Big night in
The Sunday Age
Sunday October 25, 2009
The entertainment room is now a standard feature, reports Joanne Brookfield. Once upon a time, it was called the rumpus room. A humble space, it was home to things such as board games and decks of cards, and shelves contained antiquities known as encyclopedias. A single, fixed-wattage light globe illuminated the entire room. As for curtains? Well, you had to get up, walk over and close them manually.As the way we live continues to evolve, and technology with it, so too does new house design. "You don't see rumpus rooms in homes anymore, but you do have the home theatre," says Louis Sultan, state manager of AVJennings Homes.High-tech entertainment rooms became a trend in the luxury market about about eight years ago, says Keith Fuller, senior designer at Porter Davis."People had 10 to 15-seat home theatres," he says. "It was something that we knew the punters loved, the big night in."Scaled down from the original, the concept has been embraced by new-house builders and buyers alike. Today, a stroll through any display house reveals these rooms as standard."The current younger generation have a tendency to stay at home a lot more," says Mr Sultan. "It's all about entertainment and not going out on a windy, rainy night. It's about putting on a movie, or watching the football in the comfort of your own home". Big builders are designing entertainment rooms with the whole house in mind. Surround sound is great if you're watching the DVD, or on the PlayStation or Wii, but entertainment rooms aren't always used by the whole family at one time. "It could be that teenage kids have their friends over. You're in the other part of the house and don't want to hear the boom, boom, boom," Mr Sultan says.New-house designers keep this in mind. "The way designs work, you can isolate the sound from the sleeping and quieter zones," Mr Fuller says.When isolation isn't possible, there's the option of using high-density plasterboard. "If people want to use (the entertainment room) as a dedicated media area, we can soundproof the room," Mr Sultan says.Floors can be tiered to create more of a theatre effect. To keep it dark, one wall may be a deeper colour. Smaller windows are often a feature. "Tall, narrow windows on each side allow a certain amount of light and ventilation in," Mr Sultan says.Porter Davis does not change the standard window locations but allows for heavy drapes to cover the windows - sometimes across the entire wall - if customers want it to feel more like a real cinema. "On a nice day, you might want to lie back, watch a plasma and have the winter sun streaming in," Mr Fuller says.With regard to equipment, there are two styles of home theatres, says Steve O'Sullivan, director of Argus Technologies. The company designs, supplies and installs home automation and smart-wired products for many volume builders. One style is a hi-fi system with large-screen TV. The other is closer to the true cinema experience, with screen and projector."Whether it's a drop-down projector and drop-down screen, or fixed projector and fixed screen, depends on people's budgets," Mr O'Sullivan says.The drop-down items cost about $10,000 but the average cost of a home theatre with "reasonable equipment" varies from $5000 to $8000, he says. Seek advice from experts when planning a home entertainment room, adds Mr Sultan. "Have a really good think about what type of systems you are going to put in there."Mr O'Sullivan warns against mixing and matching equipment - incompatibilities between brands can cause problems. "If it's all matched properly by somebody who knows what they're doing, the whole experience will be better," he says.There's the luxury option too. With home-automation technology being so advanced, a one-touch button can bring down the screen, turn on the projector, dim the lights, close the curtains and start the movie, says Mr O'Sullivan. "The only thing it does not do automatically is put in the DVD."Get a multi-stacker and you can fix that too.Contacts Argus Technologies, 1300 922 834, argustechnologies.com.au AVJennings, 131 878, avjennings.com.au Porter Davis, 9285 2901, porterdavis.com.auIt's showtime When planning an entertainment room, consider every aspect, including lighting and acoustic panelling. It will save you money in the long term. The right furniture is vital: think wrap-around couches, reclining armchairs and drink and food holders. Consider having a bar fridge in the corner. Installing a starry ceiling enhances the cinema experience. Decor is important for movie magic. Apart from automated, full-screen drapes, dimming lights and tiered floors, you can hang framed movie posters. New estates are being wired with optic fibre, increasing online capabilities in entertainment rooms. Check if you have that option.
© 2009 The Sunday Age
