Home Theater Seating
Recreating a ‘night at the movies’ at home is easy when you have the right home theater seating!Cinematic Features You’ll Want in a Home Theater
Here are just a few features that will transform your living room into a cinematic experience.- Cup holders: Engaging in a good movie wouldn’t be half as fun without your drink of choice – and theater seating options with built-in cupholders make it easier than ever to sip as you watch.
- Reclining tech: For a truly authentic experience, you’ll need to be able to recline! Power recliners with adjustable headrests allow you to do just that – no movie ticket required!
- Storage console: A center or side console that opens up for storage doubles as a convenient armrest – and a place to rest your popcorn.
High Quality Home Theater Recliners for the Ultimate Movie Night
Set the scene with mood lighting, a flat screen TV, surround sound and home theater chairs. With a setup like this, staying home feels like going to the movies.
A Home Theater Sectional in a Home Theater Room . . . for a Movie Night Like No Other
Seating designs that recline – not just in the backrest but in the footrest and lumbar – cater to you. No longer is your seat just a seat; with the touch of a button, your seat becomes your personal attendant, rising up to meet your most comfortable seated position. Add a TV to the mix, a darkened room, a tub of popcorn with theater-style butter and speakers set to the kind of volume where you can feel the sound vibrating through you, and you’ve got yourself a movie room that friends, neighbors and family will want to visit any chance they get.
Different Features in Movie Theater Seating
- Lumbar support: While a backrest is for the length of your spine (including neck), a lumbar rest is particularly for your lower back. You will notice that some theater seating includes a cushion separated from the rest, designed just for your lumbar spine.
- Power lumbar: Theater couches will feature a lumbar piece (a cushion designed to support your lower back) that moves. In other words, if you lean back, the power lumbar will rise up to fill the gap behind your lower back, so you won’t have to worry about straining any muscles.
- Wall hugger: A wall hugger functionality allows you to place your sectional or sofa as close to your wall as possible. When it reclines, the seat will move forward to give space between the backrest and the wall. It’s a simple concept and makes a world of difference when designing your space – and maximizing every inch in a small room.
- Footrest: Comfortable seating starts at the headrest . . . and doesn’t stop until it reaches your toes. The best theater seating will feature power footrests that move out while you recline back, just like they do in movie theater establishments. You can choose just how far out you want the footrest to extend – lie completely back for a movie night-turned-nap, or just a smidge for a reclined upright seat.
- Custom number of seats: A home theater can have any number of seats you wish, as reclining designs come in versions of two-seaters, three-seaters, four-seaters and five-seaters. You can even place a single recliner in front of the TV for a one-seater room that’s just yours, if solitude is more your style!
- USB charging: A charging port is always a handy feature. In a sectional or sofa it will be found in the center console or on the side of the armrests. Use it to charge phones, tablets or laptops while lounging. (You can also use it for other things besides handheld devices, such as if a table lamp, diffuser, speaker or other item requiring power is nearby.)
- Arm storage: The best home theater will have thought of everything, including hidden storage built into the arms. These are great for storing dry snacks (sealed chips, individual packs of popcorn, gummies, hard candy, mints and so on (is your mouth watering yet?). Press play on your film, lean back and pop open the storage for entertainment at its finest – and a pantry at your fingertips.
Some designs also feature LED lights built into the arm consoles, which makes looking for items inside the console a lot easier!
A Note on Material
If you want your home theater to reflect the style of a real movie theater, choose leather or faux leather. You will find these materials hold up well over time, are easy to clean and keep cool even in hot climates. Top grain leather is a common choice for durability and affordability.
How to Accessorize Theater Seating
Theater seating is fun to accessorize. To make the experience meal-friendly, add some tray tables that can be folded away when not in use.
In terms of décor, look to the walls. Hanging film reels, posters of your favorite movies (these look especially good when framed and matted!), quotes of your favorite movies and director’s clapboards, cameras and lights will make the room feel like a Hollywood studio. Try sticking to one color palette of two colors to keep the room looking simple enough that it won’t overpower the purpose of the room (to watch the big screen!). Whatever you choose for you wall décor, use temporary hanging methods so that it will be easy to change out your decorations as the season (or movies) change; hanging up posters for the films of the month will make the room feel fresh and like a real movie theater advertisement! Finally, think about the floor: walking to and from the seating should feel cozy, so a large area rug is a must!
What Are Risers?
A home theater riser is a wood platform that can be added to the back of a room. On it, a row of seating is set up. The home theater riser is designed to make the back row of seats higher than the first rows, making the view from them unobstructed by the heads of seated persons in front. If you want to go the extra mile in your home theater, risers are essential. (They also bring a true movie theater feel!)
How to Make a Riser
The great thing about creating a home theater is that it can be as affordable as you need it to be. With a little creativity and handywork, the elements that come together to turn a simple living room or spare room into a home cinema can be made for less than what you would buy from a store. Case in point: the DIY home theater riser.
To make this yourself, you will first need to think about the design layout of the room. It will help to have the seating already purchased and placed, so you know just where the riser will go and how big to make it. In terms of material, go with a simple piece of lumber from a home improvement store, or, for even less money, a lumber yard. While the length of the lumber is important, the height of it is even more so; make sure to measure the height needed to improve the view from the back, and take those measurements to the thickness of the lumber. Because theater seating can be big (a sectional or sofa, lengthwise, can span more than an arm’s length), the easier approach is to cut several pieces designed to be placed under the sectional or sofa – instead of one large one.
Recap + Last Thoughts on Home Theaters
Different from a living room with a TV, a home theater is a room dedicated to the cinematic arts. It is often designed to feel like a real movie theater, with mood lighting, surround sound, reclining seats and a large flat screen TV. Keeping snacks and a popcorn station nearby will seal the experience as one guests will never want to leave!
Choosing to create a home theater is more than a weekend project – there are many considerations to take into account such as the size of your space, the seating needed, the sound of the speakers and even the decorations. Putting in the effort, though, will lead to the kind of results that get jaw-dropping reactions from guests! And even if you don’t entertain all that much, having a small room dedicated to films or TV, that’s all yours, is a fine way to invest in your mental health. (Creating a space where you can get away physically and emotionally makes life a little easier!)
