OTHER TECH

You've got your big-screen HDTV, super-sharp progressive-scan DVD player, and the rest of your A/V gear set up to squeeze the nth degree of performance from your system. But look around. Is something missing? Not from your equipment but the room itself. A potted palm over in one corner to camouflage the subwoofer, an easy chair and sofa, and some artwork on the walls add up to a pretty commonplace space.

Photo courtesy of Absolute Sound If your home theater system isn't mediocre, why should the space it's in be so nondescript? After all, you spend a lot of time there. You might want to devote the same energy and attention to detail you put into assembling your system to making your home theater room as memorable as your movies.

Create an ExperienceTo find out how to turn an ordinary room into a distinctive home-entertainment space where you can lose yourself in movies, TV shows, and music, we spoke with a trio of designers who specialize in high-end home theaters. It turns out to be fairly easy and affordable to "accessorize" an average space using tips gleaned from their years of experience building custom theaters.

"Whether it's a high-end, dedicated home theater or something much more modest, it's all about the experience," says Ted Hollander of Absolute Sound in Winter Park , Florida , whose clients include actor Wesley Snipes and Cincinnati Reds pitcher Danny Graves. "Anything you can do to the space to make that experience more special is well worth it - from adding movie posters or a popcorn maker, or using an acoustical treatment or carefully selected wall colors that make the room go away when you're watching a movie. These things add to the experience above and beyond what you get out of the speakers and surround sound receiver."

Theo Kalomirakis, owner of TK Theaters in New York City, whose opulent designs have been the subject of two coffee-table books, notes that some of the accoutrements once found in the highest of high-end home theaters - special seating, lighting, and other movie-themed furnishings - are now within reach of typical home theater enthusiasts. Thanks to increased competition, for example, the price of theaterlike reclining seats has come down. "You can probably buy a group of three or four theater seats for the same price as a sofa, or even less," says Kalomirakis. This wall unit from Salamander Design's Synergy Series is meant to accomodate large plasma screens.