Entertainment Center Ideas to Make Your Home the Go-To Cinema Night Venue

After a long day at work or studying for a big exam takes a lot out of you. A great way to get your brain juices flowing again and to put yourself at ease is with some escapist entertainment. Luckily, modern technology has streamlined our entertainment experience and it is now easier than ever to watch your favorite films, binge that shows your coworkers won’t shut up about, or just listen to some music as you read a good book.

An entertainment unit provides all this and more. There are all kinds of modern entertainment center ideas that can make your movie-watching experience not only more satisfying but much more practical. You can mix and match your favorite modules, designs, and practical additions to make a more unique entertainment center that suits all your needs and criteria. There are some stylistic as well as practical additions you can make to your entertainment center to make your next movie-screening experience a more pleasant one. 

Floating TV Stand or Cabinet

Advantages of Having Wall-Mounted Cabinets

Wall-mounted furniture has become a trend with the more minimalistic design elements of contemporary interiors. Floating furniture looks sleek and suave, but also comes with its own practical advantages, mainly its ergonomic nature. Since it doesn’t have to be placed on the floor, the floating entertainment center saves you some valuable floor space and gives you a bit of extra storage under the unit itself.

One disadvantage to having floating or wall-mounted furniture is that it’s a permanent fixture. Once you have it there you’re not going to move it. But unless you plan on remodeling your entertainment center on a regular basis, this shouldn’t be a problem for you at all. 

Futuristic Retractable Screen 

Why You Should Get a Retractable Screen

You know all about how people in the past used to think that the 2010s - 2020s would be way more futuristic than they actually are today. While we may not have hoverboards (not real ones at least), haven’t colonized Mars, and didn’t have a war with mechanical overlords, we do have retractable TV sets.

Some of the biggest tech companies out there have invested a lot of money in flexible OLED screens and the fruits of their labor have shown themselves in recent tech releases. Don’t let this fool you into thinking the picture quality suffers as a result of this unique feature. You can find rollout TVs in 4K quality and with amazing color accuracy. And their rollout feature is more than just a gimmick. When the screen is not being used, it retracts into a little box at the bottom, almost like you’d roll up a poster. There it is protected from dust as well as minor (or major) impacts that would potentially damage the screen. It’s also ergonomic since it takes up very little room on the TV stand or cabinet. An overall useful and satisfying futuristic addition to your entertainment center, retractable screens could very well be the way of the future. 

Immersive LED Lights

How to USe LED Lights for a More Immersive Cinema Experience

It is without a doubt that LED lights have made some major strides in the field of interior lighting. Be it being used as primary lighting, accent lighting, or as decorations, LED lights are a prominent feature of many modern homes. Now, some people find them to be somewhat tacky and almost childish. However, smart LED lights have many practical applications and they can work quite well in your entertainment center.

Immersion plays a major role in your enjoyment of your favorite visual media. You can install LED lights around your entertainment system to take this to the next level. The LED lights, usually installed behind and around the screen, will light up with the same color spectrum as the ones on the screen itself. So let’s say a scene in a film takes place in the jungle, the lights will start to glow green or if you’re watching a movie about a giant killer shark, the lights will turn blue to emulate the water. With this small touch, you will be more immersed in your viewing experience and feel as though you’re actually there on that boat, shooting harpoons at the finned beast.

Wall Insert Fireplace

The Simple Comfort of Fireplace and TV Combo

Fireplaces are so ubiquitous among many homeowners that one may call them entertainment in and of themselves. Now, obviously, as fun as it may be to watch the flames dancing or listening to the crackle of the lumber, this is not traditional entertainment and you most likely aren’t going to force your guests to listen to it. Instead, a fireplace can be a nice accent to the entertainment center as a whole.

During the winter holidays, when you’re watching your favorite holiday films with your loved ones, the fireplace can serve as an extra dosage of comfort as well as warmth. Your household will settle around the screen, watch all the holiday classics as they roast marshmallows, and enjoy the warmth that not only comes from the comfort of being surrounded by the ones you love but also the literal heat coming from the fireplace. 

Surround Sound 

The Importance of Sound In Movie-Watching Experiences

No entertainment center is complete without the right audio. Sure visuals are a crucial part of visual media, but sound plays such a huge role in how immersed you are with what you're watching and how much it impacts your senses to create an experience of being in the film or TV show itself. So, getting the audio right is the difference between barely hearing and understanding what’s on the screen versus feeling like the monster is actually running behind you or that you’re the superhero flying through the sky.

Your surround sound speakers should be aimed at where you’re going to sit. Your two primary speakers should sit on either side of the entertainment center accordingly. If you mix up the left and right speakers, the surround sound effect is going to be flipped. Then your surround sound speakers should be placed at least 90 degrees from the entertainment center, again aimed at the seating area. With the sound system set up this way you now have completely surround sound and can further immerse yourself into whatever it is you’re watching. 

Projector and Screen

The Timeless Advantages of Having a Projector and Screen

While TVs are the most common form of entertainment media out there, you can also use other kinds of visual mediums to watch your favorite films and shows. Enter projectors and screens, the original way that movies were enjoyed. They may seem obsolete nowadays when 4K televisions allow for home theater experiences like no other.

But what makes the projector such a viable medium for visual entertainment is the way it works. All you need to turn a wall into an entertainment center is to have it white and bare. Simply point the projector at it, tune it to make sure the picture quality isn’t fuzzy, and you have yourself an at-home cinema. Modern projectors are very accessible both in terms of price and setting them up. Have them installed on your ceiling or even have a retractable one that pops out of a cupboard or cabinet whenever you need to watch something. 

Playful and Fun Accent Entertainment Wall

Playful Ways to Use Color In Your Interior

If your entertainment center is all about keeping you entertained, why bother with drab and boring colors? To keep the energy flowing through the room and give your eyes some visual flair, try out some vibrant colors to accentuate the rest of the room. An entertainment wall is already quite a unique addition to your room as it garners a lot more attention than the other walls (since that is where the screen is). To further emphasize how this wall is the accent of the room, go for some unique colors like a rich purple or yellow. These colors exude energy and go quite well with an entertainment center.