Steve Mize is a fan of the classics. “When I was little, going to the theater was a pretty special event; bigger than life,” he says. However, it wasn’t his childhood that inspired this spin on an older era of theater. “I don’t know if one can be nostalgic for a period they didn’t experience, but the time period of the ’40s and ’50s really resonates with me.” Go up… View this story
Garage • DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Built in the early ’50s, Mike and Barbara Owens’ home in southwest Virginia had evolved with the times. However, the bookcase in their 12-by-15-foot den seemed to be stuck in a time warp. The couple contacted K.D. Forsha of KDaudio/Gent Electric in Bristol, TN, to modernize their entertainment setup, but with strict instructions to maintain the classic style. “We told them to choose whatever TV size they wanted, and we’d… View this story
Cabinets • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Grease and grime had been soaking into the concrete floor for more than 100 years. It was not the clean, pristine environment deserving of a high-end home theater. “To look at it, it looked like putting in a theater would be impossible,” recalls Greg Mizerek of Advanced Media Systems in Morristown, NJ. But with a huge dose of TLC and the integration of a host of awesome A/V equipment, the… View this story
Garage • Cool Homes

Planning a wedding can be stressful. Planning a backyard theater? Well, it was a nice diversion for Matthew Katz. “I did not build this theater instead of planning my wedding,” he says. Both Matthew and his bride-to-be are in the arts, so they put aside downtime to plan the big event. “I wanted a small project that I could do that was not wedding-centric.” When it came to the wedding,… View this story
DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes

Like most home amenities, electronic systems can be as stripped down or beefed up as you want. As the owner of two adjoining brownstones in Dallas, TX, Tony Chiarello had the unique opportunity to explore both methods. For the unit he planned to sell as a spec, Tony put in a basic music distribution system and prewired it for a simple control system. It sold before it was even finished.… View this story
Multiroom Audio • Home Control Systems • Home Theater • Multiroom AV • Home Control • Cool Homes • Slideshows

To some people, the thought of building a home theater from scratch is enough to send them running to their local A/V store for help. Others may not mind doing the construction, but can’t handle the technical side of things. It is the rare bird who is ready, willing, and able to deal with the technical installation as well as the construction, and do it with as much zeal as… View this story
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… View this story
Rear Projection • Basement • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

A little bit of sawdust, a cowhide rug and a mechanical bull go a long way toward infusing a Texas theme in a space, but not in this refined home theater, dubbed the Lone Star Theater by owner Terry Williams. “We are Dallas natives, but we didn’t want this to look like ‘Billy Bob’s’ Texas. It’s not a country and western feel, it’s more like a tribute to the small… View this story
DIY Home Theaters • Themed Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes

What could be better than a seriously fab audiophile theater designed by home theater guru Theo Kalomirakis and served by Revel front speakers? Try the same theater upgraded with B&W’s advanced CT8 custom series speakers. Then bi-amplify them—meaning separate amplifiers feeding the high and low frequencies—with 300-watt-per-channel Mark Levinson #436 power amps. That means 600 watts are delivered to each front speaker. Even sweeter, the glorious sound waves are fed… View this story
Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Many of us long for the days of the classic drive-in, with the smell of popcorn wafting through the fresh air, and the crackle of the speakers perched on car windows as far as the eye could see. Of course, all of those things are wonderful, but it wasn’t the nostalgia that first got Kevin Van to build his outdoor theater. Aside from the inspiration he received on BackyardTheater.com, he… View this story
DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows