You’re sitting in your home theater, enjoying the show. However, as you reach for your popcorn, you can’t find it. As you stand up to go to the bathroom, you trip on your way out the door. What’s the issue? Your home theater is too dark! But don’t worry, we have some great ideas to help lighten it up to grant you visibility and help your space feel more like the real cinematic experience without washing out your image and distracting you from the show.
Overhead Lighting
Every home theater should install overhead lighting to be used whenever you aren’t watching a film. This helps keep the space bright so you can prepare and clean up for your movie nights. You can opt for recessed or mounted lighting fixtures. Recessed light bulbs are embedded in the ceiling, providing an elegant feel to the room, and are more affordable than most fixtures. However, their circular shape may require you to cut holes in the ceiling between the studs, making installation a bit difficult to accomplish for some spaces that may end up with asymmetrical lighting. Mounted light fixtures are likely what the other rooms of your home use to brighten a space. They are less hidden than recessed lighting but have a considerably easier installation process. However, we understand if you want unique home theater lighting set apart from the rest of your house.
Wall Sconces
Want to truly replicate the movie magic? The addition of wall sconces, which direct light up or down from its placement on the wall, achieves a cinematic effect. As complementary lighting, you can leave them at a dim level during your movie to avoid washing out your projector image. Most require the installation of an up-to-code electrical box behind each sconce, so we recommend leaving this installation to the experts. Sconces are available in a wide variety of styles and sizes, so you’ll enjoy finding the shape that fits perfectly with your home theater’s aesthetic.
LED Light Strips
Besides their capacity to change color and brightness, LED lights can be cut to length to fit their perfect purpose, making them highly versatile complementary lighting for your home theater. They’re inexpensive, low energy, easy to install, and don’t produce much heat, so you can get quite creative with their uses. You can attach them behind your screen to ease eye strain, or increase visibility along the floor to light up your walking path to your seat. You can even place them under your seat, shelves, or movie posters for added ambiance. No matter what you decide, LED lighting is a fantastic cosmetic solution.
Fiber Optic Lighting
Have you ever seen a high-end home theater that appears as if stars are sparkling in the ceiling? This is fiber optic lighting, which is generated by a machine connected to many fiber tubes with a tiny light on each end. These are typically installed in a black ceiling and set to a white color, although many have RGB coloring capability. While it can achieve a gorgeous result, this effect isn’t for every home theater. It truly depends on your room’s shape and structure. If you have an indented ceiling, it will look like the night sky. However, a flat or oddly shaped ceiling will leave you with more of a headache than a sense of wonderment, so carefully examine your space before deciding to go with fiber optic lighting.
Controlling Everything with Smart Home Integration
Now, how will you control all these new light fixtures in your home theater? Luckily, as smart home devices grow in popularity, they become more affordable for the average homeowner. This is a great time to invest in smart lighting solutions such as dimmable wall controls, color-changing smart bulbs, and much more. A universal remote, touch-screen wall panel, or even paired smartphone app can integrate your lights with your audio-visual system, so you won’t be left fumbling for the right remote ever again. Once all your smart lights are situated, you’ll have the coolest and most convenient home cinema in your neighborhood!
Don’t Stay in the Dark
No one doubts the importance of home theater lighting to set the perfect mood while maintaining comfortable visibility. With the correct lighting for your home, you’ll be able to enjoy media in a home theater you’re truly proud to call yours. Several of the lighting methods mentioned above use high voltage electrical wiring, so we recommend leaving the installation to a team of professionals like Xssentials. Whether you have questions about recessed versus mounted lighting, or you’d like us to help you design the perfect LED strip runway, contact us today to get started!
