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

When you think about home surveillance, security is probably the first thing to come to mind. But surveillance cameras have far more uses than simply catching intruders in the act. With instant access to real-time footage right from your smartphone, the sky is the limit for what you can monitor with cameras in your Dallas area home. Below, we cover five of our favorite applications for surveillance cameras.

SEE MORE: How to Choose the Right Home Surveillance System

Did You Leave the Oven On?

Have you ever had that nagging sensation that you might have left the stove or oven on? It’s a simple matter to walk into the kitchen to check…unless you’re not at home when that sense of dread hits you. Not to worry! Just pull up your phone and check the surveillance camera in the kitchen. If the oven is on, you can hurry home or call a family member to turn it off for you.

Watch Your Pet While You’re at Work

Have you ever wondered what your dog or cat gets up to while you’re gone? Now you can know! Surveillance cameras do more than just satisfy your curiosity—they can keep you in the loop so that you know if something is wrong with your furry friend.

See When Your Package Arrives

Package theft is a real concern, especially if your home has an exposed entryway. But with surveillance cameras, you can know exactly when the delivery company drops off your latest Amazon purchase. While just having a visible camera is enough to deter most thieves, for extra security against package theft, you can add a video doorbell that allows you to speak through the integrated microphone if someone comes to the front door and picks up the box.

To create a space that is perfect for movie or television enjoyment, you have to think carefully about every element—the projector, seats, acoustics, etc. Today, we’re going to discuss one of the most important aspects of a home theater system: the screen. To learn how to choose the best screen for the theater in your Colleyville, TX home, read on.

Step 1: Assess the Space

Your room will have a big impact on the type of screen you purchase. When looking at the space you’re going to convert into a home theater, there are several considerations to keep in mind:

• Shape: Most home theaters are rectangular for a reason. A long, deep room provides better viewing angles and a longer throw distance for your projector, which in turn allows you to have a larger screen. If your theater is shaped like a square, it will likely impact how large of a screen you can fit into the room while still giving the audience a comfortable view.
• Size: The larger the theater, the more space there is for seating and a bigger screen. Keep in mind that just because you have a certain amount of space on one wall doesn’t mean that you can buy a screen exactly that large. Depending on the room, you may need to put A/V equipment on either side of the projector, plus you don’t want a screen that is so big that the movie-watchers have to crane their necks from side to side.
• Lighting: Screen manufacturers now provide different materials that are designed to optimize visual quality based on how much light is in the room. For traditional movie theaters without any windows, your best bet is to go with a white screen, but if you do have ambient light in the room, you should consider a gray screen. Darker screens will block out light that isn’t coming from the projector so that you don’t have a washed out image.

SEE MORE: 5 Design Tips for Your Home Theater System

Step 2: Decide on Style

When it comes to screen styles, you’ve got two main options. First, choose whether you want a screen that is fixed in place at all times or one that retracts into the ceiling when not in use. With traditional home theaters, most homeowners opt for fixed placement, but if your theater is more of a media room with multiple purposes, a retractable style is worth considering.

The second choice you need to make is the frame style. You can get a regular, flat frame, or you can install a curved frame. Just like curved TVs, curved frames may provide a better viewing angle and help dispel ambient light. However, you’re not likely to find a retractable curved frame, and if you have a lot of theater seats, the curved style might impact visual quality for the fringe seats.

The holidays are nearly upon us. Is your home ready for entertaining? Many holiday traditions revolve around the television: watching the Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning or The Grinch during Christmas break. So why not make the most of your time enjoying media with family by upgrading your outdated, clunky system with one that’s easy to use? Keep reading to learn the benefits of a modern audio video system during the holiday season. 

A Better Movie-Watching Experience

If you or your family members are squinting at the grainy image on the television or bumping up the volume to its highest setting, it’s time for an upgrade. With 4K Ultra HD, the latest advancement in television image resolution, you can now get a super crisp, clear picture of all your favorite shows and movies. Whether you’re watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation or It’s a Wonderful Life, you’ll be able to see so much detail, you’d swear you could reach out and touch the actors.

Of course, the view is only part of a great movie setup. You also need high-fidelity sound to create that immersive experience. The sleek, thin look of modern televisions comes at a price; there’s no space for quality speakers. Whether you have a dedicated home theater or a family room, it’s important to supplement your television with either a sound bar or surround sound speakers. We can work with you to help you decide on the best brand, speaker type, and placement for optimal sound.

Spread Holiday Cheer in Every Room

Nothing gets people in the holiday spirit quite like music. Instead of blasting the Christmas carols from one room or individually going into each area of your home to set up music systems and pick out playlists, it’s possible to set the same music, optimized for easy listening, in every room at once. By upgrading to a multi-room music system, all of your audio equipment, music, and streaming services are instantly accessible via your smartphone or tablet. So when Santa Baby comes on the radio for the fifth time that day, all you have to do is press “Skip” on your phone, and the multi-room music system will immediately respond to your command.

Of course, it’s possible that not everyone in your family will be gung-ho for Christmas music 24x7. Your audio system can have separate music zones that allow everyone to listen to their own music in different areas of the home. So if someone in the family is ready to go on a rampage from too many Christmas jingles, they can retreat to their room without interrupting the holiday atmosphere.

In our last blog, we talked about the aspects of a smart home that are absolutely essential, and a strong home network came in at #4. There’s a good reason for it: without a professional network installation, your home is going to have a hard time handling the demands of modern smart devices, such as televisions streaming 4K video. So how do you know if your Colleyville, Texas home network needs an upgrade? See if the three common issues outlined below sound familiar.

SEE MORE: 5 Questions to Ask When Upgrading Your Home Network

1. You Only Have Wi-Fi in Certain Areas of Your Home

This is a sure-fire sign that your home doesn’t have good coverage in every room. Most likely, the areas nearest to your router have Wi-Fi access, but the further away you go, the harder it is to connect. Especially in larger homes, this can be a big problem. Obviously, you want to be able to use your home’s Wi-Fi no matter where you are on the property, from the patio to the bedrooms. A networking expert can analyze your home and identify the best spots to install network bridges or wireless access points – devices that boost the wireless signal from your router for even coverage.

1. You Don’t Have Any Network Security

What kind of security do you have set up for your network? If your answer is “I don’t know,” there’s a good chance that you don’t have any protections at all. Your network and all of the connected smart devices in your home need to be secured so that only you and authorized individuals can access them.

Even if you don’t keep any sensitive information on your computer (and let’s face it: most of us do), a determined hacker might be able to access other sensitive areas of your home, such as security cameras, if the network is not secured. We can work with you to not only set up the firewalls, virus protection, and other security features, but also to ensure that all of the smart devices in your home are prepared against network security threats.