Recently Filed in Basement

Dino Theo is a little greedy. See, he didn’t just want a nice home theater and a bar. He wanted both of those—to go along with his killer game room. When Dino designed his layout, he took a page from the Cineplex handbook, or at least the blueprints. Like many actual theaters, the game room serves as a lobby. However, he’s blown more than a few quarters. Aside from the actual room, those machines start around $600 each, with the high score reaching $7,000 for… View this story
Gaming • Basement • DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

For most folks, building a theater starts with an empty room. But for devoted movie fan Lee Weber, it all started with a projector. Lee purchased his first projector online, and while he didn’t have a place to install it, within a year he had been through five different models, trying to find the perfect match for him. With the arrival of his son Ethan, however, came other glad tidings: Lee’s wife—a successful chef—gave him permission to convert the basement into a theater. A drummer… View this story
Basement • DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

This Minnesota house is contemporary, but not over the top. So what to do about a basement home theater? Continue the theme, of course. “With three very active kids, the homeowners wanted a space that was usable for the entire family,” says Lance Anderson, president of Edina, MN-based custom electronics firm Admit One Home Cinema. They didn’t want a gigantic screen, but they did want two displays for video game playing and keeping track of their beloved Minnesota Twins baseball team. The solution: an attractive… View this story
Rear Projection • Basement • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Good theater doesn’t require a massive bankroll. Just ask Marc Wiener. He created his basement home theater for a mere $5,000.  That’s just for the electronics and new furnishings for his basement. “The construction pretty much only cost me the materials, plumbing, and painting, as my father-in-law is an amazing carpenter and did all the work,” Marc says. “I can’t thank him enough!” However, this basement is what Marc calls “multifunctional.” It’s not just a theater; it’s for sitting, for socializing, and even doubles as… View this story
Basement • DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Most home theater owners have friends surrounding them, wanting to experience a night of home entertainment. Tom Hetzel, on the other hand, has his friends surrounding him—literally. This do-it-yourselfer built his home theater in the basement of his townhouse, with neighbors on each side.  “I did a lot of research on soundproofing on the Internet and used several techniques,” Tom says of the process. “I used what is called a ‘room within a room’ setup, where none of the theater walls or ceiling are touching… View this story
Acoustic Treatments • Basement • DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Michael Tarasenco was 13 years old in 1977, the year his father cosigned a loan for him in the amount of $3,500. With the money, which was at the time a significant sum, Tarasenco purchased his very first stereo system, and was instantly the envy of all the kids at his junior high. “I’ve always had a passion for music and electronics,” says Tarasenco. “I have been gradually moving up in the quality of gear I buy over the years.” Previous systems stayed in his… View this story
Floor Standing Speakers • On-Wall Speakers • Acoustic Treatments • Basement • DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Audio • Cool Homes • Slideshows

It’s young, it’s hip. It’s kind of a retro mod, says interior designer Eddy Doumas of this basement theater used a lot by the homeowner’s teens. The playful design—with its pumpkin-colored walls, ceramic tile fireplace, retro-looking chaises, and colorful custom-made equipment cabinet—sets the stage for big-screen home theater fun, courtesy of a high-performing home theater system. The room’s orientation also makes it feel unencumbered. It’s wider than it is long; the 25-by-18-foot area lends a feeling of spaciousness to the sides. That was the result… View this story
Video Projectors • Video Screen • Basement • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

When you’re pumping 7,000 watts of surround sound into a theater room, you’d better make sure the rest of the house doesn’t rattle. Especially if you don’t want to wake the baby. Good thing homeowner Curt Fluegel knows a lot about home theater design. When the co-owner of Trikin Home Theater got the green light to build his own theater as part of a four-story addition before his daughter Lilah was born, Curt decided to dig deep. So much so that he calls the space… View this story
Video Projectors • Video Screen • Basement • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

It started as a basement. There was a low suspended ceiling, concrete walls and a fireplace made from blast rubble. And the owners wanted a simple home entertainment system. Oh, and they wanted a tin ceiling and tile floors. Let’s see: low tin ceiling, tile floor, concrete walls, blast rubble fireplace. That could create an acoustical nightmare. Or shall we say night … night … night … mare … mare? Not only would the room reflect too much sound, the systems contractors at Harmony Interiors… View this story
Video Screen • Basement • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Living in the country suits the owners of this custom-crafted theater. “They can get away from the noise of the city, sit on the back porch and gaze at the stars,” says A/V systems designer Harry Blanchard of HiFi House Group in Broomall, PA. In keeping with the owners’ desire for peaceful living, Blanchard and his team designed the 375-square-foot, basement- level theater to be totally soundproof. Absolutely no sound seeps out of the space. “Our soundproofing technique worked so well that even when nothing… View this story
In-Wall Speakers • Basement • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

When this Indiana family peers up at the ceiling of their basement home theater, they see a fiber-optic star field. When they look down, they see a rainbow of colors woven through the carpet. When they sit in the cinema chairs and look straight ahead, they see images that just about jump off a 110-inch screen. There’s no need for these parents to load the minivan with their four kids and drive to the theater. Everything they were looking for can be found in their… View this story
Basement • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Manufacturers have talked about it, but Jason Klinke is actually doing it—putting his PC to work as a major part of his home theater setup.  He hardly had a choice. With almost 10 years experience in software design and development, you can’t just put the PC aside when it comes to other areas of life. His past experience also helped; instead of adding a confusing piece of equipment into the mix, it was more like welcoming an old friend.  “You can browse and play movies… View this story
Computers • Basement • DIY Home Theaters • DIY Theaters of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows