Home cinema lighting in Berkshire, or anywhere else, has two jobs: to keep a dark room safe and comfortable to move around in, and to frame the picture without spoiling it. This Berkshire home cinema, photographed on 6 March 2020, does both with lit steps, light behind the seats and a glowing screen surround.
Lit steps for the back row
The seats sit on a raised, carpeted step, and a thin line of LED lighting runs along the edges of the steps. It shows exactly where each level ends, so anyone arriving late or leaving early can find their way in the dark, and it is low enough to stay out of the way of the screen.
Light behind the recliners
Behind the recliners, light washes the textured wall covering from behind the seat backs, with a few small wall lights set higher up. In one photo the wall is lit white, in another it is green, so the colour can be changed to suit the film or the mood. Light on the wall behind the seats lifts the room and shows off the texture, without any of it landing on the screen.
A screen surround that glows
A green LED surround frames the screen, and a second strip of light runs along the floor line beneath it. Light behind and around a screen is known as bias lighting, and it softens the contrast between a bright picture and a dark wall, which is easier on the eyes over a long film. The projector sits high on the back wall, and the screen shows a library of films ready to play.
Seats that suit the room
The recliners are covered in a dark fabric with diamond quilted cushions, which suits the dark walls and carpet and keeps the eye on the screen. The pale light behind the seat backs picks out their shape.
Planning home cinema lighting
If you are planning a room like this, think about the lighting at the same time as the walls, because the wiring for LED strips and wall lights has to go in before the plaster, the carpet and the seats. Decide early where the steps and the screen need light, choose lights that can be dimmed and changed in colour, and put the scenes on one simple control so the room can go from arriving to watching to leaving at the touch of a button. Our pages on lighting control and home cinema design and installation explain the options, and our home cinema installation in Berkshire page covers the area we work in.
The room in pictures
For a cinema built from an empty room, read our Finchampstead home cinema story, or see more finished rooms in our Gallery.
Planning home cinema lighting in Berkshire?
Tell us about your room and we will take it from there. Get in touch, or call us on 01344 937999.
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