Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 01, 2014 11:38 pm Hi all We are currently in the process of designing our new home.. it has a family room/dining room, kids retreat and a theatre room. We have gone over budget so we are looking to change the theatre room into the alfresco area umr. Question: do those of you who have a theatre room use it a lot? Would you recommend keeping it on the plan and holding off on the build and saving a bit more money? (We have 2 kids, 10 and 7 - is a retreat sufficient?) Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Nadene. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 2Jun 02, 2014 12:05 am It comes down to personal preference. For me and my family we enjoy having movie nights and friends around to watch a movie. Presently we make do with our lounge and watch movies in there because we are in a rental appartment. In our new build it was very important that we had a fully dedicated cinema as we want the full experience and I am right into it. Its always been a dream of mine. That said this is probably the last house I will ever build so I have gone for gold and put everything I wanted. We have a fully equipped alfresco as well but if I had to cut back I would probably cave on the theatre as the lounge and family can double up. If budget is an issue and you are looking for compromise I would say you will get more value out of the alfresco. The money saved can get a nice piece of kit for the family room and use it as dual purpose. It is probably likely that you will have more entertaining in the alfresco than the theatre. I did compromise by not having a pool as I do not think I will get a whole heap of use out of one. Later down the track I could put a swim spa in if desired. Ciao Re: Theatre room advice, please! 3Jun 02, 2014 12:49 am We are getting a kids retreat with a TV but 'speccing' up our lounge by splurging a beautiful lounge suite and putting in speaker wires etc. We don't watch tv during the day anyway and the TV 's around now are pretty good anyway. I understand if people have dreamed of a theater room and go all out but I also see a lot if theater rooms that look a bit sad because the money has gone elsewhere. Personal decision I guess. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 5Jun 02, 2014 6:53 am For me the answer is no, we don't use it enough to justify it. We chose to fit out a room with screen, step up, projector and blacked out the room with heavy blinds and darked matching browns around the room and a heavy solid door. It's a very impressive room but going in there you really do disconnect from the rest of the house. It sounds like a good idea but it's only useful for watching a movie through till the end in the dark, like a propper cinema. It's not for watching a tv show, and though I try it's not really for playing xbox of anything like that. So ask yourself gow often do you "really" sit and watch a single movie end to end, and are you were doing that by yourself or with your family? We are building again and this time we are ditching the theatre. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 6Jun 02, 2014 8:47 am hi we are building the theatre and a kids TV room (games room on plans) we watch movies, play xbox and watch all our TV shows in our theatre ATM we don't watch Free to Air TV in the theatre. We are going to be having the good stuff in the theatre (so hubby has told me) We have four kids so a TV room that can be closed off will be a must for our family. This room will also be their play room. The family room has a TV, this TV is MINE! like to watch the news while cooking and while I have a cup of coffee. can your kids retreat double as a theatre? Re: Theatre room advice, please! 7Jun 02, 2014 10:59 am The way we are setting up our new build is activity space for the kids, TV included in there for them. Home theatre will be the main TV room and living room is just that, our living room with no TV. Keeps all the TV noise away from entertaining areas. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 8Jun 02, 2014 11:11 pm Hi AussieMark, I am sort of in the same situation - we are currently living in a close to 90sqm maisonette and the only place we have to sit is the teensy tiny lounge so it's there or nothing! We aren't big movie buffs but we are also planning on living in the new house for the rest of our days (eeek that sounds scary!) and think it would be awesome to have :/ (I also want a pool but that will have to wait a few years, lol!) Hi Joannek, That sounds like a great idea - we also don't watch too much TV so 'speccying' up the family room might suffice! Hi mickyG, Ahhh thank you, I was hoping to hear of an experience like this! I am trying to imagine how much use we would actually get out of it to justify it.. Something to think about! Hi 2-cupcakes-pls, It's definitely a great idea to have all the good stuff in a separate room that can be closed off form the rest of the house - 2 kids make enough noise so I can only imagine having 4! Lol! I think I will be claiming the family room TV aswell! Ahh I can't wait! Hi Marcia, Hmm I had never pictured not having a TV in the family room - but a very good idea! Sort of brings the whole meaning of 'family' into 'family room'! Food for thought.. Thank you all so very much for your responses - I didn't expect to get so many with awesome suggestions and ideas! Greatly appreciated! Nadene. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 9Jun 03, 2014 1:27 am ntonk, I think that the theater can be more than just for movies. Mine will have great speakers and amps so we can also kick back and listen to music and have wine or the kids can stretch out and play games or just hang with friends. I think that if you only want to watch movies in there then that is all that will happen, its upto your choice. We deliberately did not go the formal lounge and formal dining because in todays day and age it just doesn't happen. We went for more of a zoned approach that provides some space between adults and kids if needed. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 10Jun 03, 2014 8:36 am mikkyG We are building again and this time we are ditching the theatre. Same for us TV's have come a long way and can offer most of what you want in the family room. The disconnect comment is a valid point too. We used the Theatre a lot initially then built a new home still with a theatre but in 6 years maybe watched a dozen movies. 101 Residential in Burns Beach viewtopic.php?f=31&t=67711 Shire Approval 31.12.13 Slab Down 15.02.14 Moved in 14.10.14 Re: Theatre room advice, please! 11Jun 03, 2014 9:39 am I would look at saving money elsewhere rather than getting rid of a room. I would get rid of cupboards in the kitchen, stone benchtops, sliding robes (the finishes) first before getting rid of something structural. For me it is all about what is easy to change later on, and adding a room later on will be a very costly business, adding stone benchtops won't cost you any more if you were to do them now vs 5 years from now. We use our theatre room often - sometimes its so there is a quiet place for us adults to go away from the kids, sometimes its a great place for the kids to go play their games in. Ours is set up as more of a formal lounge than a theatre room. It is also a great area to shut off and heat up and it stays nice and cosy on a cold night. My build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68002 Re: Theatre room advice, please! 12Jun 03, 2014 10:03 am Good point Burnsfirsttime. Structural changes are costly to make them look not tacked on. One can also scrutinise the home budget and look to see where to cut back on certain items of ongoing expenditure. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 13Jun 03, 2014 11:03 pm mikkyG For me the answer is no, we don't use it enough to justify it. We chose to fit out a room with screen, step up, projector and blacked out the room with heavy blinds and darked matching browns around the room and a heavy solid door. It's a very impressive room but going in there you really do disconnect from the rest of the house. It sounds like a good idea but it's only useful for watching a movie through till the end in the dark, like a propper cinema. It's not for watching a tv show, and though I try it's not really for playing xbox of anything like that. So ask yourself gow often do you "really" sit and watch a single movie end to end, and are you were doing that by yourself or with your family? We are building again and this time we are ditching the theatre. Each to their own of course. We use ours all the time. Movies, all our tv shows, PS3/xbox gaming is awesome on the big screen, sitting and listening to music - and given it has soundproofing in all walls and ceiling it's a great place to go sit in quiet and read a book on the recliners and tune out from noisy kids or whatever. Just about the most used room of the house! Family movie night every Friday with pizza, and the kids love to have movie birthday parties with their friends - and I don't need to take them all out to the cinema!! Completed a knock down and rebuild in northern Melbourne. Handover completed 27/09/2013 and now moved in. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 14Jun 04, 2014 9:44 am Bluesuede and the kids love to have movie birthday parties with their friends - and I don't need to take them all out to the cinema!! Horses for courses I say, and the point you make about not having to take them out to the cinema is a huge saving when you add the fuel costs, ticket costs, munchie costs, etc. If you can recreate the cinema experience to your own desired degree, then they are a worthwhile addition, otherwise you just have a media room. The degree of cinema experience is up to the home owner, and some just need a projector and screen in a room that can be darkened, but others go to the nth degree by turning it in to a bat cave and go extreme or more. I'm doing mine leaning towards the latter though. Of course not everyone is the same, so a media room that can be used for game playing on a big led tv or just simply regular tv watching might be all that some want to have. I guess in a way, a home theatre room is similar to having a formal dining room, some have a need for a formal dining room for their regular dinner parties that they love having, where many don't. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Theatre room advice, please! 15Jun 06, 2014 1:59 pm We have a theatre - but this is important for us because my husband is a bit of a gamer and plays his xbox and playstation instead of watching tv in evenings. This leaves the family room/lounge room for me to watch tv or movies. We also use the theatre to watch movies together or tv shows (not usually one episode - more like a whole season on dvd). In saying that, we have no kids yet so have plenty of spare time for games and movies. I imagine it would be less if we had kids. We have an alfresco for entertaining as well. If it was a choice between the two I would choose alfresco as we have a family/lounge as well as an activity room for future kids (I wouldn't put a tv in there though as it is fairly open so the noise would clash with the family/lounge room tv. I prefer the tv in a theatre with the door closed). I see a lot of people with nice decked out theatres that do not even use them. They are all set up but look like they never get used and become more of a formal lounge like my parents had when they built in the 90's. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 16Jun 06, 2014 2:19 pm felicity01 I see a lot of people with nice decked out theatres that do not even use them. They are all set up but look like they never get used and become more of a formal lounge like my parents had when they built in the 90's. This would be me ... I very much yearned for one, but realised that we prefer to watch movies at home like we do TV, and if we're after a cinema experience we'd instead go to the cinema. The full surround setup & blacked-out windows etc is a really entertaining concept, and I'd have used it when I was at uni & we had Video Night every Monday or Tuesday night; but when I really thought about it, we'd never use a room like that these days. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 17Jun 06, 2014 2:47 pm Until you have it its hard to realize how much you will use. One thing I have noticed is that to get it set up properly so its easy to use and properly connected to the internet is difficult. I can see why a lot of people wont use it. Switching on a tv on one remote is so much easier and will always work. But the experience is so much better in a dedicated room. Even masterchief is so much better and the food looks so good. I was never into my movies and never really paid attention to sounds and even the actors. Now that I have a big screen I feel like I am paying more attention to things in the moves. The other day I was watching a movie and noticed a kids toy that my kids happen to also have in one of the backgrounds even though it was blurred out. Re: Theatre room advice, please! 18Jun 06, 2014 3:24 pm I run a normal PC with 16TB of disc space. Switch on amp, computer and Telly/ projector and all is good. Volume in the amp all movie related functions from my phone. Currently renting but have a dedicated room in the new build. I will use the current computer but will upgrade the amp to handle Dolby atmos. Personally for all the reasons above I cannot wait. Versaloc is a mortarless besser block system that still needs a properly engineered footing. If you just do a 400x200 footing it will fail in time. At 17m long you need it… 1 17319 A question. Im in Queensland and building a new home. We managed to reach practical completion 6 weeks ago but we haven't heard any date for handover yet. Who should we… 0 5805 I was being kind to the builder. 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