Best Color for HT

[fiosmeup]

I am planning on painting the walls in mt Home thearter, Currently is light blue/ white wallpaper( yikes). A deep red would work as far as the room looks but is there a color that works better, or is just room preferance?
Thanks
DW

 

[Exit]

I have looked at pictures of high end HTs and I have seen them use red walls, red carpeting and red chairs and it looked awesome. I also remember seeing blues and tans and greens that looked good. I think black is theoretically the best color because it doesn't reflect any specific color of light. I have seen the ceilings paiinted black but not the wall and floors. Somehow people don't like a totally black room and compromise by using a color(s). As long as you use a flat paint and try to stay towards a darker color, the color can be whatever looks good to you.

 

[fiosmeup]

I thought the dark red would look good, but I didn't want to here" you can never use red in a HT" after I painted it.
Thanks

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Yep, just copy this and be done with it
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23859

I thought the dark red would look good, but I didn't want to here" you can never use red in a HT" after I painted it.
Thanks

 

[Jack Hammer]

I am planning on painting the walls in mt Home thearter, Currently is light blue/ white wallpaper( yikes). A deep red would work as far as the room looks but is there a color that works better, or is just room preferance?
Thanks
DW

Definately you want flat,non-reflective, paint. I've always been a fan of a tan shade. Something like adobe. It's a nice compromise when your HT area may not be fully dedicated to just watching movies.


Jack

 

[Bryce_H]

My theater pictures are in post #10

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40944

Flat paint all around - walls are dark blue and red. Ceiling is a dark gray (its not black). Carpet is dark red and chairs are a med blue. Once the lights are dimmed everything looks black.

 

[BMXTRIX]

People are very dumb about lighting in a theater - which I think is a huge mistake.

They are concerned about painting - sometimes - which is a good thing. Your question is great, but has a fairly simple answer... The darker the paint, the better! Don't forget that all surfaces in the room should be dark, this includes walls, carpets, furniture, and the ceiling!!! People will do everything but the ceiling and think it's okay when they are completely ignoring 20% of the reflection area.

Back to lighting...

Congratualations! You've now created a black hole of light in your theater - how will you light the space so people can actually see when you want them to? Or when you need to work on gear, or clean the room?

LIGHTS, LIGHTS, and more LIGHTS!

12-20 lights is not an unrealistic number for a 12x15 theater. Using highly directional recessed/spotlights zoned into multiple areas along with added accent lights you can really add a lot of light to the room with minimal impact on image quality. Most of all, when the lights are turned way up, you can actually see your way through the room and don't have any dark corners which make the room feel cave like.

Take a look:
http://www.avintegrated.com/lighting.html

 

[Halon451]

Scroll down to the Member Systems Gallery on this site, and also peruse as many other photos of completed HT systems you can to get ideas. Most of what you will find does indeed include darker, flat colors and for the reasons mentioned above.

But seeing as many as you can will help give you ideas so you can tailor it to your own preferences. I don't think anyone can pick your color for you, except for you.

Good luck!

 

[Bryce_H]

I agree that lighting is a huge factor. In my theater I have 4 zones - front (2 cans), back (4 cans), 3 sconces, and the rope lighting. They are all controlled through a lutron switch that is programmed into my remote. So I hit play and the lights dim, hit pause and the lights come up. I never go completely dark for many of the reasons BMXtrix mentions. The rope lighting in my theater takes care of the 'see where I am walking' issue.