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A home theatre is an exciting place where you can gather with friends and family to enjoy a cinematic experience, right in your own home. In order to get the atmosphere and ambience right, you’ll need a good understanding of home theatre lighting. Below, we’ll offer some tips on how to incorporate cinema room lighting so you can get the most out of your space.
Benefits of Home Movie Theatre Lighting
Cinema room lights play an important role in the feel of the room. They can promote the best environment for relaxing and watching movies while adding a sense of drama to the space. Home cinema lighting, when done right, can evoke the feeling of being at the actual movie theatre, all while enjoying your favorite films at home.
Well-designed cinema lighting ensures that there will be no glare on the screen as you watch your film. Otherwise, glares can detract from the viewing experience by reducing visual clarity.
Not only that, but it can enhance the overall safety of home theatres. Theatres are dark by design to enhance clarity and the overall general viewing experience. Still, rooms that are too dark run the risk of trips and falls. Cinema wall lights and step lights can guide you through the room more safely, avoiding accidents.
Types of Lighting in a Home Theatre
Though you can technically install any kind of lights in your home theatre, there are a few types that are the most common.
- LED Downlights. Downlights that shine from the ceiling to the floor make for a good source of ambient lighting. These will be the main lights that you turn on and off before and after the movie. You have a choice between either recessed lighting or surface mounted lights depending on your aesthetic preferences.
- Wall Lighting. Wall lights are perhaps the most popular style of theatre lighting. Whether you choose lights that shine light in all directions or wall washing lights, they create a nice, indirect glow that won’t get in the way of your viewing experience. Wall washing lights are especially beneficial as they cast light behind them on the wall, creating soft pools of light.
- LED Step Lights. If your home theatre has more than one row of seats connected by stairs, step lights are critical. Step lights make it easy for guests to walk around the dark room and find their seats without tripping.
- LED Strip Lights. Strip lights are long cords of LED light consisting of multiple bulbs. They are good for adding accent light to the theatre room without being too bright. Strip lights are highly versatile in where they can be placed, making them good for theatre rooms of all design styles.
- Cove Lights. Cove lights are a very popular and efficient choice for theatre rooms. This style of light is installed between the crown moulding and the ceiling. It is usually accomplished by using LED strip lights. Since they won’t cast any reflection onto the screen, you can keep them on as a source of light while the movie plays.
Techniques for Cinema Lighting in the Home
There are many ways you can incorporate lighting into your home theatre. Below are a few of the techniques commonly employed when designing theatre room lighting schemes
Light Pools
The most important goal in lighting your theatre room is to ensure no light is spilled onto the screen. A good way to avoid this is to provide soft, indirect lighting that sends light in a certain direction. Using directional lights like spotlights that can cast pools of light onto the floor or interior wall lights that shine behind themselves on the wall can help you accomplish this.
Lamps by the Seats
If your theatre room seating has end tables, having small, dim lamps that guests can use at their discretion is a great idea. Low-level lighting that is localised to the specific seating areas will avoid casting lights on the screen, while still providing visibility for movie-goers.
Fade to Black Lighting
If you have dimmable lighting, you can use a smart control system that allows them to slowly fade out when you turn them off. This is especially beneficial in a theatre room as it allows your eyes to adjust gradually before the bright screen comes to life.
Pause-Activated
With smart lighting, you can set specific routines for your theatre. One of them could be to turn the lights up if the TV or projector is paused. Once the film resumes, it will automatically turn back on.
Tips for Lighting Design for Cinema Lights
Home theatre designs require more than just choosing comfortable chairs and a good sound system. In order to create an impressive home theatre space with proper lighting, keep in mind the following tips.
- Understand layered lighting. Layered lighting in a room consists of ambient, accent and task lighting. Combining these three layers will provide a well-balanced light scheme.
Ambient light provides the main layer of illumination and often comes in the form of ceiling lights. These lights should be dimmable or recessed for best results to ensure they do not cause glare on the screen.
Task light offers more focused illumination in certain areas. Commonly, this will be around seating areas or equipment tracks. Table lamps, wall sconces and even spotlights work well as task lights in a theatre.
Accent light is the final layer. It is what creates mood and atmospheric lighting while also showing off unique details in the theatre room. Spotlights and LED strip lights are the most common ways to include accent light into your home theatre.
- Smart controls. When it comes to lighting controls, it is recommended you use smart lights when possible. With smart lights, you can set unique routines and behaviors that will allow for a truly cinematic experience. Set dimming routines, on and off timers, or adjust the level of brightness with voice controls or through an app.
- Colour temperature. Colour temperature is a light’s perceived warmth or coolness. Readings exist on a scale between 1,000K and 10,000K. The higher you go on the scale, the cooler the lights are.
When it comes to home theatre lighting, warm light on the lower end of the kelvin scale is recommended. Choosing warm lights between 2,700K and 3,300K will provide gentle, inviting illumination for movie viewing while still prioritising visibility.
Cinema Room Lighting Ideas
Get all of the light your home theatre needs with none of the glare when you choose the LDC724 8 Watt Dimmable Recessed Anti Glare LED Downlight. This downlight features a bulb deeply recessed into the fixture, preventing glare even if you stare directly at it. It creates pools of 3000K warm white light beneath it with a brightness of 800 lumens. This fixture is fashioned out of durable aluminium finished in white with a black internal reflector. It measures 76 millimeters by 76 millimeters in size.
Guide guests around the theatre room with the LSL009A Round 1 Watt Recessed LED Wall Light. These stylish wall sconces have a conservative 46 millimeter diameter that makes it easy to line the walls with them. They generate 3000K warm white light at a low brightness of 70 millimeters, so you can keep them on during the film without disruption. These lights feature a face plate finished in stylish polished aluminium.
Provide beautiful indirect lighting in your theatre room with the Beam Single 2 Watt Brushed Aluminium LED Wall Light. This wall sconce shines 3200K warm white light up and down on the wall behind them in a conical wash. It generates 140 lumens, making them perfectly dim for movie viewing. The fixture is fashioned out of durable metal that is finished in brushed aluminium for a hint of style. Overall, it measures 90 millimeters by 65 millimeters in size.
