Home Theater Seating Tips
Your home theater isn’t complete without the right home theater seating. It may seem like a small detail, but the right chairs can make a huge difference in your viewing experience.
Many modern home theater seats come with reclining capabilities, snack and drink holders and unique features for your comfort. Additionally, they can affect your room’s acoustics.
Leather Seats
Often overlooked, the material of home theater seating makes a big difference in comfort and appearance. With so much else to consider — from the size of your room to the ideal audiovisual setup and seating layout — it’s easy to overlook the type of leather you choose for your media room sofa, loveseat or rows of reclining seats.
Full grain leather is natural, durable and looks great – even after years of use. The sanding and buffing process it goes through makes it resistant to things like popcorn butter and wine stains. However, it also has a tendency to fade in the sun and it may absorb some body oil. However, it can be conditioned to reduce these issues and remains comfortable for long movie nights.
Chaise Lounges
If you want to recreate the classic movie theater experience at home, you need comfortable, reclining seating. Chaise lounges fit the bill, as they offer the full-body support of a recliner without being as deep as a sofa.
Many of today’s home theater chaise lounges feature lumbar support, a variety of reclining options and center consoles that hold remote controls, snacks and drinks. Some also come with heating and cooling functions that maintain comfort throughout long viewing sessions.
If you’re looking to add some luxury to your media room, consider a luxurious, fabric-upholstered chaise lounge. These seats are available in multiple styles, from sleek and modern to casual and relaxing, so you’re sure to find one that fits your home. And with dual cupholders and built-in USB charging ports, these seats are as functional as they are stylish.
Snack Bars
A home theater snack bar is a great way to add more seating to your home theater without taking up too much room. You can stock the bar with all your favorite movie snacks, soda, and even beer for friends and family to enjoy during the movie.
Couches are a nice alternative to traditional rows of recliners and are a good option for those that do not want to spend the money on high end home theater seats but still want to fit some extra people in their home theater for parties or children’s movie nights. Many couches are non-recline-able and can be mixed in with reclining seats without creating a visually jarring effect.
Seating is the first task that should be done during a home theater design process and often dictates other decisions such as screen size, acoustic treatment and subwoofer / speaker type and placement.
Floor Seating
Home theater seating goes beyond the selection of comfortable chairs. The location, design, and features of the seats directly influence the viewing and audio experience. Poorly positioned seating can lead to obstructed sightlines or uneven sound exposure.
Seats come in many shapes, sizes, and colors to complement your space. You can also customize the features of each chair to ensure optimal comfort and viewing quality. Options include adjustable headrests, lumbar support, and motorized reclining mechanisms.
Wall decor and lighting can also set the mood for your film viewing experiences. For example, you can install acoustic panels in your walls that are available in several textures and colors to match your aesthetic preferences. Other decorative accents you can add to your media room include a starlight ceiling or a custom bar for snacks and drinks.
Pallet Wood Seating
If you want to create a dedicated home theater, look for special features that make it feel like a movie-watching oasis. These include soundproofing, home theater chairs and furniture with reclining ability and features such as cup and snack holders, and plush carpeting in dark colors to set the mood.
If your home theater doubles as a family room, you may prefer to use furniture that can adapt to its different uses. Configurable home theater sofas with removable ottomans let you arrange the seating to suit the occasion.
If you’re constructing your own home theater seats from pallet wood, plan the seat top, structure and back with a pencil and a tape measure. Cut the seat side trim boards to match this measurement and screw them on flush with the seat top (Image 1). Search local stores and warehouses for discarded pallets.