Get their look: Chilled home cinema

Chilled home cinemacredit

If we had a chilled home cinema like the one above, I don’t think you’d get us out of the house in the evenings – especially in the winter!

Long, slinky black sofas hugging the walls; bundles of squishy, comfy cushions; dark walls and low sloping ceiling all helping to give the ultimate cinema experience.

A home cinema is only as good as its AV equipment and it doesn’t get much better than a ceiling-mounted cinema projector and huge, electric drop down screen.

All that’s missing are the boxes of hot popcorn. Sweet or salted?

  1. Optoma HD142X long throw full HD home cinema projector
  2. Optoma DE-3120EGA Panoview 120 Inch 4:3 matt white electric drop down screen
  3. RCR Timeless whisky decanter
  4. Skull and crossbones cushion
  5. Vintage mirrored cocktail drinks tray
  6. Parsons concrete top/ stainless steel base 48×28 small rectangular coffee table
  7. Poliform ‘Dune’ modular sofa designed by Carlo Colombo

Get their look: Chilled home cinema | H is for Home

Price Points: Home cinema sound systems

Home cinema sound systems | H is for Home

We always begin our annual hibernation right about now – around the time Strictly Come Dancing hits its stride! When given the choice between going out to socialise on a cold, dark wet evening or staying in with a bottle of wine, chuffing wood-burner and a Scandi drama we almost always choose the latter… you’d almost have to physically drag us out of the house kicking and screaming!

We always read user/buyer/expert reviews and recommendations to get a handle on electronic and tech products. These are the three home cinema sound systems we’ve short-listed…

We start with the Canton DM55. It has had the highest review on the Which? website to date (84% – 1 percent higher than the Sonos Playbar). According to their expert:

The DM55 is easy to use, and sounds great, with a strong dynamic range and convincing surround-sound effect… While it’s pricey, it’s also the best sound base we’ve tested, and gives Canton another Best Buy to add to its collection.

Coming in at a hefty thousand pounds (down from £1,400), the BOSE SoundTouch 130 is a system that not only includes a soundbar but also an Acoustimass module and control console.

We’ll be saving up to get ourselves the Sonos Playbar. Not only can we enjoy using it to watch live and recorded TV, we can also listen to music and digital radio through it via Spotify. We already have a couple of Sonos Play:1s and a Play:3 – the sound they emit is amazing, and connecting Sonos speakers to the wi-fi network and Spotify is a complete doddle.

  1. Canton DM55 2.1 virtual surround system – black glass: £329.00, Amazon (4.2 out of 5 – 35 reviews)
  2. Sonos Playbar: £599.00, Sonos (4.5 out of 5 – 710 reviews)
  3. BOSE SoundTouch 130 wireless home cinema system: £999.95, Currys (9.7 out of 10 – 18 reviews)

Home entertainment rooms: bring a vintage cinema vibe to your home!

'Home entertainment rooms - Bring a vintage cinema vibe to your home' blog post banner

luxe home cinema roomimage credit
Do you love cinema? Are you getting a little tired of watching your favourite movies in a cold and boring sitting room, on a laptop or worse, God forbid, a mobile phone screen? Do you happen to have a spare room or are you living with someone who doesn’t mind you transforming the living room?

If the answer to all of the above is yes, you’re in luck: we’ve come up with ideas for the ultimate home entertainment room. Here are a few tips on how to bring that fun and classic vintage cinema vibe into your home.

Elite home cinema seats from Reclinersdirect

Furniture

It wouldn’t really be a vintage-themed home entertainment room without a set of black or red leather recliner chairs. They’re stylish and retro without having to compromise on comfort.

If your budget is tight, why not transform that set of old sitting room chairs you scored from a charity shop or car boot sale into glorious & unique red velvet cinema chairs?

There are plenty of upholstery tutorials on the web, most of them are easier than you think, and you’ll be able to source all the fabric and materials online or from many DIY shops.

vintage film posters on a wall going up stairs to a home cinemaimage credit

On the walls

As a rule of thumb, it’s best to keep the walls on the dark side so they don’t catch the screen’s light. Black-out curtains at the windows & doors are also something to consider to prevent light from filtering through. To mix it up a little, hang your favourite vintage film posters on the walls: use large black wooden frames for a sleek & chic look.

minimalist red & white home cinema roomimage credit

Hide away that tech: screen & audio system

There are some good options to prevent bulky, often ugly, home cinema equipment from ruining the look & atmosphere of the room. In terms of screens, why not opt for a home cinema projector?

Easily connected to a laptop (unless you choose to go for an old school, auto-load projector of course!), it takes up the minimum of space and can be easily hung from the ceiling, out of the way.

Be aware however, that some parts such as the bulb will need to be replaced from time to time and it’s likely to cost a little bit more than what you pay initially. If you’re buying second-hand, it’s always good to ask the vendor if it’s recently been changed.

As for the audio system, if you’re on a budget, vintage can often be good in terms of sound quality and value for money. You can source quality, second-hand equipment on the web, at auction and from charity shops.

If you’ve already invested in new equipment, it’s going to take a little bit more effort and clever hacking to camouflage depending on your setup. Why not have the audio assembled on a trolley that can quickly be rolled out from inside an easily accessible cupboard prior to a screening?

vintage home cinema with vintage seats, popcorn maker and snack trolleyimage credit

Final touches

Rome wasn’t built in a day and the same pretty much goes for a vintage cinema-themed home entertainment room… but that’s most of the fun!

Depending on your budget and your charity shops and flea market finds, you can keep adding to the room with a few extra touches that will give the room a lot more character: popcorn maker, vintage lighting and furniture, classic movie memorabilia…

Enjoy the show!

[disclosure*]