The Evolution of Home Theatre Rooms

Posted: 27 July 2009 by Metricon Homes

Tags: automation, electrical, entertainment, furniture, layout, sound

Metricon General Manager – Marketing, Darren, comments on home theatre rooms.

How have house layouts in the past five years changed to incorporate ‘home theatre rooms’?

Previously, houses were seen merely as places of shelter, but today homebuyers want to create a home that caters to their lifestyle – a place where they can relax and entertain with family and friends.

With an enormous appetite for home entertainment, there has been a large demand for home theatre rooms. These areas of the home were once seen as a luxury addition, but homebuyers are now designing their homes to incorporate a designated area for this purpose.

With the focus on open plan living, a home theatre room serves as an ideal area to have some private space to watch a favourite DVD with friends or can be used for the whole family to enjoy some viewing together.

What specifications are people asking for in new builds for these spaces/rooms?

Homebuyers are spending large amounts of money on fitting out their home theatre room with the latest equipment.

Customers are looking to include a media alcove that will accommodate their visual and audio equipment.

A raised platform is also a popular option to simulate a theatre atmosphere - family and friends can be seated in the room and can see the screen easily from any position.

We have also displayed our home theatre rooms with couches or leather reclining chairs - comfortable and creating a fabulously designed room.

How important are home theatre rooms in display homes? What requirements do you have for furnishing them?

A number of our homes showcase home theatre rooms. This serves as an excellent way of showing our customers how they can easily be incorporated into the floor plan of the home and how they will look.

We recognise that homebuyers today are design conscious and want to entertain more often at home.

Our home theatre rooms are displayed with beautiful furniture, including couches and armchairs, media alcoves and raised platforms to create a real theatre experience.

This area of the home is also designed with hilite windows and timber shutters that blocks out the light to allow for easy viewing during the day or evening.

What types of buyers are requesting these areas?

Home theatre rooms are in demand from first home buyers, families and empty nesters.

A growing number of Metricon customers are including home theatre pre-wiring in their homes now to be ready for their future entertainment needs.

Home buyers appreciate the real benefits of planning their future. When we design the cabling in our customer’s homes, we are also preparing them for future technologies. For instance, a cable TV set up in the home theatre room can be shared in any other room in the home that has a TV point.

While some families may not require a home theatre room right now, they recognise that including the cabling at the outset will allow for neater cabling and huge savings.

Our partners for electrical systems, Lifestyle National, are conveniently located at Studio M, our state-of-the-art selection centre. At Studio M, customers are offered the latest in design and technology and internal and external fixtures from kitchen, bathroom and carpets to electrical system and home theatre options.

Lifestyle National consultants provide a free service to our customers - expert advice on an electrical selection that suits their personal needs and budget.

Are these rooms replacing formal lounges/rumpus rooms, children’s retreat areas?

Homebuyers aren’t choosing to have a home theatre room over a formal living area or a children’s retreat.

Homebuyers want to have areas that will allow them to entertain in a formal space as well as a place where the kids can have their own area to watch TV or play games that’s easily accessible from the open plan area of the home.

We have designed many of our homes to include an elegant sitting room at the front of the home and a rumpus at the rear.

The rumpus can easily be converted into a home theatre or home gym depending on the customer’s lifestyle.

Generally, what are the dimensions of these rooms? Do you see this changing?

Home theatre rooms are generally 4x5 metres but this may very depending on the floor plan and size of the block.

These areas are cleverly designed with dimensions that create a cosy theatre environment, easy viewing and great sound.

Are people requesting that these rooms be placed in specific areas of the house?

The position of the home theatre room will depend on the floor plan of the home. What’s important is that it can be closed off from the open plan living areas of the home, creating an ideal haven for private viewing with family and friends.

Where to from here? How long do you see these rooms featuring in houses?

A large number of Australians are embracing technology and this is continuing to grow exponentially.

The popularity and constant product innovation of home theatre products is making it more and more affordable.

This will continue to rise with the trend in home entertainment.