Q. We hired a designer to help us with our new home which will include a small home theater. Do we need a separate electrical contractor? Should an experienced designer be able to do both roles? - C.W., Jamaica Plain, MA

A. In the beginning I tried to be the electronics contractor. I provided my first few clients here in Nashville with everything, audio, video, furniture and architectural design. It was too much for one guy and it made more sense to partner up with local A/V companies. Long before I designed my first theater or engineered my first motorized lift, I was that guy in the attic, pulling cable for Innovative Theaters in California.

Having started from “behind the curtain” and “in the walls” I have a pretty good idea of what the cable guy is going to need and where the projector should be mounted for optimal focal length, etc. Here’s the rub. The electronic contractor’s needs are never as important to me as the homeowner’s desires. That is where the balancing act begins. The designer, or “decorator” as I have been called, isn’t there to sell gear. The A/V guy is. The A/V guys are running a “for profit” business and we’re just trying to make the world a cooler place to look at. Yes, balance is a good word for it.

Donny Hackett
Home Theater Designer, Casa Cinema of Hendersonville, TN

Saying that Donny Hackett is creative might be an understatement. He’s designed home entertainment spaces that recall the domed ceiling in the luxury liner from Titanic, completed a theater with a Harley-Davidson theme and recently added a room with a revolving floor to his resume.

Donny Hackett can be reached at design@casacinema.com