Side panels add Stargate ambiance, but also function as acoustic panels to help absorb the sound.

Faux-finished walls give the room a rough, steel effect.

The fiber-optic starscape from Numinus shows comets appearing in every 30 seconds to one minute intervals. Cove lighting in the dome can be adjusted to create different effects, like that of galactic clouds.

Can You Do That?
Ka-ching, you’re thinking. And yes, this Stargate-themed theater did cost a bundle. What do you think it cost?

  1. About $200,000.
  2. About $150,000.
  3. About $70,000.

If you answered $200,000, you’re wrong. But that was a quote from another company to do this theater. (And they didn’t get the job.)

If you answered $150,000, you’re also wrong . But according to Phil Chaney of audio/video installer and room designer Visual Concepts in Louisville, Ky., that would have been about the cost had a lot of different designers worked on the project.

Visual Concepts, he explains, has an in-house interior designer on staff, and the company also has partnerships with other vendors like Sound Answer of Nashville, Tenn., which did the acoustical treatments — and that helps to keep costs down.

That brings us to the real cost of this theater: about $70,000. It’s still a huge chunk of money, especially in this economy. And it goes to show you that you can splurge on something like a highly themed theater and save some money at the same time.

So if you’re in the market for a home theater that will require a lot of design work and aesthetic treatments:

1. Seek a company that has its own in-house design services.
2. Ask what partnerships the company has with other vendors, such as acoustic treatment companies and woodworkers.

Click here to view additional photos.

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About the Author:
Steven Castle - Contributing Writer

Steven Castle is a writer, editor, and humorist who recently completed Filthy Rich Things, a savage satire on our thirst for success and wealth. He also is Electronic House's senior editor and co-founder of GreenTech Advocates.