Home Entertainment Complex — Prestbury, Cheshire
Home Entertainment on a Grand Scale
This design for a home entertainment complex was installed in one of Cheshire’s finest halls, constructed as part of a new swimming pool and gym complex in the grounds, with this room sitting below the gym area. The brief was to create a space for the clients to entertain friends and family with a cinema, seating area and pool table.
The Brief That Defined a Category
The Prestbury home entertainment complex is Custom Controls’ reference project for open-plan entertainment room design. It is the installation we describe when clients ask whether a cinema room, a games room and a bar can coexist in the same space without compromising any of them. The answer, as this project demonstrates, is not only yes — the combination produces something more compelling than any of the three would be individually.
The space divides into three distinct zones, each with its own AV and lighting capability, all managed by a single Crestron control system with Lutron lighting scenes that set the mood for every activity. The cinema end houses a 3.8m acoustically transparent projector screen with a ceiling-mounted Sony projector and an Artcoustic speaker package, with front channels installed directly behind the screen. The audio system is powered by a Trinnov receiver and amplifier package feeding the speakers in a 5.2.2 format — five speakers for surround sound, two subwoofers and two ceiling speakers for height channels. Cinema seating is a bespoke Cineak Intimo design, with four seats at the front and four bar stools behind for sporting events and similar occasions. The pool table area has its own Samsung display that can share sources with the main screen or operate independently. A separate lounge seating area for nine occupies the rest of the space, with its own dedicated speakers for background music or full involvement with the cinema soundtrack.
The kitchen at the rear — with wine fridges and marble worktops — completes the space. On a Saturday afternoon, audio is distributed evenly across the room from the Artcoustic system, the main screen shows sport, the pool table has its own Lutron lighting scene and the kitchen is in full use. On a Sunday evening, sources switch to a film, the cinema lighting scene is recalled, the blinds close and the Cineak seats are ready. One room. Every occasion.
The Home Cinema
We divided the space into three distinct areas, starting the design with the home cinema. The space allowed a 3.8m wide projector screen with a ceiling-mounted Sony projector and Artcoustic speaker package (front channels installed behind the screen). The audio system, powered by the Trinnov receiver and amplifier package described above, delivers a genuinely cinematic experience even within an open-plan setting — a result of treating this end of the room with the same rigour as a fully dedicated cinema.
Our Home Cinema & Home Theater Services
Read more about our Home Cinema and Home Theater work:
Design
Calibration
Treatments
Seating
Theatres
Cinema Ideas
The Pool Table
The pool table area was specifically positioned to allow plenty of cueing space, with a Samsung 65″ TV and soundbar providing entertainment while playing. The TV accesses the same sources as the cinema system — Sky, Apple TV and Amazon Fire — and can either mirror the main screen or run entirely independently, a sports event on the big screen alongside a music video on the TV, for instance. Sound can follow either the cinema or the TV source for genuine flexibility. Lighting above the table is fully controllable and incorporated into scenes via the Crestron lighting control system.
The Lounge Area
Beyond the social, comfortable seating area for nine, this zone benefits from its own dedicated speakers — background music at low volume with even coverage around the room, or volume raised to fully join the cinema soundtrack for an immersive shared experience. Considered lighting design adds drama and visual depth, again controlled from the same lighting system.
The Kitchen Area
All this socialising calls for a properly equipped kitchen — wine fridges, a Sub-Zero refrigerator and ample storage for the client’s drinks collection, plus a handy counter for cocktails or popcorn before the big film. The worktop and lounge table top are sourced from the same piece of marble, flown in from Italy.
Frequently Asked Questions — Prestbury Entertainment Complex
Can a cinema, a games room and a bar coexist in one open-plan space?
Yes. This Prestbury complex divides into three zones — cinema, pool table and lounge, plus a kitchen — each with independent AV and lighting, all managed by a single Crestron and Lutron system, so the room adapts fully to whatever the occasion calls for.
Can the pool table TV and the main cinema screen show different content simultaneously?
Yes. The Samsung display at the pool table accesses the same Sky, Apple TV and Amazon Fire sources as the main cinema screen, but can run entirely independently — a sports event on the big screen with a music video at the pool table, for example.
How is sound managed across such a large open-plan space?
The lounge area has its own dedicated speakers, separate from the Trinnov-driven cinema system, allowing background music at low volume day to day or full integration with the cinema soundtrack when the whole room is focused on the screen.
Project Details
- Location: Prestbury, Cheshire
- Room type: Open-plan entertainment complex
- Screen: 3.8m acoustically transparent
- Audio: Artcoustic 5.2.2 — Trinnov receiver and amplifier
- Seating: Cineak Intimo (4 + 4 bar stools) cinema zone, lounge seating for 9
- Control: Crestron
- Lighting: Lutron scenes
- Source: Centralised AV, Samsung display (pool table zone)
Media Room Installation → · Home Cinema Installation → · Crestron Home Automation → · Lutron Lighting → · Discuss your project →
