Cool Home Improvement! – Secure Home Hero

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to turn your garage into a home cinema, not just a space to park cars or store miscellaneous items? By installing good technology and adding some homey touches, you can create a movie-going experience that rivals your local movie theater. Below you’ll find the ultimate guide for how to turn your garage into a home cinema. This guide covers lighting, sound, storage, flooring, wall décor, HVAC, and all of the other factors you’ll need to consider when you start planning out your garage home cinema, either permanently or for weekend use. To turn your garage into a home cinema, choose dimmable strip lighting, 5.1 or 71. Surround sound system and proper screen size. Your choice for seating, flooring and entertainment will depend if you plan for a permanent conversion or you still need to use your garage for parking. From a cement floor garage to a beautiful home cinema! I will walk you through each item from lighting, sound, flooring, screen, and seating. We will discuss the best option for permanent conversion on the one hand and for keeping your garage for parking cars on the other. Let’s get started: Lighting for a Garage Home Cinema You may think that the screen should be the only light in a theater, but that is not true. Always plan on installing lights that allow your family and guests to safely find their way to the restroom or the snack bar without disrupting the movie. When you renovate your garage into a home cinema, the lighting you use is an important consideration. If you’re only using the space as a temporary theater, you won’t need to worry about the esthetic aspect of the project. However, if you plan to transform your garage into a cinema permanently, you’ll want to put in some cinema dimmable recessed lighting. Here are some of the best types of lighting to consider installing in your garage home cinema: Rope lighting: For a temporary weekend theater, Rope LED lighting is your best choice. It can come in either clear white or colored lighting. Whether installing them on the wall or ceiling, Rope LED lights are a fun way to make your garage look more like the movie theater since they imitate the types of walkway lighting used in most public cinemas. Choose an LED light that you can easily control, dim, and change colors (mood!) right from your mobile phone or tablet; this is a nice one from Amazon that can withstand the changing temperatures and humidity typical in garages. For Home Cinema LED lights, the sky and your imagination are the limits! SecureHomeHero Tip: Buy the longest LED rope available. You can install it in a wrap-around fashion on the wall or ceiling. Having one string allows you to easily control the entire mood from your phone. Recessed lighting: For a permanent conversion, you’ll want to have lighting that is not overly bright or intrusive. Recessed lighting can brighten the home cinema well enough to see and move around but won’t be too bright or distracting from the show. Recessed lighting often requires a contractor since it must be installed in the walls or ceiling. Again, dimmable LED lights are your best choice. Check this almost flat LED option from Amazon. Keep them just bright enough for your guests to reach for popcorn or get up to use the bathroom during the show. Add LED colored rope lights for mood. SecureHomeHero Tip: For permanent garage transformation, add dimmable rope LED lighting in the main aisle and between the seats. Smart mood lighting: If you want to add some color to your home cinema design, using mood lighting with a smart software app can allow you to reflect whatever mood you like. This option works for both permanent and temporary conversions. My personal choice is Philips HUE because you can use the HUE system to control the theater lights, add an action light behind your screen for more visual impact (more on that later). Check this color Philips Hue starter kit here. Keep in mind that this is an amazingly versatile premium option for your entire home, and it also carries a premium price. Ceiling projectors: Do you want a fun and relaxed ambiance without the hassle of wall or ceiling installation? Make your indoor garage cinema look like a drive-in by using a floor starfield ceiling projector in the room. This option works for both permanent and temporary conversions, and it will add a fantastic visual appeal to any theatre design. It is dark enough for movies yet gives just enough light to allow your guests to navigate the theatre in the dark. Make sure to select a dimmable one such as this projector from Amazon for maximum ambiance control. SecureHomeHero Tip: Place the projector behind your seated guests so they can enjoy the sky effect without being distracted by the light from the device. Architectural sconces: For a more formalized permanent home theater look, installing architectural sconces is one way to take your cinema lighting to the next level. Rather than being recessed into the walls, sconces stick out from the wall as part of a built-in architectural feature. While these depend on your taste, here is an example from Amazon if you are going for a classic movie theater look. Dimmer switch lighting: When you choose a light that is not controlled by an app or software, make sure to install a dimmer switch to control the brightness of the theater. A WiFi dimmer switch lighting lets you turn down the lights during movie time and bring them back up for other garage activities from a remote or your phone. SecureHomeHero Tip: A WiFi or a remote-controlled switch is a must! You do not want to be walking in the dark in front of the screen to reach a wall switch. Control everything from your phone or remote. Sound for a Garage Home Cinema Along with theater lighting, audio and sound technology are significant factors that can make or break a garage home cinema’s design. The best option to emulate an actual movie theater is to install 5.1 surround-sound stereo systems. These systems typically consist of the following parts: Two speakers (front)SubwooferCenter channelTwo surround speakers The Sound System: The average two-car garage is about 240sq ft, so you will not need an overly powerful sound system. The goal is to get clear, immersive, and enjoyable sound, not overpowering. Another thing to consider is the size of the speakers. Choose a sound system with a relatively small speaker size so you can easily mount them on the walls. This system will work for both: permanent home theater garage conversion or a weekend movie warrior set-up. No Watts, Please! Most people go for watts: the more watts, the better, right? No, if you buy more watts than you need, you will only get sound distortion and earaches. Do you need 500 watts for a garage cinema? No, that is overkill! 300 watts? Still, that way too much! Here is a Klipsch quality system with superior sound quality that is more than loud enough to shake your walls. It is wireless and wall-mountable; it checks all the boxes. The Klipsch Black Reference Theater Pack 5.1 Surround Sound System Soundproofing: Another thing you might want to consider is soundproofing your garage if you intend to use it as a permanent home cinema. Soundproofing allows you to watch movies or play video games as loud as you want without worrying about disturbing anyone else in the house. More importantly, soundproofing enhances low-level dialogue and effects delivered over your high-quality audio systems. There are many ways to soundproof; here are some decorative wall panels from Amazon. SecureHomeHero Tip: Your flooring choice also falls under soundproofing, but do not worry; we have a whole section dedicated to flooring. Screens for a Garage Home Cinema I know you have been waiting for this one! When it comes to converting your garage into a home cinema, your screen is the most critical aspect of the entire project! It isn’t an area of the renovation you want to skimp on since the whole point of using the garage as a cinema is to maximize screen space. Picking out a screen comes with some technical considerations. For the best viewing experience, motion picture and television engineers recommend that you view cinema screens from a minimum of a thirty-degree angle for immersion. (Source: Elite HTS) So what does that mean for your garage home cinema design? It means that your seating has to be far enough from your screen to allow a more relaxed perspective. You don’t want the screen mounted in such a way that viewers have to crane their necks to see it. Smaller garages may not be large enough to accommodate a traditional projector-and-screen home cinema set-up comfortably. When it comes to setting up a screen for your cinema, you have two primary options to consider: Extra-large flat-screen televisions: If you’re turning your garage into a permanent home cinema, a high-quality flat-screen LCD television can provide consistent and excellent picture quality. You also won’t have to worry about pulling down a projector screen or setting one up. An 85” flat screen is an excellent size for immersive viewing, and here is a good place to start your search. Home Projectors and theater screens: A home theater screen is a monitor that can either be fixed in a permanent frame or designed to retract when the screen is not in use. These screens are used together with a projection system. Home theater screens are large and require a large room to be viewed comfortably. My Recommendation: TV sizes, brands, LED, QLED, 70” or 85”? The choices are dizzying! It is also easy to get it wrong. If you choose a screen that is too small for your space, the experience will be underwhelming. If the screen is too big, it will be a pain in the neck (literally). I can tell you that regardless of how many “screen size guides” you read, you will not know for sure until you get the TV and mount it. The best solution is a flexible one: A projector that can give you a clear HD image from 30” to 200”. You can set then change your mind to your heart’s content! You can choose and change your screen size with the XGIMI Horizon FHD Projector with Android TV You cannot go wrong with the XGIMI Horizon FHD Projector with Android TV 10.0, Auto Focus, Auto Object Avoidance, and WiFi Bluetooth. It is easy to set up and can automatically adjust to the size and tilt of your screen. While the built-in Harmon-Kardon speakers are good, you still want a complete speaker system for a movie experience. SecureHomeHero Tip: Don't forget the screen cover if you choose a large-screen TV. This is critical in weekend conversions. You do not want your big screen TV to be exposed to dust, accidents, or extreme temperatures. Check this find on Amazon that works with most wall mounts. Flooring for a Garage Home Cinema One of the first renovations you’ll need to do after clearing out a garage to turn it into a home cinema is to switch up the flooring. Most garages come standard with smooth cement, but this is a poor material for a theater since the hard, flat surface will cause noises and are poor acoustics and echo generators. For permanent home cinema garage conversions, carpeting is a much better option. Not only does carpeting help you better mimic the look and feel of a professional movie theater, but it also helps absorb sound and produce no echo. Carpeting also helps to soundproof the garage so that the sound of the cinema doesn’t carry as far. There are a few other choices for temporary conversions that can handle car parking between movie nights. Here are a few to consider: Rollout mats: While it is not as thick and plush as carpeting, a garage rollout mat is significantly cheaper than carpet installation, looks better than bare cement, and can be used even if you plan on storing a car in the garage.Interlocking tiles: Interlocking tiles are another option that is cheaper than a carpet but still improves the looks and acoustics of your garage home cinema. They come in different colors and can be laid down in the design of your choice. While such tiles do not absorb sound from the cinema, they will provide a more comfortable surface for lounging. Garage Tiles look better and are easier to clean than bare cement. Get creative with patterns and colors! Rugs: If you want to improve the acoustics of your garage for a home cinema, but you want to access the bare cement floor later, you can always put down floor rugs in the garage. These rugs perform the same actions as permanent carpeting but can be rolled up and removed if you want to revert the garage for storage. It might not seem that important, but putting down the right kind of flooring can make a significant impact on how movies and other media sound in your home theater. Even if you put down cheap rubber flooring rather than installing a plush carpet, you’ll still be improving the acoustics of the garage. Seating for a Garage Home Cinema Besides your movie screen, seating is another aspect of your garage home cinema renovation you shouldn’t skimp on. Whether you go with traditional movie theater seating or choose something more unconventional like a couple of lazy boy chairs, you can select seats that are more comfortable than your local theater. These are a few features to look out for in quality permanent home cinema seating: Power recline: One of the biggest advantages of home theater seating versus public theater seating is that you can recline as much or as little as you like. Seating with power recline options makes swapping between different inclines a breeze.LED lighting: Since home cinemas are dim, many theater seats incorporate LED lighting to make it easier to see your snacks and drinks. USB power ports: The USB power ports in quality theater seating allow viewers to charge their mobile devices at the same time that they watch the movie for peak convenience and comfort.Motorized headrests: Motorized headrests can allow a movie-goer to recline seamlessly without getting pulled out of the film they’re watching. You want one that checks all the boxes? Consider this beautiful recliner from Amazon. How about this cozy loveseat to turn any flick into a romantic movie! For a more compact love seat, check out this manual option. Keep in mind that these choices are for permanent cinema conversion. Upgrade Your Portable Chair As for you, weekend warriors, some fantastic portable/foldable options cater to comfort. This zero gravity chair is highly rated on Amazon, it is easily storable when not in use, and it can double as a deck or backyard recliner! Comfortable and foldable zero-gravity chair. Ideal for a weekend garage cinema transformation. You can also Choose bean bag chairs over theater seating. If you are only going to use your home cinema part of the time, you’ll want seating that can be moved and stored away easily. Bean bags can be used to sit on during movie marathons but are easy to store away in a closet afterward. Another option is to upgrade whatever seat you already have in your house or backyard. Check out this heated, cushioned seat topper with drink and popcorn pockets! One of the major advantages of a home cinema over going to the movie theater is that you can splurge on much nicer (and cleaner!) seating for yourself than you have to put up with in a public venue. However, there are theater-style seating in several price ranges depending on your budget. HVAC for a Garage Home Cinema When you’re converting a garage to a home cinema, one challenge you might have to overcome is the air conditioning situation. Unless you already have an air-conditioned and temperature-controlled garage, you’re going to need to install some HVAC system. Keep in mind that your garage is hotter in the summer than your home and colder in the winter. When choosing a space heater or an air conditioner for a temporary conversion, your main criteria should be heating efficiency and noise level. For that, your best bet is an oil filled radiator. It makes no noise and warms up the space nicely. The only downside is that you have to allow time for it to work. Depending on the size of your garage and the average winter temperature in your area, you may need one or two. Choose an oil radiator model in black color (not white) to minimize light reflection from your screen. Do not forget about climate control: Choose dark-colored quite radiators. The matter is a bit more tricky with air conditioners. Portable air-conditioning units are available but are often louder than a traditional air conditioning system. This makes it a poor choice for a home cinema since the sound of the AC unit could be distracting to movie-goers. I found this HomeLabs portable air condition unit as quiet as a fan. You probably won’t do much better than that. For permanent conversions, the HVAC installation for a home cinema in the garage can be one of the more expensive parts of the conversion, running around four thousand dollars for a split system conversion. (Source: The Family Handyman) However, this is not a part of the renovation to skimp on since garage temperatures can be broiling hot in unprotected garages during the summer. Storage for a Garage Home Cinema If you get most of your home cinema media through streaming services, you might not have as much need to add storage to your garage for your home cinema. However, suppose you want to install a home cinema to act as a center for your DVD or video game collections. In that case, you’ll want some storage options to keep DVDs, consoles, video games, and other electronics. Here are some of the storage options you have available to add organization to your garage home theater: Entertainment cabinets: Entertainment cabinets are a useful form of storage in a home cinema because they allow you to store other media related to the cinema, such as video game consoles and other electronics. It’s also helpful to have a place to store charging ports since many visitors will want to bring and charge their devices in the space. Cabinets are suitable for permanent conversions, as they tend to take up floor space. Shelving: Shelving is suitable for garage home cinemas because it is versatile and can house miscellaneous items related to the home cinema. Shelving has the disadvantage of looking cluttered if it isn’t organized, so be sure to keep things tidy for a sleek look. Shelving is the better option for temporary or weekend Home theater use. If you keep most of your media in a digital format rather than a physical one, you can minimize the need for storage in your home cinema. But if you want to start an epic movie collection to go along with your theater, you’ll need to select one of the options above to The type of storage you choose for your garage home cinema will depend on the following factors: How many pieces of physical media (DVDs, CDs) do you need to store?How much space in the garage do you have for storage?Your budget for the home cinema renovation (storage is a luxury, not a necessity) Ultimately, you won’t be installing any storage in your garage home cinema until you have more basic renovations completed, such as the lighting, sound systems, screen, walls, ceiling, and floors. You’ll need to have all of the basic renovations of the cinema completed before you begin adding storage and furniture. SecureHomeHero Tip: Choose darker colors in matte or non-metal finish. This will reduce glare and light refelction from your screen. Wall Decor for a Garage Home Cinema While you can get away with a spartan interior design for a garage home cinema, there are also many ways you can spruce the area up to carry the movie theater theme and make the room more attractive. Wall decorations work for both permeant and temporary garage-cinema transformation This section highly depends on your personal taste. Vintage stores are great for that one-of-a-kind piece. You can also check out some results here. Of course, if you’re only planning on using the garage as a cinema part of the time, you probably won’t want to put up any theater-specific decor. But if you’re setting up a permanent movie screen in the garage, you might want to decorate the space to match its new function. Here are just a few things you could potentially add to the walls of your garage home cinema: Memorabilia: If you have a gallery of family photos or any other kind of memorabilia, the free wall space in a garage home cinema is an excellent place to display them. These large collections may be difficult to find a home for on other walls of the house.Genre decor: If you’re especially into a certain genre of films, such as horror or noir mystery, setting up your home cinema theme by leaning into that genre can lead to some interesting decor choices. You could theme your home cinema according to any of your special interests.Signage: There are plenty of movie theater signs, both vintage and modern, that you can hang up in your garage home cinema to make it feel more like a real movie theater. These signs can also add a classy touch to your design if you want a more sophisticated or neutral space.Movie posters: Putting up movie posters of your favorite movies in your garage home cinema is a great way to showcase your favorite films for any guest that visits your cinema.Home theater curtain: If you have a fixed theater screen, a home theater curtain can be a way to hide the screen when it isn’t in use while also adding to the feel of the home cinema being an actual movie theater. The decorations you put up in your garage home cinema can be as individual as you. Whether you have a collection you want to display or you just want to make the garage feel like a real movie theater, there are plenty of decor options to choose from. Cool Accessories for a Garage Home Cinema If you have the space, you can add a few other accessories to a home garage cinema to put the finishing touches on your renovation. While these improvements may be a luxury upgrade to your garage home cinema, they’re worth the investment if you are trying to replicate a movie theater experience at home. Popcorn maker: Nothing says going to the movies like buttery movie theater-style popcorn, and installing your own popcorn maker in your garage home cinema can add a whimsical touch to your overall theater design. Cabinet arcade: If you have enough space, another way to add interest to your garage home cinema is to install a pinball machine or other arcade game in the room. Since many movie theaters feature a lobby arcade, a pinball machine can add to the theater atmosphere. (To prevent light and glare from affecting the movie, make sure to place any video games far back in the theater!)Candy display rack: If you really want to get fancy with your garage home cinema, setting up a display rack of your favorite movie theater candies will delight your guests the next time you decide to have a movie night in your garage.Universal remote: This may be unnecessary if your devices can be controlled via smart Apps on your phone or tablet. However, if you have a lot of different devices in your entertainment system, keeping up with multiple remotes can be a hassle. Programming all of your devices to a Universal Remote with an LED screen makes managing your entertainment center much easier.Blackout curtains: If you have windows in your garage door and you aren’t planning on walling it in for your home cinema, covering the windows of the garage door with blackout curtains can help keep the garage dim enough to see the movie clearly.C-tables: When you’re setting up a home cinema you’re going to want to maximize space, and C-tables allow you to do just that. These small and economical side tables are just large enough to hold a drink or snack without cluttering up your home theater. (Source: Digital Trends) C-tables are a great mobile option for both permeant and temporary garage-cinema transformation Home theater accessories can make your interior design look more layered and complete. They’re also a great way for you to put a personal touch on the look of your cinema. These additions aren’t necessary for a functioning home cinema in the garage, and if you’re on a tight budget for the renovation, you can easily skip them. However, investing in these accessories can make your theater experience more complete. A Garage Is a Great Renovation Space for a Home Cinema Thanks to its spacious layout and lack of obstructing walls, an unused garage is the perfect auxiliary space to turn into a home cinema if watching movies and other media is one of your passions. While this type of home renovation can be expensive, you can ultimately end up with a better movie-going experience in your own home (and your pajamas) than you could ever get at a public theater.