The S&V Interview

We all know that California has it own unique car culture. Here a person's automobile and their personality are often closely aligned. One homeowner loved their Bentley so much; they couldn't get enough of it and choose it as the theme for their dedicated Home Theater.

"The homeowner wanted a one-of-a-kind theater that was modern and contemporary," said Rob Hart, president of UV Ultimate. "The concept of the interior was inspired by his car, which is plush and luxurious."

To pull this off, Stitchcraft Interiors was brought in to provide interior design ideas to the homeowner. They were well suited for the task since the company's background began in the automotive industry. Their many contacts gave them an edge in getting the exclusive materials needed to complete the job to spec. "Of all the rooms I have designed and created, this is by far my favorite, " says Revo Reese, president of Stitchcraft Interiors.

In keeping with the styling cues of the Bentley interior, the design included diamond quilting, burlwood, suede, Birdseye maple columns with metal mesh and plastic diffusers, acoustical panels, and the highly recognizable Bentley emblem. The oversized emblems placed around the theater are backlit and serve as lighting sconces. The side metal columns are meant to represent an exhaust pipe, the felt acoustical panels represent a Bentley hood, and the grills actually come from the Bentley plant in England.

Some of the larger challenges during the construction was tearing out a bathroom and walk in closet that was originally in the rear of the room, which added an additional seven feet to the theater providing a wider and more open space. Several of the interior projects were extremely time intensive. For instance, the acoustical panels took hours to shape properly and fiberglass rings were needed to insert the grill since those sections had to be upholstered separately. Forty yards of cappuccino suede was glued to the panels and was carefully placed around all the intricate curves and concaves.

The light sconces turned out to be a job in itself. Made out of fiberglass, the emblems had to be chromed using a special process called vacuum metallization. The "B" emblem was made out of acrylic. Mounted in the walls were special lights that could be super bright, yet, wouldn't melt the acrylic.

While designed as a dedicated home theater on the lower level of their home, the homeowner also wanted the room to serve as their entertainment hub complete with a high intensity gaming experience, incorporating D-Box motion chairs. The front row is all Cineak theater chairs, whereas the second row is comprised of a D-Box loveseat with single D-Box chairs on either side. On the top row, another D-Box chair is sandwiched between two Cineak love seats. Since the chairs come from two different suppliers it was going to be impossible to match the leather colors, so the two-tone look were purposely built into the interior design. Moreover, it is obvious that each group of chairs has a different purpose. On all three levels, a person can comfortably stretch out without interfering with anyone else.

Equipment List:
Marantz SR 8002 Surround Receiver
Marantz VP11S2 DLP Projector
Marantz DV9600 DVD Player
Stewart Filmscreen 124" Luxus Deluxe Screen
(3) Sonance SILHOUETTEII In-wall LCR Speakers
(4) Sonance CinemaII Ultra Surround In-wall Speakers
(2) SNELL ICSSUB24 THX UltraII Powered Subwoofer
(12) BUTTKICKER BK_LFE Bass Shaker
(6) BUTTKICKER BKA-1000 1000watt amplifier
Furman ITREFERENCE 20 Power Conditioner
Crestron TPMC-10 Touch Screen
D-Box Controller and Two D-Box chairs
Sony Playstation 3