Designer Home Theater Transformation

The Project

Located in the Philadelphia suburbs, our clients wanted to turn their living room into a home theater and media room. Balancing best-in-class acoustic and cinema performance while maintaining a designer's aesthetic turned out to be a brilliant collaboration and a welcomed challenge we enjoyed with our client, a lauded Philadelphia-area interior designer. The space didn't just have to perform, it also had to look darn good doing it.

The living room had large beautiful windows and sliding doors, super high vaulted ceilings, and was right off the noisiest room in the house: the kitchen. An interior designer herself, our client wanted to have the flexibility of letting the light in and relaxing in the space, and then enjoying it as a go-to movie-watching destination for family and friends. So losing the windows and the architectural design and integrity of the room to optimize for a cinema space was not an option, and something that blackout shades and acoustical treatments resolved effectively and beautifully.

The result of this project is a stunning room that does triple duty as an amazing and acoustically impressive dedicated home cinema room, a bright and airy music and game room, and an elegant hangout space for drinks and hors d'oeuvres accessed right off the kitchen.

Interior Designer: Irma Fralic, Amri Homes
Builder: Worthington & Shagen Custom Builders
Architect: Wolstenholme Associates
Sales & System Designer: Shawn Thome, World Wide Stereo, Montgomeryville, PA

The System

We fitted the room with Lutron blackout shades to control the amount of light in the room and give it a true movie theater vibe anytime they wanted to use the system.

The entire room was artfully treated with Vicoustic sound treatments throughout to account for the beautifully (and often acoustically problematic) 20-foot vaulted ceilings, and to keep sound from the kitchen at bay. With scaffolding, we installed over 30 designer-approved sound panels over the entire ceiling and across the back of the room.

The client wanted the very best audio, so we outfitted the space with a McIntosh MC8207 power amp and MX122 pre-amp. The amp powers three new Bowers & Wilkins CWM7.3S2, two CWM7.5S2, and two CCM7.5S2. Delivering the thunderous bass in the theater are two JL Audio in-wall Fathom subwoofers. For the very best in video, we installed the Sony VPL-VW885ES 4K HDR Laser Home Theater Projector and a Stewart electric masking screen for the very best viewing. 

To control the system we used a Universal Remote Control (URC) Total Control System with the TDC-7100 being the main controller.

Taking the Fun Outside

Not to be outdone by the indoor space, the outside entertainment space features a Sonance Landscape system with strategically placed directional satellite speakers to enjoy the music without bothering the neighbors and buried in-ground subwoofers for elevated depth and bass. Since the client has a Sonos network inside, we added a Sonos Port to the outdoor audio system for easy music streaming throughout the client's entire property - through to the pool area and fire lounge area.

Project Gallery

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