- Living Spaces
Gather & Enjoy: Creating a Media Room for the Ultimate Family and Friend Experience
This blog is dedicated to all things media and home entertainment related. If you’re a movie buff, a gamer, or just someone who loves to unwind with their favourite TV shows, this one’s for you!
Creating a media room in your home can be a game-changer and in today’s fast-paced world, having a dedicated space for entertainment and relaxation is becoming increasingly popular. Providing you with a space where you can immerse yourself in your favourite movies, music and games is something that many of us dream of, while enjoying the comfort of our own home. While media rooms are often deemed as a luxury because of the space required, in this blog we’ll also inspire you with bespoke furniture options to allow you to create this space in more compact homes and also in open plan living areas where the kitchen/dining is often adjacent.
One of the first things to consider when planning your media room is how you wish to use the space. Is it going to be a comfortable haven where you escape to watch TV after a busy day, perhaps it’s a place where you have a family movie night with the kids or are you an avid gamer or sports fanatic who wants to create the ultimate at home entertainment experience? This will help shape the overall functionality of the room.
Beautifully Bespoke Media Walls
For those of us who want our TV to command our front room, snug or kitchen/living space, a bespoke media wall is the perfect choice for creating a feature wall. Furniture ranges such as our luxurious Lawrenson or Winslow can create a stunning entertainment unit providing a fantastic mix of open shelving, wide drawers and cabinet storage to hold your Blu-Ray/DVD/Games collection, consoles and remotes. With a stepped profile, painted woodgrain finish, moulded plinth and cornice detailing, these ranges command the centre stage thanks to their grand design. Opt for a wall mounted TV to keep cables hidden out of sight for a sleeker appearance.
Another important point to consider when planning or considering a fitted media wall is ventilation. By including multiple alcoves and shelving in your design, you can limit the risk of your electrical devices overheating especially if you have more than one entertainment console.
With power playing a major factor in keeping your media wall alive, taking note of the available plug sockets during the design process can help reduce headaches in the long run while also increasing the practicality of the space. Having enough power outlets will enable you to safely power your TV and all your devices. It’s also worth thinking about future proofing your design with some extra power outlets to keep your entertainment rolling and perhaps some USB sockets to charge your wireless devices.
To put the finishing touches on your media wall, consider adding LED Strip Lighting under your open shelving and a range of T Bar and Bar Handles in antique brass for added opulence.
Illuminate Your Space
Whether you’ve got a media unit or a media wall, incorporating lighting into your media area can add ambiance and functionality. Consider adding LED light strips behind your media unit or inside shelving to create a soft glow that enhances your viewing experience. Additionally, task lighting near your TV or gaming area can reduce eye strain and provide focused illumination for your entertainment activities.
Mood lighting can be a great asset to enhance your viewing experience as well as your colour scheme when you need it. Illuminate your glazed cabinetry with LED spotlights to create a cosy atmosphere as well as a stunning design feature in your living space.
Did you know that we offer LED lighting as part of our STORI collection, including an X-Driver Wi-Fi Kit? You can take Smart control of your lighting with a simple voice command or press of a button. Controllable with both Alexa and Google Assistant as well as an easy-to-use app, Smart driver enables you to operate intelligent lighting effortlessly. You can also set up groups of lights to control at the same time or dim individual lights to set the mood, whether you require LED Spot Lighting inside your glass cabinetry or simply want to add LED Strip Lighting under your open shelving.
Furnish In Style
When considering how to style your media space, whether it’s a media wall or a freestanding TV unit, one point to contemplate is the choice of paint colour and also the wall space. Darker paint tones such as Graphite and Slate Blue for your furniture if it’s a media wall or the wall space behind your TV if it’s a freestanding unit have proven to be effective in not distracting your gaze from your screen. This provides you with an uninterrupted viewing experience to relax and enjoy your favourite movies and TV shows.
We offer a comprehensive selection of 32 painted options, within our standard paint palette. From the calming neutral hues of Porcelain and Mussel to the deep shades of Marine and Cannon Black, there is something for everyone.
For something truly bespoke, why not opt for our in-house Colour Match Service and have your media furniture painted in that must-have colour that you’ve always wanted!
To top off your media furniture décor, style it with some of your favourite art prints, movie memorabilia or show off your gaming consoles. Another option could be to make use of the blend of open shelving by adding some house plants, framed photographs and a candle or diffuser to set the mood.
Flexible Furniture Solutions
Freestanding furniture solutions such as TV units, sideboards and console tables are all popular choices due to their versatility and customisable design. You could opt for something like our Madison TV Unit which allows you to place your TV on top or wall mount it behind for a clean, seamless look. In addition, it’s mix of open shelving and drawer storage provides enough space for your streaming devices, media boxes and remotes. One of the main benefits of freestanding furniture is the ability to move it when needed, so there’s no need to panic if you want to relocate!
Another design factor to think about is the cabling that runs from your TV to your media boxes and power outlets. Media furniture allows you to keep all of your equipment in one location, while also cleverly routing the cables through the back of the unit for a clean, sleek and uncluttered appearance.
Don’t Forget the Popcorn!
We’ve saved the best to last! No media room is complete without a place to store snacks and drinks.
An option could be simply using one of the built-in internal storage drawers in your media unit to store some snacks for your next movie night with family and friends.
For the ultimate luxury, consider a stunning dresser bar to house your wine and drinks collection in one convenient place. Perfect if you’ve got an open plan kitchen and living space, a drinks dresser can be fitted to an alcove or wall to really make a statement. Allowing you to conveniently store your glassware, bottles, mixers and ice buckets, dressers are perfect for keeping your favourite drinks items safely set aside for your next entertainment night. Complete the look with mirrored back panelling, LED internal lighting and integrated bespoke wine bottle and glass racks.
In conclusion, decorating your media space is an opportunity to blend style and function, creating an area which enhances the overall aesthetics of your living area. By incorporating thoughtful design elements, cleverly organising your home entertainment system and personalising the space, you can elevate your experience while adding a touch of style to your living space.
Feel like you’re ready to start designing your new media room? Get in touch with one of our approved STORI retailers today and book a design appointment.