For Westlake, Texas homeowners who want something a little more flexible than a dedicated home theater system, a media room provides an excellent option for entertainment of all sorts. However, with any multipurpose room, the most common mistake is taking a “jack of all trades, master of none” approach. To create a space that provides a top-notch environment for all of your favorite activities, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. We’ve listed the top design mistakes and how to fix them below.

DON’T Permanently Block Out Natural Light

Sunlight is the bane of any dedicated home theater. It washes out projector visuals and creates a glare on television screens. Since you’ll likely want to enjoy movies and shows in your media room, your first instinct is probably to create a room without any windows. The problem is that the room needs to be available for other activities, like chatting with friends or playing a game of cards. In those cases, natural sunlight is great to have.

DO Install Blackout Shades on the Windows

The solution is to keep the windows, but include motorized shades that completely block out the light when you need a dark environment. With motorized shades, you have more flexibility for creating the perfect lighting for each activity, and changing the lighting is as easy as pushing a button.

DON’T Clutter the Room with Equipment

Bulky speakers, gaming equipment, and a pile of remotes on the coffee table create the distinct feeling that everyone is supposed to stare at the screen and jump right into a movie or video game. If you want the space to be open for other activities such as a fun party or relaxing with a good book, you don’t want to be distracted by the presence of AV equipment.

SEE MORE: 4 Unique Uses for Your Brand New Media Room

The very first universal remote debuted in 1985. While the technology was clunky and basic, the idea behind the original universal remote is still true today: consolidating control of your media devices makes using them easier. In modern media rooms, universal controls are a must-have item. With sound systems, media players, televisions, and more, having one remote to manage everything definitely makes life simpler. To learn about the best universal remote on the market today, read on. 

A Design that Everyone Can Enjoy

Bigger isn’t always better. The Savant Pro remote is designed to fit easily into your hand, with all the controls in easy reach. The top portion is a curved touchscreen that helps you navigate the options quickly. For those of us who prefer the traditional button feel, the remote has that option too.

One Remote for Everything

The Savant Pro remote has a huge range of supported devices. Everything from your Apple TV to your Sonos sound system to your Blu-ray player can all be controlled at the push of a button. Of course, Savant doesn’t just do your typical media devices; it can also manage the lights, climate, motorized window treatments, and more!

Preset Scenes

Media rooms often have a lot of different uses, from watching movies to playing games with friends. The Savant Pro remote allows you to “set the scene” for each activity with the push of a button. These scenes are a collection of preprogrammed settings for the perfect lighting levels, temperature, music, and more. So when you want to watch a movie, just select the “Movie” scene. When you do, the lights will dim, the shades will lower to block out sunlight, and all your media equipment will turn on instantly.

SEE ALSO: Top Do’s and Don’ts for Media Room Design

So you’ve decided to upgrade the media room in your Dallas, TX home. Instead of the standard 1080p HD you’ve become accustomed to, you want a video display that truly pops. You want to upgrade to 4K. But now that you’ve chosen to make the move, there are some questions you need answered, like: what exactly is 4K? How do you achieve full 4K picture? In this blog, we’ll answer your questions. Read on to learn more.

See Also: 4 Unique Uses for Your Brand New Media Room

What Is 4K?

By now you’ve probably heard the term 4K so much you might think it’s a standard feature on most TV displays. But actually, 4K has only become popular over the past couple of years. But do you really know what it means?

Also known as UHD, 4K is an image standard that’s four times the picture resolution of 1080p HD. Think of picture resolution like thread count on bedsheets: if 1080p equals 400 thread count, then 4K equals 1600. And, typically speaking, the higher the thread count, the better the quality.

When considering the best place to install your media room, most initial thoughts gravitate toward basements or attics.

If your Fort Worth, TX home doesn’t have either of these available, we can make any room fit.

The key to installing a quality media room is finding the right technology and catering it to the space available — wherever that space may be.

Because we firmly believe that we can make any space work as a media room, we will dedicate this blog to discussing the necessary technology rather than fixating on specific types of rooms.

Read on to learn about the features you need to consider and how we can make them work.

See Also: 5 Design Tips for Your Home Theater System

When crafting your Fort Worth, TX media room, you might only be thinking of where you’ll place your 4K TV screen or how to arrange your seating for the best view possible.  But you can use your entertainment space for so much more than a crystal-clear showing of a film!  Read on below, as we highlight the various ways to utilize your multi-purpose media room.

A Place to Jam

Whether you’re home by yourself or surrounded by family and friends, a good song can always elevate the mood.  By setting up a smart audio system in your media room, you can have your entire music library at the tip of your fingers.  Turn on your favorite playlist or change songs on command, all from your smartphone, tablet, or anther smart device.  And with a multi-room music setup, you can also have the high-end audio fill up the room, and then follow you throughout the house as you walk around.

Truly enhance your audio into top-notch quality with the right speakers.  To keep your room from being dominated by the AV equipment, choose bookshelf speakers to place inconspicuously on top of furniture or cabinets.  You could also hide speaker within the walls, so they’re completely hidden all of the time.

SEE ALSO: TOP DOS AND DON’TS FOR MEDIA ROOM DESIGN

Transform the Room

The best part of a multi-purpose media room is how it can fully change into a room of relaxation and tranquility when your TV and speakers are not in use.  Here are some of the great smart technologies that could entirely alter your room.

Getting the family to agree on anything can be difficult. Your sixteen-year-old daughter's ideal media room is going to be much different than yours. It may be enticing to say, "I've got the money, so I choose what we get." But you don't want one of the most important rooms in your Colleyville, Texas house to be a source of resentment. We specialize in creating multi-purpose media rooms that are sure to please the entire family. 

SEE MORE: 3 Ways to Fill Your Home With Music

Mellow Out With Your Favorite Music

With bookshelf speakers, ceiling speakers and in-wall speakers expertly laid out throughout the room you can have a versatile listening space. You don't need a dedicated 2-channel stereo system to break out the scotch and listen to your favorite albums. Many actually sound great on 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound setups as well. Whether you're breaking out Pink Floyd or B.B King, you can get an immersive experience and truly natural sound. While you enjoy your favorite albums, your daughter can use the same system to stream her favorite Pandora channel or Spotify playlist when she’s hosting friends.

Challenge Friends to a Gaming Marathon

A great way to use your 4K Ultra HD television and surround sound is playing games with friends. Create the perfect environment when playing your favorite first-person shooter game. Like a TV show or movie, video game soundtracks are edited to give you a greater sense of the action. Get ahead of the competition with a system that lets you know exactly where your enemies are coming from.

There are a few other ways we can deck out your media room to make it the best place for an Overwatch marathon. In PC gaming, many players opt for multi-monitor systems to increase their peripheral vision. We can recreate this set-up with a multi-screen media room. We also increase the strength of your home network, so your play is never interrupted due to a bad connection.