Home Cinema – The Big Screen from your Couch

We have to admit, getting your own home theatre is a dream that has crossed most of our minds. Going to the cinema is great, but thanks to rising ticket prices and those £2 water bottles, your own home cinema could also be a financially attractive alternative. Thanks to modern streaming services and high-resolution Ultra-HD Blu-rays, watching movies from your own couch is also much more enjoyable. Just make sure to pick the right home cinema system for the ultimate surround sound experience. Today we will introduce you to a few tips and tricks that will ensure your home cinema is a success!

Home Cinema: First things to Consider

What at first seemed like a pipe dream now seems much more feasible. Video projectors, screens, high-definition televisions or cutting-edge surround systems, which were one of the biggest hurdles when trying to replicate a movie theatre, are now already available for a relatively low price. Even the films are much more accessible than before, thanks to streaming services and over the counter DVD and Blu-ray disks. Coupled with language assistants, such as Alexa, the playback can even be done comfortably via voice control. With space-saving appliances and storage options, you no longer have to sacrifice too much space for your home theatre; you can easily integrate it into your cellar or even your living room.

As a wall covering and flooring online retailer, we are probably not the authority when it comes to choosing the right technology; however, designing your home theatre is not just about choosing the right media. The way your room is set up contributes significantly to a successful home theatre! We are happy to assist you in choosing suitable walls and flooring and introduce you to our most popular acoustic solutions.

The right room choice for optimal acoustics

Besides the gigantic screen and crisp image quality, the sound is the most important thing when trying to replicate the cinema feel. Granted, domestic television may not need the best of the best - but if you are already investing in a home theatre, you want to get the most out of it! Here, optimal does not mean that you have to buy the latest and most expensive gadgets. Actual cinemas are calculated, planned and constructed down to the last detail. Only a few of us have this luxury when deciding to install a comfortable home theatre. We take already existing rooms, such as our living rooms or previously undeveloped rooms and set these up as we go.

Tip # 1: When choosing the room for your cinema, pay attention to sound-promoting measures. We do not recommend square rooms or rooms that are particularly long, wide or high. You should try to find a room that is between a perfect square and a rectangle.

Reduce the background noise through carpet with sound absorption

However, that is not all. Part of an original cinema experience is, among other things, the acoustic insulation of the room. On the one hand, you want to hide background noise, such as street noise or your neighbours’ screaming baby; on the other hand, you do not want that said neighbour at your door complaining that his baby cannot sleep because of the all the noise from that sound system. At the same time, you do not want the sound to propagate unchecked, bounce off the walls and floors, and cause annoying resonance. Since you have probably not chosen your home with the ulterior motive of a home theatre, you are in most cases unfortunately bound to the existing fabric. But there are good news: With the right selection of flooring, you can influence the way sound interacts with the room!

Tip 2: Access to textiles products will prevent sound from reverberating too much on both walls and floors.

Textile products, such as carpets, can help to improve the sound quality in your rooms. Known for their sound absorption, textiles reduce the sound that can be heard from the outside and in adjacent rooms, as well as the sound that reverberates inside your rooms. Even textile furniture, such as armchairs or even a couch, can used as sound-absorbing objects. After all, you have to offer yourself, or your guests, relaxed and comfortable seating.

You should have in mind that adding too many sound-absorbing agents to a room may make your room sound damp, and then you’ll have invested a lot of money in this home cinema system for nothing! Do not worry though; it is hard to go overboard when adding these products, so we will not try to deprive you of our most popular products.

Balsan Carpets - absolute comfort and high impact sound insulation

In addition to the furniture of your choice, we recommend a carpet for better sound absorption and comfort. Depending on the manufacturer, some of your floorings will be both comfortable and covered in an additional acoustic solution. For example, in the case of Balsan carpeting, footfall sound insulation of more than 25 dB is common. It hardly matters whether you prefer higher velour floor or would rather own a flatter loop bottom.

Whether you prefer darker or lighter colours here is, of course, entirely in the further purpose of home cinema. For example, if you use it primarily as a living room, it is better to use lighter colours. On the other hand, if you have large window fronts, you will certainly enjoy a darker carpet. A collection that offers an example of this is Balsan Rain. This is great for both the living room as well as in the home cinema. Both collections feature footfall sound insulation of 26-27 dB and are perfect for getting some rest in your everyday life, but also for your movie night.

Better acoustics by choosing the right wall and floor coverings!

If you want to build your own home theatre, you should plan properly so that your dream succeeds. The design of the room is an essential factor that will significantly alter your experience. The room layout, decor and darkening will give you optimal results that are not dependent on the technique used. The same applies to room acoustics, which you can influence sustainably by using wallpapers and carpets. You should start thinking about expensive projectors, TVs or sound systems only after the ideal room is set up. As always, a large selection of suitable carpeting and comprehensive advice on acoustic floors is waiting for you in our online shop.

We are looking forward to next time! Sincerely, your BRICOFLOR TEAM.