40 Home Cinema Ideas — Real Installations by Award-Winning UK Specialists

Dedicated screening rooms, garage conversions, basement cinemas and living room systems. Every room on this page was designed, installed and calibrated by Custom Controls.

Every room shown here was designed, installed, calibrated and photographed by Custom Controls — an award-winning home cinema company with 25 years of installations across the UK, Dubai, the Alps and beyond. We have been designing cinema rooms since 1998. This gallery shows the range of what is possible: from a six-seat family room in a converted garage to a certified IMAX Enhanced cinema with 18 seats and a 6.4m screen in Dubai.

If something on this page inspires you, tell us about your space — we would love to show you what we could do with it.

Our Credentials

The quality of a home cinema installation is only as good as the installer’s depth of experience and the calibration tools they bring to bear. These are ours.

• Five-time Crestron Integration Award winners — Crestron Dealer of Distinction, unique in EMEA. Our Dubai IMAX cinema won the award for Best International Project.
• RoomPerfect Certified Professionals — formally certified by Steinway Lyngdorf for the calibration of their RoomPerfect room correction system. One of a small number of UK installers to hold this certification.
• Trinnov Altitude accredited installers — including Trinnov WaveForming, the most significant advance in residential cinema audio of the last decade.
• Artcoustic Install of the Month winners — our Dubai private estate cinema was awarded this recognition by one of the world’s finest cinema speaker manufacturers.
• Certified Lutron dealers since 1998 — over 25 years of Homeworks QSX lighting design and installation, integrated into every cinema room we build.

What Does a Home Cinema Cost?

Our home cinema installations range from £50,000 to more than £1 million. The scope varies considerably across that range — from a high-specification living room cinema system through to a large dedicated room with full acoustic construction, Dolby Atmos, 4K laser projection, Crestron and Lutron integration, custom seating and professional calibration. Every installation includes our design, project management, installation and calibration service. The 40 rooms shown here span that full range.

What Makes a Great Cinema Room?

The room type matters more than the technology. A dedicated room — designed from first principles with controlled acoustics, no ambient light and no compromises — will outperform a converted living room regardless of the equipment specification. But a well-specified living room cinema with the right acoustic treatment, a motorised screen and a Trinnov or RoomPerfect room correction system can be extraordinary. The right starting point is an honest assessment of what the space allows and what calibration can compensate for. We have 25 years of experience making that judgement.

Calibration is the single highest-return investment in any cinema. A correctly calibrated system — audio levels set to reference, room correction applied, video calibrated to D65 colour temperature with accurate gamma — outperforms an uncalibrated system of twice the equipment value. As RoomPerfect Certified Professionals and Trinnov Altitude accredited installers, calibration is not something we add at the end. It is the point at which the room becomes what it was designed to be.

Crestron and Lutron integration transforms how the room is used. A cinema room without smart home integration requires the user to operate projector, processor, screen, lighting and blinds independently. A cinema room with Crestron control and Lutron lighting does all of this with a single button press — or automatically when a film is selected on Kaleidescape. The difference in day-to-day use is enormous. Every room in this gallery is Crestron and Lutron integrated as standard.

The five room types we install most frequently are shown below: dedicated rooms, garage conversions, basement rooms, attic and loft conversions, and living room systems. Browse by type or scroll through the full gallery.

• Dedicated Home Cinema Rooms
• Garage Cinema Conversions
• Basement Cinema Rooms
• Attic & Loft Cinema Conversions
• Living Room Cinema Systems

–

Dedicated Home Cinema Rooms

A dedicated cinema room is designed from the shell outward — every decision made in service of the cinema experience. Acoustic treatment, screen width, projector throw distance, speaker placement, lighting design and Crestron control are all considered as a system before construction begins. These are the rooms that perform at their absolute best, and they represent the majority of our most celebrated installations.

• Emirates Hills Home Cinema, Dubai

  

  A large dedicated cinema room for a villa on one of Dubai’s most prestigious estates. Sony 4K laser projection, Artcoustic Dolby Atmos surround system and Crestron home automation throughout the villa.

• Home Cinema Room — Knutsford, Cheshire

  

  A warm and intimate dedicated room for a client in Knutsford — a 6m × 8m space designed to feel welcoming as well as perform. Trinnov Altitude processing, Artcoustic speakers and Lutron scene lighting throughout.

• Private Home Cinema Room — Châtel, French Alps

  

  A dedicated cinema room for a luxury ski chalet in Châtel — one of our most admired alpine installations. Trinnov processing, Artcoustic surround system and a full Crestron and Lutron smart chalet integration.

• Home Cinema Room — St George’s Hill, Weybridge Surrey

  

  A dedicated cinema room for one of Surrey’s most sought-after private estates. Artcoustic Dolby Atmos sound system, Sony 4K laser projection and Crestron integration with the wider property automation.

• Home Theater Room — Portugal

  

  The brief was simply to design the best home theater possible for a client with the space and ambition to match. A 3.6m Screen Excellence screen, Artcoustic Dolby Atmos surround, Trinnov Altitude processing and Kaleidescape lossless movie playback. Among the finest rooms we have installed.

• Home Cinema Room — Greater Manchester

  

  A technically demanding design — an unusual room shape that required careful acoustic modelling before specification began. The result performs significantly better than the dimensions alone would suggest.

• Home Cinema Room — Midlands, UK

  

  A stunning dedicated room with seating for eight — notable for the quality of its lighting design, which uses Lutron to create a sequence of scenes from pre-show warm welcome through to film darkness.

• Luxury Home Cinema — Abuja, Nigeria

  

  One of the highest-specification rooms in our international portfolio. A Sony VPL-GTZ380 delivering 10,000 lumens onto a 5m acoustically transparent screen, Artcoustic surround system and Trinnov Altitude processing. The client’s brief was quality above everything else.

• Family Movie Room, Dubai

  

  A basement cinema room designed specifically for a young family in Dubai — the system needs to be completely straightforward to operate. Artcoustic Dolby Atmos, Crestron control and a Lutron lighting system that transitions automatically with the cinema mode.

• Modern Home Cinema Room, Cheshire

  

  An ultra-modern cinema within a larger entertainment complex on one of Cheshire’s finest new-build estates. Artcoustic Dolby Atmos system, Crestron control and Lutron architectural lighting — one of many Cinema rooms we have installed in Cheshire over the past 25 years.

• Krix Home Cinema — London

  

  One of our largest-capacity cinema rooms — seating for 18 people in a single residential room. Krix Cinema speaker package powered by a Trinnov Altitude processor.

• Cheshire Home Cinema — Garden Room with Glass Walls

  

  This room proves that the most unlikely spaces can become outstanding cinema rooms. Two glass walls — a challenge acoustically and for light control — are transformed by motorised acoustic curtains that convert the garden room into a fully darkened, acoustically managed cinema space. Artcoustic speakers, Trinnov processing, Crestron and Lutron throughout. Artcoustic Install of the Month winner.

• Ghana Home Cinema Room — Trinnov Reference Installation

  

  One of the highest-specification rooms we have designed. Artcoustic speakers hidden behind a 4.5m acoustically transparent screen and within fabric-wrapped walls and ceiling — a Trinnov Altitude processor providing room correction in an exceptionally clean acoustic environment.

• Home Cinema Room — Derby

  

  An unconventional horseshoe seating arrangement allows this room to function equally well for cinema, sport and gaming. Sony 4K laser projection, 3.8m screen and Artcoustic speakers throughout.

• Home Cinema Room — Al Barari, Dubai

  

  A dedicated cinema room on the Al Barari development — one of several Custom Controls installations on this estate. Large-format projection, Artcoustic Dolby Atmos and Crestron integration with the wider villa.

• Bowers & Wilkins Custom Theater 800 Cinema Room

  

  This client had the space and the brief to go without compromise. Seating for 18 in total comfort, a Bowers & Wilkins Custom Theater 800 speaker array with eight subwoofers, and a surround configuration that demands professional calibration to control correctly.

• Home Cinema Room — District One, Dubai

  

  A high-specification cinema room within a larger Crestron whole-villa installation in Mohammed Bin Rashid City. Artcoustic surround, 4K laser projection and a Lutron lighting design that operates automatically with the Crestron cinema scene.

• IMAX Enhanced Cinema Room — Dubai

  

  One of the finest private cinema rooms in the world. A 6.4m screen, 18 seats, 13.2.14 Dolby Atmos configuration with Trinnov Altitude 32 processing and four Trinnov Amplitude amplifiers driving 48 Artcoustic speakers. IMAX Enhanced certified — one of the first private residential IMAX Enhanced installations in the region. This installation won Custom Controls the Crestron Integration Award for Best International Project in EMEA.

• Home Cinema Room — Hampstead, London

  

  A dedicated cinema room for a client in Hampstead — a beautiful interior design working in complete harmony with a high-specification cinema system. Artcoustic surround, 4K projection, Crestron and Lutron throughout.

• Home Cinema Room — Ascot, Surrey

  

  A distinctive pillow-effect fabric wall system hides the entire Artcoustic speaker array while contributing to the room’s acoustic treatment. Trinnov Altitude processing and seating for 12.

• Home Cinema Room — Megève, French Alps

  

  A high-end dedicated cinema room within a prestigious chalet in Megève — Trinnov Altitude processing, Artcoustic surround and Crestron and Lutron integration throughout the property.

• Home Cinema Installation — Dubai Al Barari

  

  A high-specification eight-seat cinema room in the Al Barari development — one of several Custom Controls installations on this estate over the years.

• Home Theater Room — Dubai

  

  A dramatic dedicated theater room with a 5m curved projection screen and an 11.4.4 Dolby Atmos surround system — one of the widest screens in our residential portfolio.

• Scottish Estate Home Cinema

  

  A cinema room within an estate cottage on a Scottish hunting and fishing estate. Proof that distance and location are not an obstacle — Custom Controls has delivered projects in remote and unusual locations consistently since 1998.

• Outdoor Cinema — The Cotswolds

  

  The finest outdoor cinema experience available. A C Seed 201″ display rises from the ground and unfolds to reveal a screen wider than most indoor cinema rooms. Trinnov Altitude 16 processing, Origin Acoustics buried subwoofers and weatherproof speaker system, Crestron automation. Our Cotswolds C Seed installation is the reference for outdoor cinema at this level.

–

Garage Home Cinema Conversions

The double garage is one of the best starting points for a home cinema room. A standard double garage footprint — approximately 5.5m × 6m — accommodates a 3.8m screen, four rows of seating, a full Artcoustic surround system and a properly tiered floor without dimensional compromise. The concrete slab provides acoustic mass, and a detached structure offers inherent acoustic isolation from the main house. We have converted garages into cinema rooms across London, Cheshire, Surrey and internationally for over 25 years.

• Luxury Garage Cinema Conversion — Cheshire

  

  An unused double garage transformed into a luxury six-seat cinema room. Artcoustic Dolby Atmos, 4K laser projection, Lutron scene lighting and Crestron control — a room that outperforms its modest footprint significantly.

• Small Home Cinema Room — London Garage Conversion

  

  Small cinema rooms can outperform large ones on audio — smaller volumes develop higher sound pressure levels without the same bass management challenges. This garage conversion in London seats four in an intimate, beautifully finished space.

• Double Garage Cinema Conversion — Hale, Cheshire

  

  A double garage conversion in Hale — used as a gaming space during the day and a family cinema room at night. The external garage door is retained to preserve the street scene. Artcoustic surround and 4K projection in a thoroughly versatile space.

• Garage Home Cinema Room — Mill Hill, London

  

  Another example of a garage cinema that outperforms its dimensions. The smaller room volume means the audio system can achieve reference sound levels with greater ease than a larger space — the result is a room that sounds more powerful and more immersive than its size would suggest.

–

Basement Home Cinema Rooms

Basements offer inherent advantages for cinema design: low ambient light reduces projector contrast challenges, structural mass provides acoustic isolation, and separation from the main living areas means the room can be used without disturbing anyone else in the house. For London properties with basement extensions, this is frequently the optimal cinema room location.

• Basement Home Cinema — Berkshire

  

  A small basement room — just 3.6m × 3.6m — that punches far above its weight. The compact volume means the Artcoustic speaker system can achieve stunning pressure levels with ease. A beautifully finished, high-performance space.

• Kensington Basement Home Cinema

  

  A supremely discreet installation in a Kensington basement — Artcoustic speakers built into joinery on either side of the TV, a custom soundbar and a subwoofer concealed beneath the shelving. A full Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 system that reveals nothing of itself to the eye.

• Pimlico Basement Home Cinema

  

  A family cinema room in a Pimlico basement — one of many London basement cinema installations Custom Controls have completed across SW1, SW3, W8 and W11 over 25 years.

• Baker Street Basement Cinema — London

  

  One of our earlier London basement installations — included here as a reminder that a well-specified TV-based cinema system with quality surround sound can deliver an outstanding experience without projection.

–

Attic & Loft Cinema Conversions

Useable attic and loft spaces make excellent cinema rooms — particularly when above a garage or detached from the main sleeping areas. The sloped ceilings that present challenges for bedroom use are less significant in a cinema room where seating is fixed and the acoustic treatment can be designed around the geometry. We have installed loft and attic cinemas in barn conversions, boathouses, and above garages across the UK.

• Loft Home Cinema — Hertfordshire Barn Conversion

  

  A loft cinema in a Hertfordshire barn conversion — the exposed timber structure and barn geometry create a naturally warm and characterful acoustic environment. Artcoustic surround, 4K projection, seating for eight.

• Surrey Loft Home Cinema — Above Garage, Oxshott

  

  A loft space above garages in Oxshott, Surrey converted to a family cinema room. Artcoustic 5.2.2 Dolby Atmos with two subwoofers concealed behind the screen, Sony projector and 100″ screen. A room used as much for gaming and sport as for films.

• Attic Home Cinema — North London

  

  A dual-purpose attic room — used as a library and reading room during the day, transformed into a cinema at night by a motorised projector screen. Artcoustic surround and projector. Not every cinema room needs to announce itself.

• Boathouse Home Cinema — Lake Windermere

  

  The upper floor of a boathouse on the banks of Lake Windermere. One of our more memorable locations and a demonstration that distance, logistics and unusual spaces are part of the brief we have been solving since 1998.

–

Living Room Cinema Systems

A living room cinema does not require a dedicated room. A well-specified system — motorised screen, quality projector, Artcoustic or Steinway Lyngdorf surround sound, Crestron automation and Lutron lighting and motorised blinds — can turn any well-proportioned living room into a cinema that rivals a dedicated room at reference quality. Trinnov and RoomPerfect room correction compensate for the acoustic compromises that a shared-use space involves. These are the rooms that most of our clients use every day.

• Steinway Lyngdorf Home Cinema – Rome

  

  A huge 3m x 2m Samsung The Wall TV with a top of the range 5.2.4 Steinway Surround system – eight 15″ subwoofers….

• Living Room Home Cinema — North London

  

  A motorised 150″ acoustically transparent screen drops from the ceiling to transform this north London living room into a cinema. Artcoustic 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos, Sony 4K projection, Crestron automation. When the screen retracts, the room is simply a beautifully furnished living room.

• Home Entertainment Complex — Prestbury, Cheshire

  

  A garden entertainment building combining a cinema, pool table, lounge and bar — one of our most celebrated multi-use entertainment spaces. Artcoustic surround sound serves all areas of the building, with Crestron and Lutron managing the transitions between each use mode.

• Modern Home Cinema — Kensington, London

  

  A Kensington living room cinema system built around an on-wall TV — Artcoustic in-wall speakers, Crestron automation and Lutron lighting. The technology is invisible. The performance is not.

• Living Room Home Cinema — Belgravia, London

  

  An ultra-discreet living room cinema in a Belgravia townhouse — Artcoustic speakers plastered into the walls and ceiling, invisible in the finished room. The surround performance is outstanding for a room that presents no visual evidence of a cinema system.

• Living Room Home Cinema — Manchester Penthouse

  

  A living room cinema in one of Manchester’s most prestigious penthouses — Bowers & Wilkins Signature Series surround speakers in a high-rise setting. A different set of acoustic challenges from a ground-floor room — and a very satisfying result.

• Chelsea Living Room Surround Sound

  

  A discreet surround sound system integrated into an existing Chelsea living room — high performance without any visual disruption to a beautifully designed interior. Sometimes the best cinema system is the one you cannot see.

Frequently Asked Questions — Home Cinema Ideas

What is the difference between a home cinema room and a media room?
A dedicated cinema room is designed exclusively for film watching — fixed seating, controlled acoustics, purpose-built screen wall, no ambient light. A media room is a multi-use family space that can also deliver a good cinema experience. Dedicated rooms perform better; media rooms are more versatile. The right choice depends on how the space will actually be used. Read our full guide to media rooms vs cinema rooms →

How much does a home cinema room cost in the UK?
Our home cinema installations range from £50,000 to £1 million. This covers the full scope — design, acoustic specification, projection, audio, Crestron and Lutron integration, seating and professional calibration. The range reflects the difference between a well-specified six-seat living room system and a large dedicated room with a 6m screen, 48 speakers and IMAX Enhanced certification.

Can you convert a garage into a cinema room?
Yes — and a double garage is one of the best starting points for a home cinema. The standard footprint (approximately 5.5m × 6m) comfortably accommodates a 3.8m screen, proper tiered seating, a full Artcoustic Dolby Atmos system and the acoustic treatment needed to make it perform. The detached structure gives inherent acoustic isolation from the main house. We have converted garages into cinema rooms across London, Cheshire and Surrey for over 25 years. Read our guide to garden and outbuilding cinema conversions →

What size room do I need for a home cinema?
The minimum practical size for a dedicated cinema room with projection is approximately 4m × 5m. A 5m × 6m room delivers a comfortable experience with a 3–3.5m screen. The ideal range for most of our installations is 5m × 7m to 6m × 9m — large enough for four rows of seating and a meaningful screen size, small enough to manage acoustically. Read our complete guide to cinema room dimensions →

Do I need planning permission for a cinema room?
Internal cinema room conversions — basement, loft, attic or garage within the existing building envelope — do not typically require planning permission. A new-build garden structure may fall under permitted development depending on size and location. We advise on planning at the design stage for every project and work with clients’ architects where structural changes are involved.

What is IMAX Enhanced and can I have it at home?
IMAX Enhanced is a certification programme that defines minimum standards for display resolution, sound format and calibration in a residential or commercial cinema room. Custom Controls have designed and installed a certified IMAX Enhanced cinema room in Dubai — one of the first private residential IMAX Enhanced installations in the region. Read the full case study →

If this gallery has given you ideas for your own home cinema, tell us about your space. We have been designing and installing cinema rooms since 1998 — from intimate four-seat rooms to IMAX Enhanced installations in Dubai. We would love to hear about your project.

• Home Cinema Installation — our complete service →
• Home Cinema Design and Acoustic Engineering →
• Professional Home Cinema Calibration →
• The Ultimate Home Cinema Design Guide →
• Media Room vs Home Cinema →
• Contact us to discuss your project →