After years of wanting a dedicated home theater, I was finally able to realize that dream when I had my new home built. I had the room pre-wired for 7.1 sound, but the rest was up to me. The following pictures show the room transformed from an empty spare bedroom into a home theater. The entire process took about a week.

First, here is a list of all the equipment used in the theater. All the electronic equipment (except the projector) is housed in a closet adjoining the room:

- Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080 UB Projector
- Stewart 110" 16x9 Luxus Deluxe Screenwall w/ StudioTek 130 Fabric
- Marantz SR-8002 A/V Receiver
- Toshiba HD-XA2 1080p HD-DVD Player
- Panasonic DMP-BD30K 1080p Blu-ray Player
- Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Conditioner w/ Battery Backup
- Axiom Audio M60 v2 Main Speakers (2)
- Axiom Audio VP150 v2 Center Speaker (1)
- Axiom Audio QS8 v2 Side Surround Speakers (2)
- Axiom Audio M3 v2 Rear Surround Speakers (2)
- Axiom Audio FMS CC Full Metal Center Channel Stand (1)
- SVS PB12-Plus/2 Subwoofer w/ 900 Watt BASH amp (1)
- Auralex Great GRAMMA Isolation Riser
- Berkline 45004 Home Theater Seating w/ Grade-3 Leather & Power Recliner Options (4)
- Logitech Harmony 890 PRO Universal Remote
- Logitech Harmony RF Wireless Extender
- Intermatic HA06C RF Wireless Z-Wave Dimmer Module

FRONT - BEFORE:

FRONT - AFTER:

BACK - BEFORE:

BACK - AFTER:

EQUIPMENT RACK - BEFORE:

EQUIPMENT RACK - AFTER:

SUBWOOFER - FRONT:

SUBWOOFER/900w AMP - BACK:

I plan to add some things, such as a beautiful fiber optic starfield overhead, acoustic treatments, columns and sconces. I'll update whenever changes are made.

July 18, 2008: Phase 2 of the lobby has been completed. I'll talk a bit more about what's coming in Phase 3 a little further down on the page.

Rather than list all the items that are in the lobby before all the pictures (as I did for the theater, above), I'll discuss the various items I've purchased that are specific to each picture. I'll also include links to where the items were purchased.

This is the view as you come up the stairs and then turn towards the lobby:

Here's the main concession area. The retro-style Coca-Cola napkin dispenser and glass Coca-Cola straw dispenser can be seen on the left hand side of the display case. The illuminated buttery topping dispenser & warmer is on the right side of the display case:

Here's a view of the candy in the 48" concession display w/lock. Some of the candy was purchased locally at Costco, but most of it had to be special ordered. From top left to bottom right: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kats, Orbit Chewing Gum, Sno-Caps, Snickers, M&Ms, Junior Mints, Assorted nuts, Peppermint Patties, Whoppers, Raisinets and Goobers:

Here's the Paragon 6oz Theater Pop popcorn machine and its matching stand. Here's a short video (wmv format) of the popcorn machine in action. Inside the popcorn machine is a stainless steel popcorn scoop. On the wall behind the popcorn machine is a decorative "Dancing Popcorn" metal wall sign:

This is the top shelf inside the popcorn machine stand. In this view you can see a small supply of large popcorn tubs and medium "pop open" popcorn cartons. In order to save money I purchased these items by the case. The extra popcorn cartons and tubs are stored in the theater's big A/V closet:

This is the bottom shelf inside the popcorn machine stand. Here you can see a few bottles of Odell's "Supur Kist-Two" movie theater popcorn topping along with a supply of 32oz waxed cups and matching lids. Like the popcorn tubs, these items are cheaper by the case. In addition to what you see here, I've got an ample supply stored in the A/V closet:

This is the Frigidaire Compact Refrigerator/Freezer. On top of the fridge you can see a couple different brands of popcorn packs in the large popcorn tubs. On the left I've got a good supply of Great American popcorn packs, and on the right I've got some Gold Medal "MegaPop" popcorn packs. Both are excellent! Each use quality corn, coconut oil and Flavorcol salted seasoning--these are the "secret ingredients" required to make theater-quality popcorn at home (of course you've got to have a good popper, too!):

There's plenty of room in the refrigerator: it holds around (50) 12oz beverages and (8) 24oz bottles of water--with room to spare. The fridge can easily keep these drinks just above freezing (and, as I found out, below freezing if you set the temperature controls to low):

There's plenty of room in the freezer for a large quantity of ice. The freezer has no problem going sub-zero:

Looking towards the lobby's half-wall, you can see the retro popcorn-themed bullet trashcan. In Phase 3 a stand up multi-arcade game will be added just to the left of the trash can:

Here's a closer shot of the trash can:

Here's another movie poster. You may have noticed "The Terminator" movie poster in some of the earlier shots. All the movie posters were ordered from movieposter.com. In addition to what you see in the pictures on this page, I've got a bunch of other movie posters that can be rotated into use with ease. The posters are housed in SpeedLock movie poster frames. These frames make changing the posters out a snap. A pinball machine will be added just to the right of the movie poster (in front of the window) in Phase 3:

Here's my DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray collection, which is currently around 1,500 titles. The tall DVD Wall Unit on the left houses my HD-DVDs and Blu-ray DVDs, while the two large DVD wall units hold my standard definition DVD collection:

As mentioned above, for Phase 3 I'll be adding a stand up multi-arcade machine along with a pinball machine. I'll also be adding some more decorative items, such as a custom illuminated theater sign and so on. More to come!

You can access my searchable DVD database here.