lights above are controlled by Z-wave technology and a Harmony 890 universal remote as is all the lighting in the space. This is a retrofit anyone can DIY.

The microwave comes in handy for movie popcorn. The cabinet on the right conceals a trash and recycling center and more storage.

When we have guests, the four leather cube ottomans separate to turn the sofa and chairs into comfy "recliners." We slide the chairs over on either side of the sofa and set up tray tables for drinks and snacks.

My home office still occupies the back of the room, but it's neater now. Ollie Cat waits in front of the door out to the stairway.

I chose glass to make my workspace less visually dominant in the room. The West Elm sawhorse desk can be easily taken apart and stowed in the adjacent storage room, allowing a second row of seating.

3 IKEA cabinets provide a place for the projector. Hanging them by myself was not easy. Nor was hiding the wires. I added 3 puck lights to spotlight the movie posters on the picture ledge below.

IKEA's Trollsta cabinet conceals the printer, modem, router, and several hard drives connected wirelessly to my computer on the desk.

A full bath comes in handy at intermission time. There's also an 8 x 12 foot storage room. Both were put in when we built the house.

One of the non-obvious advantages of the gray Firehawk screen is it's plasma-like appearance when the projector is off.

Update: I looked at several IKEA media cabinets, but found that none fit the depth of my Denon receiver and they were flimsy looking. I found the BDI cherry home theater cabinet on sale ($600 off ) as an in-store Manager's Special at Best Buy. I knew it was the one, even though $1,200 was a budget buster. I'm so happy I got it because it adds richness to the room and ties in the cherry finish of the speakers. Most importantly, all the interior shelves and the back are louvered for airflow. And I can fit a lot of gadgets in there. LOL.

The bright ambient daylight shown here washes out the screen, so you must have good window coverings to maximize your picture.

BTW, I got a Slingbox Pro HD for when I want to have the TV news on, while working on my Mac. You don't run a projector for background TV while you goof around on your computer. Replacement bulbs are expensive.

My Shopping List

Home Theater System Essentials:
1. Panasonic PT-AE3000U LCD 1080p Projector, $2450 - B&H Photo online
2. Stewart Filmscreen Firehawk G3, 100" diagonal gray screen, $1888 - eBay seller "adroitsales," new, shipped from manufacturer
3. Denon AV-1909 Surround Receiver, $600 - Magnolia Home Theater @ Best Buy
4. Intimus 4T Hybrid SA in Cherry, 7.1 surround system, $1760 - aperionaudio.com
5. Monster PowerCenter HTS 1000 MKIII, $119 - amazon.com
6. 3 Monster 800 Series HDMI cables, $160 - eBay seller "hdmi4less," new in packages
7. Logitech Harmony 890 Universal Remote, refurbished $149 - amazon.com
8. HD DVR - DirecTV, free with subscription (1080i)

9. BDI Avion 8527 cabinet, cherry, $1199 (on sale) - Magnolia Home Theater @ Best Buy

HT Extras:
1. Sony Playstation 3, $399 (for Blu-ray, 1080p) - Best Buy

2. Apple TV, $279 (720p) - apple.com

3. Slingbox Pro HD, $250 - amazon.com
4. VUDU HD Internet Movie Player (1080p), $149 - vudu.com
5. Samsung VR-325 DVD Recorder/VCR (old, 480p) - Circuit City
6. *D-Link 8-port gigabit desktop switch, DGS-2208, $47 - amazon.com
7. Belkin Pure AV 3-port HDMI switch, $100 - amazon.com
8. Five Intermatic HomeSettings Z-Wave Dimmers, $90 - homeseer.com

*connects DVR, Apple TV, Vudu, PS3, and Slingbox to router via cat6 cable.

Snack Bar:
Akuram 24" kitchen cabinets, white - IKEA
Tidaholm 12" oak doors & trim panels, black/brown - IKEA
Lansa Handles - IKEA
Vinotemp VT-32BCSB Beverage Cooler - beveragefactory.com
Gold Brazil granite remnant - fabricated & installed by Continental Granite, Bunnell FL
Lack shelf, black/brown - IKEA
Puck lights, black - Lowe's
GE Microwave - Lowe's

Furnishings:
Leggett & Platt ultrasuede queen sofabed (4 years old) - Furnitureland South
Robertson Accent Chairs - Rooms To Go
Leather cube ottomans in Ponderosa - Ballard Designs
Trollsta Sideboard, black - IKEA
Besta 24" shelf units & doors, white - IKEA
Sawhorse Worktable (desk) - West Elm
Ergonomic desk chair (old) - Relax The Back
Clear floor mat - Sam's Club
Recumbent exercise bike (old) - Vision Fitness

Accessories:
Custom-framed posters - allposters.com
Ribba picture ledge, black - IKEA
Shag rug - Home Depot
Red velour pillows - Target
Red travel pillows - IKEA
Faux fur throw, brown - Homegoods
Husvik Floor Lamp - IKEA
Farja Desk Lamp - IKEA
Knubbig Table Lamp, white - IKEA
Chrome puck lights - Lowe's
Riddell mini football helmets - eBay
Bosch Tassimo Coffeemaker - amazon.com
Plastic popcorn tubs and photo used above - popcornpopper.com
Plastic rectangular tray, black - Target
American Flag bowl, tray tables (Bombay Co.), needlepointc at pillow, plaster columns are old.

Colors:
Walls: Sherwin Williams SW6095 Toasty, flat

Ceiling: Sherwin Williams SW6126 Navaho White, flat
Woodwork: Sherwin Williams SW7008 Alabaster, high gloss

Window Covering:
Plantation Shutters were installed several years ago - Blinds4Less, St. Augustine FL

Extra DIY Savings:

Shop online for the best prices and availability, and save on sales tax too. Many sellers are now offering free shipping. Join Amazon Prime for $79 annually and get 2-day free shipping on many items. Other than the granite slab, I picked up everything I bought in retail stores in my SUV. I saved $200 in delivery fees on the 2 chairs and media cabinet alone.

Love to know what you think of this space! It's now posted for you to rate on Rate My Space here.

Now the Geek Stuff

I did all my research on the web for about 3 weeks before making my first purchase - the projector. This helped me determine if the project was do-able and what size screen to buy.

The carpeted room is 17 feet wide x 19 feet long. The ceiling is 10 feet high.

The Stewart Firehawk screen is 100" diagonal, 55 .6" high x 93.6" wide, 1.78.1 aspect ration (16:9). It's mounted 29" above the floor. I saved $600 by buying from an authorized dealer (adroitsales) on eBay.

The main viewing position on the sofa is 11 feet from the screen. The throw distance from projector to screen is 18 feet. I ran one long Monster HDMI cable from the A/V receiver to the projector on the back wall. I didn't ceiling mount the projector because we use the ceiling fan. If you stand up from the middle of the sofa, your shadow hits the screen by about a foot, but who cares?

The floor is carpeted. There is no acoustic treatment on the walls or ceiling, but the 7.1 surround sound is great. We aren't audiophiles, so this is a fine family room system - it has blown people away. Concerts on Blu-ray are amazing.

At night there is some reflection, in bright scenes, off the wall of white shutters - the slider alone is 80 square feet. For the best picture, ideally you want your entire room to be painted dark, but mine is not meant to be a dedicated theater. So I will eventually make some roman shades and curtains to draw at night, which will enhance the design as well.

The Harmony 890 remote, our third, controls all the A/V components and the lighting, connected via Z-Wave switches and plug-in modules, as seen it the video tour above (For complete information, visit Homeseer.com). I did all the home theater wiring and the accent lighting myself. The six ceiling cans were installed by the builder.

As a Big Screen TV junkie, I had to have 1080p. And that means DirecTV and Blu-Ray. And we use it just about every day. If you're going to invest in a theater, go for it if you can. If you're on a tight budget, there are a lot of great deals on 720p equipment and you will love it. But beware the urge to upgrade at any time!